Freelancing as a Career Choice for Women in Bangladesh
Freelancing in Bangladesh has opened the doors of opportunities for women. The work women do have often been home oriented, like giving birth to children and raising them, looking after domestic chores, cooking and cleaning household things and so on. But the scenario has largely changed for quite some time. Women are now joining the workforce to earn money and gain economic freedom. Out of a long list of works, women are now opting for freelancing, which is fast gaining popularity.
Afreen Alam is one such woman. She is a B.Sc. engineer having graduated from BUET, Dhaka. She worked for a renowned construction company for three years. But she began to feel the stress of her professional work.
She realized that by being a working woman, she was not giving enough time to her family and children, let alone her husband. Soon she began to question herself if she was doing justice to her family. She felt that if she continued in the present job, her children might suffer which would be catastrophic and irreversible. She was in a dilemma whether to continue her job or chuck it up.
While she was working as en engineer in the construction company, she faced a number of problems. She discovered it almost everyday that her colleagues had the tendency to create problems for her for no good cause. Moreover she was deprived of promotions and financial benefits without any valid reason.
Finally a good fortune smiled upon her when she shared her problem with one of her close friends. 
What the latter suggested did a miracle for her. From her she heard about Coders Trust which has been working for women empowerment since its inception in Bangladesh. She also learnt that if she got skills on freelancing she would work and earn by being at home with children around her.
So she, without any delay, discussed her problem with Coders Trust and enrolled herself in the training program under them. She also began to study and learn what freelancing is all about. Soon she left her job without bothering herself with ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. Now, she is a freelancer of high demand.
Freelancing is not at all a complicated matter as many think in Bangladesh. There are so many misconceptions regarding Freelancing and often many people like you and me are often misguided with wrong information. For this reason I would recommend you to do a course online or offline to better understand the market and your skill set. I hope this article will shed light on Freelancing in general and clear many of your doubts.
Working from Home
Women and their life revolve about homes and hearths. Even by remaining long within the four walls of the house, women can feel free if they do freelancing at home.
Then why not choose freelancing?
You will often hear stories of working mothers who struggle to spend quality time with their families because they have to manage both home and work simultaneously. For them freelancing is the best way to look after both family and career at the same time. The reason is that they are working from home at flexible work hours.
Flexible Work Hours
Yes, you have heard me right. The work hours are in your hands. Freelancing does not mean working late at night as many people think in Bangladesh. It is just you need to finish your order with a given period of time.
Surplus of Choices
Freelancing offers you plenty of choices. On it, you can work on various subjects or categories starting from content writing to web and graphic designing. Besides proofreading, editing, software development, data entry and even writing on software development can be the subjects of a freelancer.
In Fiverr, for example, you can pick any of the options from the list given below.
- Graphics and Design
- Digital Marketing
- Writing and Translation
- Video and Animation
- Music and Audio
- Programming and Tech
- Business
- Lifestyle
and many more.
Fiverr is constantly working to add new choices for its sellers. So if any Bangladeshi tells you Freelancing means only Graphic Design, ask them to think about it again.
Sellers Preference gets Priority
Freelancing actually consists of two parties-on the one hand there are clients and on the other hand there are freelancers. The latter sell their skills to get the work done as asked by the clients.
First of all a client places a job to the freelancer and the latter has the discretion to accept the job or reject it depending on his suitability. Also, it is the freelancer who decides what time he can get the job done for his client and dispatch it.
More importantly the remuneration of the job is settled before the offer is confirmed by the freelancer. When the job is completed, the client will make the payment which has been agreed to.
You can get five star review and tips for your work. You are not only your own boss but also you can altogether escape the corporate culture. You have the power to make decisions. In Freelancing only your skill matters.
For example, you are working as a Digital Marketer as a beginner you can create social media pages for your clients according to their requirements. These small tasks will build trust with your clients. Gradually you can move to advanced level where you have to design an action plan. I believe you have understood how the works are divided into different levels to encourage participation of both parties involved.
Options for Skill Development
Since the job of a freelancer is associated with foreign clients, he must have a fair knowledge of English. Next comes knowledge about the marketplace. You need to know you will work under an organized process.
First of all the clients checks a marketplace where they look for bids offered by the freelancers. The clients examine the bids and then they pick up which freelancers will suit their requirements best. They then offer him or her the job.
To be a successful freelancer, you have to possess certain qualities. Of them the most important is the making of your profile. It means who you are, what your qualification is and what you are capable of.
You have to make your profile catchy and strong so that the clients may choose you for their jobs. As the gigs in your profile are created according to your qualifications you will get a solid portfolio of your work. It brings recognition and confidence for your work.
Getting Financial Independence
Freelancing is almost risk-free. The greatest plus point for women in becoming freelancers is that they can earn money by themselves and for themselves. They can support their families and become financially independent.
Luckily, marketplaces for freelancers in Bangladesh is expanding. For freelancers who are new Fiverr is the first choice. Alternative marketplaces are Upwork.com, Freelancer.com and Elance.com.
On Fiverr for example a gig is sold every four second. The minimum price a buyer will pay you for any gig starting at $5 and goes up to $10000. Fiverr has also got its own community of freelancers who are active in the Fiverr Forum. Blogs and podcasts and even online courses are also offered all the time.
Freelancing and freedom are just synonymous for women in Bangladesh. By being a successful freelancer, a woman will ensure sound economic position for herself as well as guarantee her position as a strong homemaker.
