Freelancing career in Bangladesh is a new normal idea that is shaping the young generation with the wave of digital Bangladesh. As this is not the career people perceive, you must take care of the aspects of this career. There are more than 6,50, 000 freelancers in Bangladesh, and among them around 5,00,000 are successful freelancers with a regular source of income in freelancing.
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Freelancing career in Bangladesh
Freelancing in Bangladesh is providing professional services to clients from all over the world from your home office, rather than working in a traditional office environment. Freelancers in Bangladesh can work in a variety of fields including web design, graphic design, content writing, social media management, and more.
History and Present Scenario
The first freelancing and outsourcing concept comes after the internet invention because nobody does the work without an internet connection. But, the popularity of freelancing isn’t too ancient.
When the business owners found they could do the work from outsourcing at a very cheap rate, they started seeking experienced freelancers for their work. And the freelancers find they can enjoy freedom, choose their clients, flexible working time instead of a fixed working time, and have no boss even if they can earn much better than a 9-5 job. So it will be a win-win situation for both the outsourcers and professional freelancers.
In 1998 the first official freelance marketplace, “Guru,” started their activities to collaborate between outsourcers and freelancers. After that, a lot of marketplaces had come to this field. For example, upwork.com, Elance.com, Freelancer.com, etc. Reports said 6,50,000 Bangladeshi freelancers are opening their gigs to the freelance marketplaces, and from them, approximately 5,00,000 active Bangladeshi freelancers are regularly working.
A Dhaka Tribune Report citing The ICT Division of Bangladesh Said that these 5,00,000 active freelancers earn more than 100 million dollars in a year. What a big achievement it is! But, this achievement can be bigger if they don’t have to face this payment receiving problem.
class=”wp-block-heading”>The Pros of Freelancing in Bangladesh
One of the main advantages of freelancing in Bangladesh is the flexibility it provides. Freelancers can choose their own clients, set their own schedules, and work from anywhere they want. Freelancing also provides the opportunity to earn a higher income compared to traditional jobs, as many clients are willing to pay top dollar for quality work.
The Cons of Freelancing in Bangladesh
One of the biggest challenges of freelancing in Bangladesh is finding clients. It can be difficult to build a reputation and attract clients in the beginning. Additionally, freelancers in Bangladesh need to have good communication skills and be proficient in English, as most clients are from Western countries.
How to Start Freelancing in Bangladesh
To start freelancing in Bangladesh, you need to have a skill that is in demand. This can be anything from graphic design to content writing to web development. Once you have identified your skill, you can create a portfolio of your work and start searching for clients. Freelancing platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr are great places to start.
Tips for Freelancing Success in Bangladesh
Freelancing has become an increasingly popular career option in Bangladesh over the past decade, providing a flexible and rewarding way for individuals to work on their own terms. Here are some steps to becoming a successful freelancer in Bangladesh:
To be successful as a freelancer in Bangladesh, you need to be disciplined, motivated, and dedicated to your work. You also need to continuously improve your skills and stay up-to-date with the latest trends in your field. Building a strong network of clients and peers can also help you succeed as a freelancer in Bangladesh.
- Choose a Skill or Service: First, you need to identify the skill or service that you can provide as a freelancer. Some popular services in Bangladesh include web development, graphic design, writing, translation, virtual assistance, and digital marketing.
- Build a Portfolio: Once you’ve identified your skill, create a portfolio to showcase your work. This can include samples of your past projects, testimonials from satisfied clients, and a list of your services.
- Set Your Rates: Before you start looking for clients, determine your rates. Research the average rates for your service in Bangladesh and set your prices accordingly.
- Find Clients: There are various online platforms where you can find clients such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and PeoplePerHour. You can also reach out to local businesses and offer your services to them.
- Build Your Reputation: Once you start working with clients, ensure that you deliver high-quality work on time. This will help build your reputation and lead to more referrals and repeat business.
- Expand Your Network: Attend networking events, join online communities, and connect with other freelancers to expand your network and gain new business opportunities.
- Manage Your Finances: Keep track of your income and expenses and pay your taxes on time. Use tools like QuickBooks or Xero to manage your finances.
Freelancing in Bangladesh can be a rewarding career option if you have the right skills, dedication, and perseverance. With the right strategy and a bit of hard work, you can establish yourself as a successful freelancer in Bangladesh.
What is The Government Initiative For Bangladeshi Freelancers?
As freelancing helps the government solve the unemployment problem and earn foreign currency, the government always focuses on the freelancers’ well-being. The ICT minister Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, has given the utmost priority to this sector.
He organized many online training institutes to teach freelancing to educated youth. From those institutes under many programs, more than 40,000 youths had learned freelancing according to their passionate sectors, including graphic designing, web designing, digital marketing, etc.
The program focuses on the HSC or equivalent passed youths because they are our country’s primary concern. If our country can make them a skilled population, they can be our country’s blessings. Otherwise, they will be cursed and involved with much unethical and crime. Even 65% of our population out of 163 million is under 25 years old. So they are the prime concern for our country and the challenge to keep them mainstream in life.
The government takes the target to earn 5 billion dollars from exporting this digital labor within 2025. They will create at least 10 million job positions to fulfill this target within the next five years.
They train to freelance in three flourishing sectors. They will train 11000 youths for graphic design, 14000 youths for web design, and the rest will be for digital marketing.
Freelancer’s ID Card, and Why Is It Needed?
Though freelancing is the most convenient profession, more than 90% of people in our country don’t know about freelancing. As a result, online worrier freelancers don’t get their deserved respect in society.
No matter how much they earn, most people think they are unemployed, so nobody wants to rent a home. They don’t get any loans from financial organizations, even banks, and the most crisis is they don’t get a spouse if they want to marry.
One word description is they face an identity crisis. The government realized this issue, and they introduced freelancers’ ID cards last year.
What is a freelancer’s ID card?
In simple words, if anybody works in an organization, he/she will get an ID card as proof that he/she is working in that particular organization. Similarly, a freelancer ID card is a card that proves the freelancer’s working and earning identity.
Who Provides The Freelancer’s ID Card?
The prime minister of the Bangladesh government announced this ID card program to solve freelancers’ identity crisis. The ICT ministry has given the charge to provide the registered and non-registered freelancers with their ID cards. The freelancer’s ID card is given virtually, which means a freelancer gets the card like a computer scanned copy.
Who Gets The Freelancers’ ID Cards?
Everybody can get this ID card if they earn at least 1000 dollars within the last 12 months from online work or freelancing. It takes almost one week to deliver the card to the applicants. And for applying for a freelancer ID card, an applicant has to pay 1500 TK as application money.
What Are The Benefits Of A Freelancer’s ID Card?
I have discussed above the problems the freelancer’s ID card can solve. For example, as a freelancer:
● You can rent a house by showing this card as your income source.
● It can help you to get loans if you need them from a financial organization. When you show this card, they can understand your income source and rely on you not to cheat. Even they can understand your income isn’t unethical.
● You can open a bank account to receive International payments.
● When you want to marry and face a professional identity crisis, you can show this card to your spouse’s family to prove your income source and that you can earn as much to maintain a family.
● When you want to admit your child to any famous educational institution, they want to show your income statement to rely on you to spend as much cost as their institution demands. That time you can show this ID card to them as your professional sustainability.
So a freelancer ID card is not only simply a card. It can help you in many aspects and make your life easier and simpler.
Bangladesh’s Legal And Tax Aspects Of Freelancers
When the government proposed giving ID cards to freelancers, many freelancers think it is a trap for taking tax from them. But, I like to tell you great news, there is no government’s intention to take any tax from the freelancers.
Bangladesh National Board of Revenue published a book named ‘Income Tax At a Glance’.
The 26th page of this book describes article 17 (II) (k) that any kinds of ‘Income from Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES)’ or income from ‘Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN)’ and income from freelancing is tax-free until 30 June 2024. So do not panic. You don’t have to pay any tax for this time being.
Some drawbacks for freelancers in Bangladesh
Some of the most common problems faced by freelancers in Bangladesh are:
- Frequent power cuts
- Lack of quality internet access
- Lack of human capital development
- Insufficient broadband connections
- Problems in receiving foreign currency
- Lack of freelancing skills
- Broadband prices(Recently govt. has removed this problem by fixing prices nationwide)
Freelancing career in Bangladesh FAQs
How to Bid in Freelancing Job Marketplaces?
Participation in freelancing platforms varies based on the marketplaces and freelancing sites. Every platform has specific instructions to bid.
Do female freelancers have the same opportunities as men?
Opportunities for women freelancers are no less than those of men. Bangladeshi women earn thousands of dollars from foreign clients.
Do you honor freelancers?
There are still some cases where freelancers are not evaluated properly. However, time is changing radically after the corona outbreak when work from home comes to the scene.
How You Can Start Freelancing In Bangladesh as a Student?
It is the most comfortable time to start freelancing as a student. You have hardly any burden and can try as a part-time freelance worker.
Do you wanna take freelancing as a profession or passion?
Here comes a very crucial point for freelancers. You are sure to succeed if you take freelancing both as a profession and passion. If you take anyone, success rate pay declines.
How will you be successful in the freelancing business?
Lots of business opportunities have emerged in
Should you take freelancing training in Bangladesh?
It is not mandatory to take any training course for freelancing but a proper mentor may make your learning process specific in less time. However, avoid Freelance Gurus who can not earn themselves from freelance jobs. If you have excellent communication skills especially in the English language, free resources will be enough to master the arts of freelance career for Bangladeshi people.
Will freelancing be your part-time or full-time job?
It depends on your priority, skills, necessity, and way of lifestyle. There are both part-time and full-time freelancers providing outsourcing services.
What work to Do?
Search engine optimization, social media marketing, content writing, marketing support services, graphics design, search engine marketing, online data entry jobs, academic writing, coding for software development, Facebook Marketing, Twitter Marketing, Clipping Path are some examples you can do as professional freelancers. There are uncountable freelancing job categories for experienced freelancers.
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