Few weeks ago, I had written about how Paypal has been helping freelancers like us.
After that article, I had received queries on PayPal’s suite of services and what kind of features I have been using.
But before I delve into that, let me share what freelancing is and what are some of the typical challenges. And how Paypal helps in overcoming them.
Who are Freelancers? An Indian context
When I started, freelancing as we see today, hardly existed. People would study hard and get a job in government or private/listed companies.
But with the advent of the internet and IT jobs, we saw people especially like us taking up gigs of creating websites, logos, etc. early on.
The next wave I could say was writing content for websites and in about 2010, we saw the advent of freelancing, made more popular by social media.
Freelancing, as we know it today, has turned mainstream. If statistics are to be believed, we have over 15 million freelancers in India today and nearly 4 in 5 get international projects. Also, nearly 49 % get projects through word of mouth or freelancer platforms.
Challenges and How Paypal helps?
Ask any freelancer about their biggest challenge, and one of them would be billing and payments. Even today, nearly 61% of freelancers face issues with payments.
In my experience though, Paypal was one of the best choices I ever made as a freelancer and today nearly 74% of freelancers have a PayPal account.
The biggest help after that was that I could have my own invoices designed on the platform and send them directly from there.
The best part of this service is, all the invoices and payments are under Paypal Seller Protection Policy.
As freelancers, we have often faced customers who raise false charges citing products not received or services not delivered. The Seller Protection Policy helps a lot in such cases.
It helps you dispute the claims and holds the party responsible in case payments are not carried out. A reasonable justification along with proof of work – easily helps to sort these issues at the freelancer’s end.
This kind of support pushes freelancers to seek more work and empowers them to earn more through more business opportunities.
Another challenge is receiving payments. For freelancers like us, who work with folks across multiple countries, handling payments in different currencies is quite challenging.
That’s where Paypal helps quite well. It gives them flexibility in accepting payments from international clients.
The option of creating your own Paypal.Me link makes it one of the easiest ways to accept payments. Share the link with your client and you’re done.
It help’s quite a lot when you are doing business on messenger or Skype. For one of the services, I am also incorporating the link in my messenger bot. As easy as, ask for service, pay me via the link and voila! Money’s in the account.
Having my PayPal.Me link has also given my services a unique identity and one that is synonymous with my clients and community alike.
The another and the most important feature that is helpful when you’re a freelancer or even bootstrapped is the ability to transfer money to your account DAILY with no MINIMUM amount. This feature is quite helpful as you have access to your money at the touch of a button.
As one can see, PayPal assists freelancers in earning more through global opportunities and its tie-ups with freelancer networks, eventually increasing the size of their digital footprint in the world. This success catapults into increasing body of work and provides for more growth for the freelancers. There is also more security and more convenience, which further increases a freelancer’s confidence when going global. For PayPal, it is always about more, about going the extra mile.
In the #EarnMoreWithPayPal campaign, freelancers who sign-up with PayPal, stand to make up to Rs. 1500 on the earning they accept, using PayPal.
What are you waiting for?? If you still do not have a Paypal account, it’s time that you make one!
