Freelance jobs in hair and beauty have been around for a while now. Here are a few tips to help you decide on the direction for your freelance career.

Freelancing in the hair and beauty industry is considered commonplace. To help you decide on the right direction for your freelance career, we have found an interesting read by HJi. The research suggests that the proportion of self-employed workers has gone up from 48% in 2016 to 57% in 2017. Freelance jobs are now widely available from mobile beauty therapists to hair stylists who visit households. This trend is growing in popularity for a variety of different reasons. Here are more thoughts on the topic: freelancer.

FREELANCE TODAY

People often ask themselves, is self-employment the right choice? It's difficult to speak for everyone, however, there are key factors that could influence your decision. Generally speaking, freelance jobs in the hair and beauty sector vary widely. Professionals enjoy the flexibility of working for themselves. It is widely accepted that freelancers choose their own hours. This benefits the client too, allowing a schedule to be created that works for everyone. If this fits into your routine, then freelancing may just be for you.

Have you felt like a career change? Some talented freelancers sometimes feel uninspired in their regular job and the opportunities that are presented to them. Freelancing in hair and beauty opens up many opportunities regarding your workload and job roles. Freelancers tend to strive to go out on their own, due to the trending nature of the job. A great example of this is a makeup artist working from home or applying their skills in a business environment that does not require them to be office-bound. Due to the flexible nature of freelancing, this style of work allows you to showcase your skills in many different settings.

When freelancing you can decide on the most appropriate jobs that suit your skillset and interests.  Your timescale is chosen by you, not forgetting you are your own boss. There are many opportunities on the horizon and when collaborating with likeminded freelancers you pick up additional skills easily.

Here are a few pros and cons of freelancing.

Pros:

• The advantages of freelancing are vast, hence there being so many freelance hair and beauty professionals out there! Pick your line of work and go for it!
• Do you value flexible working times? Freelancing in the hair and beauty industry affords you the time to be flexible. In addition, you have the freedom to achieve goals your way, the route of a very appealing freelance career.
• In a regular job you will be set on a path for progression, this is likewise for a freelancer. However, you get to determine the ladder you climb, having complete control over your future progression and what you want your career to look like.
• Unexpected opportunities may arise from freelance jobs. These opportunities are in the form of working for big names in the industry, in particular, editorial makeup artistry and hairdressing. If you are in a regular job, these opportunities may not come your way and your career progression may be limited. If you complete a thorough job, repeat business will be made readily available to you creating brighter career prospects leading onto full-time freelance projects.

Cons:

• The cons of freelancing in the hair and beauty industry are similar to those of being self-employed in any establishment. There will be no benefits that come when working in a job, no holiday pay and no guaranteed monthly salary. If you fall ill, you will have to rely on SSP (statutory sick pay) although this is typical in any form of employment.
• The consistency of work may also be an issue. Although you learn to master your workload and regularity, planning for quiet times becomes second nature. As a freelancer looking for freelance jobs, your administrative work will be more relative, for example, booking appointments, marketing, tax returns, insurance and dealing with any cancellations. This means that you might have to spend long hours on administrative tasks to keep your career in order compared to a regular job.

Going mobile is the best way to get out there and commit to a more flexible work-life balance. As a freelancer, you want to be open to travel as this will allow people to be more accepting of your fees. If you are a hairdresser or barber, make sure you have all the tools and a comfortable set up when freelancing for clients. The better prepared you are, the less work the client has to do equating to better ratings and reviews. It doesn’t stop there, you can also offer other specialist services such as bridal hair and beauty treatments.

As a freelancer, a popular route to take is working with beauty therapy or nail treatments. Visit clients in their homes and form regular appointments or cater for special occasions such as weddings. Mobile beauty therapists offer many treatments, which can lead to complementary health therapies.

Word of mouth recommendations is a great place to start. Hair and beauty is an industry that is often seen as informal. Therefore, personal connections mean a lot. Develop your networking career and use our site, Skillbox, to create a free listing, achieving maximum exposure to the freelance marketplace. Once you have loaded a profile, you can share it on social media for more exposure. Building up a credible social media presence will ensure people trust you more once ratings and reviews are seen by potential clients. Firstly, complete a job and ask your client to kindly add a recommendation to your page utilising both social media and Skillbox.

Are you thinking of starting up as a hair and beauty freelancer? Join Skillbox here and discover the benefits of using a freelance marketplace. Select hair and beauty as your main category and simply add your specialist skills to get started!