Would you like to learn how to work as a freelancer in Canada? You’ve got excellent skills and wish you could monetize them by working from any location in Canada on your own terms. Well, this is the guide you need to read to get started.
But wait a second.
Before we delve into the meat of the article properly, let’s look at some key things you need to understand before starting your freelancing career in Canada.
Let’s start with the term “freelancing.”
What Is Freelancing?
To put it simply, freelancing is offering a service or a skill by working for a company or client from any location of your choice for which you get paid.
Freelancing gives you the freedom of work, as you aren’t bound to an employer from 9-5. You decide your place of work, rate, delivery time, and even whom to work with. It’s truly a working system that encourages work-life balance.
As a freelancer, you’re paid either per job delivered or per hour at an agreed time. You’re an independent contractor and have the right to how, when and where you do your job without anybody lording over you.
Having known what freelancing entails, the next thing you want to do is understand how freelancing works in Canada.
Understanding the Freelance Landscape in Canada
Canada is an enabling environment for freelancing. You have nothing to worry about the stable power supply and reliable internet connectivity.
You can work from home part-time or full-time as a freelancer in Canada, earning a standard income. But you need to know that working as a freelancer in Canada requires you to possess an open work permit.
Not only that, you’re also required to file income taxes.
But the good side is that freelancing in Canada is quite lucrative, and a freelancer earns an average of $25 per hour and close to $48,750 per year.
Now that you know what the freelancing landscape of Canada looks like, let’s check out the things you need to consider before getting started as a freelancer in Canada.
What to Consider Before Starting Freelancing
If you want to start a freelancing career, it is very important to consider the following.
1. Build a portfolio
To be successful as a freelancer, you must have a portfolio. This is a list of work you’ve done that you can show a potential client to test your ability to deliver.
Having a portfolio as a freelancer is your window to more jobs from clients.
Your portfolio could be a website showcasing your writing skills, your guest contributions on other blogs, or even a Google Doc or Word of your previous work samples.
2. Have a business mindset
Until you handle freelancing like a business, you may never succeed at it. A freelance business should be set up in such a way that you come out as professional to potential clients or customers.
You should handle your freelancing with the same energy.
Before you begin freelancing, you should have all the necessary tools that will enhance your work.
3. You will be rejected
The earlier you know this, the better. How can you freelance without any record of rejection?
Before diving into freelancing, you should understand that rejection is part of the game. At times, you would send pitches and proposals many times without receiving any reply. And you will get rejection emails. Yes, plenty of them.
So, if you try several times with no headway and feel like giving up, you shouldn’t because you know well that being rejected by a client is like being redirected to a better one.
4. Good customer service is key
One of the top mistakes freelancers make is that they lack the right method of communicating with their clients or potential clients, especially newbie ones. And this frustrates their progress.
Mastering customer service skills have been said to be one of the top secrets of successful freelancers. When you treat your clients with respect and empathy, you tend to close more deals and make more money as a freelancer.
Do you see why the importance of customer service sense cannot be overemphasized in freelancing?
5. Relationship is gold
If you’re going into freelancing for the first time, you need to be in a community of freelancers. This won’t only motivate you when the going gets tough, but it will also be an opportunity for more gigs and support.
Relating and networking with fellow freelancers go a long way in helping you navigate the murky waters of your freelancing career.
Knowing the things to prepare for before jumping into freelancing is cool. But for every decision, there must be a why. So, let’s take a look at the benefits of freelancing.
The Benefits of Freelancing in Canada
With over 15% of the Canadian population’s workforce majority into freelancing, you stand to gain a lot working as a freelancer in Canada.
For one, the Canadian work environment is flexible. With technological advancements, more companies are now doing their jobs via freelancing.
Another benefit of freelancing in Canada is access to support from the government. You can access federal and provincial government startup funds, loads and subsidies. This makes it easy for a freelancing career to thrive.
Besides all other apparent social amenities like healthcare facilities, uninterrupted power supply and access to fast Internet facilities and more, those mentioned above are enough to make you want to start your freelancing career in Canada.
Well, with benefits come challenges or vice versa. Freelancing isn’t a rollercoaster adventure; it comes with different challenges.
This leads us to the next point, the challenges of freelancing in Canada.,
If you’ve ever wanted to immigrate to Canada, click here to discover 7 easy ways to migrate to Canada.
The Challenges of Freelancing in Canada
As a freelancer anywhere, you can’t escape some challenges. In Canada, the challenges are always almost the same.
1. Lack of motivation
Let’s fade it. Freelancing isn’t for everyone. You may not last long in this business if you’re not self-motivated. Due to the nature of the job, in which you might have to stay stuck to your laptop all day long, you might feel down at times.
When you also consider when and where to work, laziness might creep in. Procrastinating jobs meant to be done until another day is part of the attitude that kills a freelancing career faster.
2. Poor time management
Are you a time waster? Then, sorry, freelancing isn’t for you. Period!
If there is any professional who’s the most time conscious, it is a freelancer. It is the career to whom the term “time is money” comes naturally.
So it can be hard to keep up with turning in a project on time if you aren’t organized and intentional with your time.
3. Loneliness and boredom
If you aren’t used to staying by yourself for a long period of time, freelancing can be tough. Because you will be working from home alone on your laptop (since you’d want to avoid any distractions), you’d sometimes battle loneliness and boredom.
This is one of the challenges you’d face as a freelancer in Canada or anywhere else.
4. Moments of drought
In freelancing, there is something called a “moment of drought.” This is the period in your freelancing career where you might have no clients and no project to work on. And when you win no deal, how do you make money?
Everyone, except very few, in their freelancing career must have experienced this. In short, this is the wisdom behind the evergreen advice: you shouldn’t stick to just one client as a freelancer. Because anything can happen, and when that single client is gone, getting another one might be like climbing Mount Everest.
5. Taxes
As lucrative as freelancing is in Canada, the rate of tax levied on your income calls for concern. For instance, a freelancer or any self-employed person must pay a 15.3% tax when you have earned more than $5k.
This can be a challenge as a freelancer because your income is not fixed. For someone that earns per project or hour, the tax rate is a big bite on his earnings.
With the challenges listed and discussed, let’s now treat the main point in this article – how to work as a freelancer in Canada.
How to Work as a Freelancer in Canada
1. Market availability
To run a successful freelance business in Canada, the first step you want to take is to find out if there’s a market for your skills or services.
Find out which is the most in-demand skill with a sustainable income. This very step would give you a hint about the potential market for your freelancing career.
2. Create a portfolio
The next thing you want to do after finding out the market most suitable for your skills is to create a portfolio around them.
You create a website where potential clients can access all your work. You can have them displayed on your social media profile via a link.
Whichever way you’ve chosen, your portfolio is your passport to getting hired by a client who needs your services.
3. Register your freelancing business
Running a freelance business in Canada means you’re categorized as self-employed. This means that you have to register your business.
You must obtain a GST/HST registration number as a freelancer. Alternatively, you can register your freelancing business with the government. The essence of all these registrations is to allow you to enjoy lesser tax and access to micro-loans and other funding opportunities.
4. Make noise about your business
Who will do it for you if you don’t blow your trumpet? You have to show up regularly online to get clients who need your services.
By consistently posting on social media, sharing your portfolio and engaging your followers, you’d attract clients willing to pay for your services.
Another way to achieve this is by writing guest posts on authoritative blogs related to your line of work.
5. Network with other freelancers
One of the ways to establish your freelancing business and set it up for success is to network with fellow freelancers. When you mingle and partner with like minds, you grow faster.
Attend conferences, seminars and workshops for freelancers and reach out to other freelancers. They might help you get ahead by rubbing minds together to take your freelancing business to the next level.
6. Register on freelancing platforms
To work as a freelancer in Canada, you should register on freelancing platforms like Workhoppers, Upwork and Fiverr. On these platforms, you’ll send proposals, and if a potential client finds your proposal attractive and convincing enough, you’re interviewed and then get hired.
Some of these platforms are automated, like Fiverr, meaning you optimize your services and display them for sale on the platform. Then a client automatically reaches out to you or just orders your gig. When you deliver it, you get paid.
7. Cold pitching
Sending unsolicited emails or direct messages is another way to work as a freelancer in Canada. In fact, this method has been recommended by freelancing experts to anyone who wants to learn how to work as a freelancer in Canada.
Here’s how to go about it. You have to search for and gather emails of potential clients from their websites and send them individual emails proposing how you can use your skill to help them solve a problem in their businesses. You can also do this on LinkedIn by sending potential clients direct messages. You can close plenty of deals using this method.
8. Send an invoice
After completing your project, deliver it and send the client an invoice with which you’d be paid.
To create an invoice, you can use Quickbooks or Hubstaff.
9. Communicate regularly
This is one area in which many freelancers, especially the newbies, goof. In the course of working on a client’s project, try not to keep the client in the loop regarding the progress. If you’ve started, let them know. Once in a while, while on the job, communicate and give them progress reports. In the same way, if there is a need for an extension of the deadline, make sure you let the client know about it. This would save you a lot of trouble in your freelancing journey.
10. Get feedback and reviews
Suppose you’ve done a great job or gone the extra mile to complete a client’s job. Instead, politely ask them to give you feedback or review their experience working with you.
Getting reviews from clients you’ve worked with will give you credibility and attract more clients. In short, reviews are a prominent criterion for getting hired on most freelancing platforms.
Now that you know how to work as a freelancer in Canada, the difference between freelancing and contracting is next.
The Difference Between Freelancing and Contracting
If you’re trying to learn how to work as a freelancer in Canada for the first time, you may be wondering what the difference is between being a freelancer and working on a contract basis.
Well, the difference is clear. A freelancer can work with multiple clients at a time, while a contractor works for one client. In terms of project duration, a freelancer works on shorter jobs than a contractor who is more involved in a usually longer project.
How to File Taxes in Canada As a Freelancer
Here’s how to file your tax income if you work as a freelancer in Canada.
Because you’re a freelancer working in Canada, you have to declare your earnings as business income. To do that, you have to fill out the T2125 form. But the T1 tax is what you’d file for if only you own your freelancing business.
Best Freelance Jobs in Canada
If you want to know how to work as a freelancer in Canada, you also definitely want to know the available freelance jobs in the country.
Here’s a list of the 20 hottest freelance jobs in Canada.
- Freelance fiction writer
- Freelance social media manager
- Freelance interpreter
- Freelance frontend developer
- SEO content writer
- Email campaign writer
- Publications outreach specialist
- Copy editor
- Influencer marketing specialist
- Marketing coordinator
- Copywriter
- Freelance web Designer
- Editorial services manager
- Production Assistant
- Freelance ecommerce designer
- Livestream host
- Online data analyst
- Transcriber
- Telemarketing representative
- Freelance mobile app designer
Best Freelancing Websites in Canada
You can explore many freelancing websites if you’re looking for how to work as a freelancer in Canada.
Here’s a list of the best 20 websites to get freelancing jobs in Canada.
- Workhoppers
- Flexijobs
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Freelancer.ca
- Indeed
- Guru
- 99D3signs
- Codeable
- DesignCrowd
- Freeup
- Dribble
- Behance
- Weworkremotely
- Peopleperhour
- Toptal
- DesignHill
- Truelancer
- Ziprecruiter
Freelancer Salary in Canada
Do you want to know how much a freelancer working in Canada earns? Here’s it.
To know a freelancer’s salary in Canada, we’d have to do it per hour. A freelancer’s salary per hour ranges from $21 to $25.
Best Part-time Jobs in Canada for International Students
The best job an International student in Canada can do should be one that gives him or her flexibility in time and freedom.
Based on this, these are the jobs an International student in Canada can do part-time.
- Freelancing
- Chauffeur/driver
- Tutor
- Teaching Assistant
- Chef
- Babysitter
- Bar Tender
- Salesperson
- Dog walker
- Office Assistant
Marketing and Networking Tips for Freelancers in Canada
If there is anything a freelancer shouldn’t joke with, it is marketing and networking. Your job offer as a freelancer hinges on how well-organized and effective your marketing and networking strategies are.
To leverage the power of marketing and networking for a successful freelancing career, you should:
- Join a community of freelancers online and offline
- Be active on online forums by posting relevant comments
- Use social media consistently by engaging with other people’s posts and by posting relevant content
- Attend freelancing events
- Help other freelancers in their moment of struggles
- Appreciate and commend people who have helped you openly
Managing Work-life Balance as a Freelancer
The best way to maintain work-life balance as a freelancer is to:
- Be disciplined and committed to meeting deadlines
- Stay focused, so you can get things done efficiently
- Work when it’s work time and play when it’s time to play
- Avoid taking jobs you won’t or can’t do
- Not joke with your physical and mental health
10 Keys to Succeed as a Freelancer
If you’re kerning how to work as a freelancer in Canada, follow these 10 key points to help you succeed.
- Hone your skills so well that they’re easily marketable
- Set your rates for either per hour or per project payment
- Create multiple channels to source for clients: Use social media and cold emailing extensively
- Have social proof: let clients find you online
- Build relevant portfolio
- Communicate with clients professionally
- Ask for feedback/reviews
Wrapping Up
The first question crossing your mind if you’re just learning how to work as a freelancer in Canada is probably, is freelancing in Canada right for you? Having read this detailed guide, you sure must have arrived at the right answer. Or, haven’t you?
