This is for freelancers

Hi there. I've been off the blogosphere for a couple of weeks. I just changed my service provider so at least my internet service is more stable. There are so many things to talk about. So much has happened in the last one week. Let's see...where do I start?

Today, we'll take a look at freelancing. Freelancers are people who offer their services to employers or clients without having a long term commitment. Most times they charge by the hour, day or per job.
Once in a while, someone decides to take the plunge and leave the security of a regular job for a career as a freelancer. Freelancing is gradually becoming a popular option these days. Granted, it has its ups and downs, but it is a brave step and to be successful, one needs all the advice and goodwill you can get.

There are some good sites which offer job opportunities to freelancers, and also enable job providers to list job opportunities. Some of these sites are:

getafreelancer.com
RentACoder - Here you can bid on coding jobs and get paid when you fulfill the job requirements.
iFreelance - This is another site with many earning opportunities for programmers, web designers and graphic artists.
Elance - A very popular site, elance has a wide range of job offerings like writing, web development, graphics, etc.

Working on your own terms, while making some good money is every freelancer's dream. However, it can also be a frustrating experience. There are several factors which you should consider before going into freelancing. Here are some simple tips:

Pick the right time to make your move into freelancing (i.e. dont just quit your job in a hurry)
Establish a niche for yourself
Don't start a business immediately, study the whole process well
Set up a good working environment. Your working space should be comfortable, even if though you work from home
Get a good accountant/accounting system
Draw up a pricing scheme so that you won't be underpaid
Improve your knowledge or skills (It's highly competitive out there)
Get familiar with the legal issues in your area of business as a freelance

More great freelancing resources can be found here:
Freelance Switch
20 Resources for freelancers
Freelancers' Toolbox

I hope this came in useful.