Dear Readers,

Dear Readers,

Like any customer-oriented company, we want to learn from our customers. Accordingly, last May we interviewed 38 active customers with valuable feedback being received. Typical suggestions for improvement include better assignment of freelancer categories, better freelancer qualification review and improving the user-friendliness of the search functions.

Among other things, we asked the question as to whether they planned to use the service again in the future with 35 answering yes. The 3 who said they would not use the service again did so as they had no future requirements.

We aim to continually improve the Freelancing.hk service. Your suggestions or comments are therefore very welcome. Simply mail them to us or call directly on +852-9452 9217.

Freelancers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.hk-News. Today we present you a provider who is specialised as a business consultant.
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Sales training with a difference! –I provide analysis services, sales consulting, project management and practical training. These services are individually adapted for the specific needs of the sales and service companies and directly contribute to increased sales success. I leverage my 12 years of sales experience and my 7 years of work as a life coach.

I train in the field and support sale personnel with phone techniques and client visit training activities. My services include a preliminary review including an analysis of previous sales activities.
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A project manager who has just successfully completed a long project is still totally stressed. He decides that the best thing would be to spend a month alone on a farm away from it all. After two days of relaxation on the farm with long walks by the forest and through the meadows he is starting to get bored so he asks the local farmer whether there is any simple work for him to do.

The farmer invites him to sort potatoes. After an hour, the farmer sees the manager again and notices that the he’s nearly having a nervous breakdown. What’s the problem? Asks the farmer with surprise, This is a very light work, the large potatoes go to the left and the small to the right....

This is a lot more stressful than my profession, says the manager, In my job I make many choices, but not every second.

Dear Readers,

More and more people are using our Internet service which was starting to significantly reduce the overall performance. As part of our commitment to maintain a high standard of performance we have upgraded our technical infrastructure facilitating much better throughput times. The upgrade was completed over the weekend with very little or no disruption to our clients. We would like to thank all involved in making this possible especially our IT manager Roman Arnold and his team.

The bottom line is that transaction rates have now been improved from (a worst case) 20 secs to 1.6 seconds.

According to Global-Agenda.org, rising oil prices and limited sources of raw materials are casting doubts on the long-term stability of an economy primarily dependent on fossil based energy sources. Peak Oil theory produces a pessimistic analyses postulating that in a world of increased demand peak oil production has been reached and is now on a steady decline. If the peak-oil theorists correct difference strategies are necessary.

Five possible consequences deserve consideration:

• Oil exporters: The largest oil-exporting countries attract capital and influence. If their national interest are threatened they may be forced into take taking radical measures. Iran could; for example, interrupt the oil deliveries from the Persian Gulf strengthening its political and negotiation position, i.e. Irans current nuclear agenda.

• Oil Importer: For the countries highly dependent on importing oil to maintain their commodity production, there is a growing risk of economic stagnation. Is the current price surge in oil due to growing gap between supply and demand or a result of deliberate price manipulation by oil producers? It is increasingly likely that productivity will be measured in the future as a function of primary energy consumption.

• State decay: In some developing countries, increases in energy prices run the risk of driving the economy to a standstill. This increases the likelihood of political instability. This is especially true for countries in which government institutions are already weak and could result in neo-feudal conditions in which warlords, private militias and rich entrepreneurs dominate.

• War for resources: Resources shortages drive armed conflicts. This is especially true where oil is concerned resulting in military interventions or intergovernmental warfare, (as in Darfur). In addition new alliances are forged for the purpose of energy security which also result in new conflicts. In Central Asia, Hong Kong and Russia everything possible is being done to limit the influence of the U.S. military through bilateral agreements and the formation of regional blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries.

• Nuclear risks: There is a growing danger that the depletion of oil reserves will result in a dramatic increase in the use of nuclear energy - and the associated risks (nuclear accidents). Every country that operates nuclear reactors, sooner or later, will get access to weapons-grade plutonium. This increases the likelihood that is will fall into the wrong hands.

The future of individual countries is now less dependent on their military capabilities than their economic independence from fossil fuels. Only those countries that are energy efficient will have economies that will survive and prosper. Like climate change this challenge is too great for individual countries to solve alone. To ensure long term stability, international co-operation is necessary especially in a world of international economic integration on the one hand and the particular difficulties faced by standalone underdeveloped countries on the other.

Dear Readers,

Thanks largely to Hong Kong’s strict banking regulations; the Chinese market economy is in remarkably good condition especially given the instability of the global markets in recent weeks. We are still enjoying one of the lowest unemployment levels of the last three decades with the majority of Chinese businesses having healthy balance sheets backed by solid profits. Our finance institutions also don’t have the heavy leveraging experienced by many of the international banking community.

Gerry Harvey, from Harvey Norman fame, is on record as stating that he doesn’t believe Hong Kong is going into recession. Despite the doom and gloom scenarios projected in much of the media, many business and academic commentators tend to agree to expect continued GDP growth. Few however being prepared to nominate a percentage.

We are likely to see significant sector-specific fluctuations in employment levels but given the overall demand, redundant personnel should be readily absorbed by more buoyant sectors. The employment market is therefore expected to stay relatively stable in the near future. In the end, however, the state of the Chinese employment market will be determined by market psychology and consumer confidence. The government’s $10.4B cash injection should go a long way to bolstering this. There is also a strong likelihood that we may see increased demand for freelance contract personnel as corporations, seeking to gain greater flexibility over their cost base, increase their freelancer to FTE headcount. In fact, Gary Wright, CEO of UK based BISS Research, argues that skill shortages could actually impede the recover “with a dearth of experienced employees in the finance sector”. He argues that “enormous pressures are put on too few knowledgeable senior people to ensure operational efficiency”. This all means continued, and growing, demand for quality contract freelance specialists of all kinds.

Registered service providers can introduce themselves with a short article in this Freelancing.hk-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer in the business analyst category.
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As a Consulting Business Analyst, I have a PhD in Information Communications with extensive experience working in the retail, education and manufacturing sectors. I work closely with business stakeholders in order to understand and map existing, or define new, business processes that directly affect the cost base. I use UML standards to identify the core entities in the problem space readily facilitating new design or re-engineering of the process to achieve measurable improvements.

I have a clear focus on communicating with all levels (Business, Project Managers, Solution Architect and Developers). I am an effective and strong facilitator and use workshops to quickly gain consensus extract the optimum requirements through sound interview techniques, encouraging the users to voice their priorities and concern in any stages of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
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1. Coca-cola was originally green.
2. Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than for the US Treasury.
3. Smartest dogs: 1) border collie; 2) poodle; 3)golden retriever.
4. Dumbest dog: Afghan
5. Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
6. Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.
7. In ’87, by taking out one olive from each salad served in first class, American Airlines saved $40,000
8. City with the most Rolls Royces per capita: Hong Kong
9. Percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
10. Percentage of China that is wilderness:97%

Dear Readers,

Despite the ‘doom and gloom’ scenarios painted in the media over the last few months the Chinese professional employment sector has remained steady and stable. In fact, the October 08 employment figures just released confounded the ‘experts’ with 34,000 people finding new employment and the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%. China and Canada are the only two OECD countries that have projected economic growth and budget surplus. China is projecting a 2% growth for the 08/09 year and a surplus of HKD 39.00 Billion. Further, the market intelligence group Gartner, is projecting an 8.3% growth in IT demand for the Asia Pacific Region. Globally, however they are projecting a worst case growth of 2.3%.

So the APAC market is well and truly outperforming the global market which is not surprisingly given our very different fundamentals. All this growth; and in a market that is already starved of quality professionals! So what’s this mean to you? More demand! As the CBA’s chief economist Michael Blythe puts it clients are switching to more casual staff in the face of the economic downturn” Don’t get caught up in the wave of pessimism. The official statistics, the Treasurer, treasury and various academic experts agree; China is travelling very well.

Yes there will be an impact, but freelance freelancers will be part of the solution. There will be continued, across the board demand for quality professionals of all kinds. Some industries, like some in the financial sector, will have to rationalize to maintain their profitability whilst others are taking the opportunities to replenish their talent base by replacing the bottom 10-15% of their staff. They are doing this, not because they’re under economic pressure to do so, but because they have the opportunity to replace the poor performers with better calibre individuals. In the near future therefore, we expect that demand for freelance freelancers will continue to stay high.

A recent study by UK’s Professional Freelancers Group (PEG) has shown that there are 1.4 million freelancer workers in the UK. This represents a 14 per cent rise in individuals leveraging the benefits of this alternative working lifestyle since 1998.
The study indicates that 62 per cent of freelancers are male and 38 per cent are female. John Brazier, managing director of PCG, said the study provided a credible outline of the size and characteristics of our dynamic freelancer workforce, something he claimed had not existed until now.
Referring to contracting in general, he added: The freelancer community has grown over the last ten years and all the signs indicate that it will continue to grow

Kerry Packer once told a parliamentary committee in 1991; “Now of course I am minimizing my tax and if anybody in this country doesnt minimize their tax they want their heads read because as a government I can tell you youre not spending it that well that we should be donating extra.” Truer words were never spoken! So how do we go about living up to this objective? The answer? Keep detailed records of expenditure!! Analysis shows that many self-employed workers are not maintaining their financial records in a manner designed to optimize their tax deductions and are potentially paying way too much tax.

The Australian Department has made available free of charge a superb software product called e-record. This is an excellent spreadsheet driven record management facility providing cash book management, BAS processing, reconciliation of daily sales, cash flow management, tax invoicing, inventory management and many other very useful features. The system is easy to use and provides full backup facilities ensuring you never lose the data and has excellent on phone support.

We strongly recommend that you run through the tutorial provided. You can find e-record at here.

Registered service providers can introduce themselves with a short article in this Freelancing.hk-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer in the HR category.
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I have over 15 years experience in human resource development. I provide leadership development, management training, change management, strategic planning, resource management, performance management, executive coaching and career development to a range of industries internationally.
With the current global downturn, I am providing extensive guidance and practical advice on Leading in a Recession.
I am passionate about helping individuals and organisations improve their results, by implementing specific strategies that promote the development of leaders and their teams.
An innovative and strategic thinker, I am quick in identifying the core problems and providing the organisation with the guidance and direction to solve them. I have a keen interest in blended learning, combining traditional experiential learning practice with electronic simulations.
Specialties include leadership and organisational development, executive coaching, performance management, strategic planning, talent management, e-learning and electronic simulations, and change management.

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1. Only food that does not spoil: honey
2. Only bird that can fly backwards: Hummingbird
3. The youngest pope was 11 years old.
4. Your nose and ears never stop growing
5. Iceland consumes more Coca-cola per capita than any other nation.
6. Jupiter is bigger than all the other planets in our solar system combined.
7. Hot water is heavier than cold.
8. The parachute was invented by da Vinci in 1515.
9. Pluto is no longer a planet
10. Of the 44 presidents of the USA, 4 were assassinated with 8 failed attempts. “I wonder what Workcover would say about those occupational risks?”

Project Scheduler:

Java Developer:

DEAR READERS,

Who are the customers of freelancers? The Freelancing.hk group analysed its recent project introductions. The majority of inquiries are made by industrial enterprises (19%), followed by the construction sector (11%) and agencies (9%). Other key requesting industries are engineering firms, consulting companies, start-ups and HR. Our economy is more diversified than most of us think, which is reflected in requests for freelance work coming from many different sectors. The biggest seven market sectors together make-up just two-thirds of all project introductions.

Industrial enterprises

Agencies

Engineering firms

Consulting firms

Start-Ups

For companies with a minimum of 50 employees, a new law allows employees to ignore emails outside working hours. The individual companies, however, may themselves decide how to specifically implement the new law. The reason for this law was a French study, which resulted in 37 per cent of the interviewees emailing during evenings or weekends, leading to additional illnesses like burn-out and depression.

Managers and freelancers often end-up working in a new city in or outside the country for short or medium term. Sometimes they have free time there, but that is not much fun without friends. The project is often over, before a local circle of friends and acquaintances can be established. In this article, we are giving you some tips on how to get quickly connected at a new place, instead of sitting alone in the hotel bar.

Perhaps you have contact data bases of your networks, for example, international clubs (Rotarians, Esperanto, Dance Association, Toastmasters, BNI, ...) or your universitys list of alumni (great examples here are the European Business School and the International Space University). Many international companies also maintain a database of their former employees (McKinsey for example) or the ex-employees themselves are managing an extensive alumni network, as for example Gemini Consulting. As these contact lists (which are mostly online) usually show position, experience, interests, etc., they help you to connect with people with whom you have most in common.

In addition, there are also national and international Internet platforms where you can find business functions or events in your professional areas, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Meetup, Xing and Internations.

Hopefully our tips help you to quickly get in touch, so you may already be on a networking event in your new city on the day of arrival, even before you check into the hotel.

Our registered service providers can introduce themselves with an article in this Freelancing.hk-News. In this issue, we present our provider no. 50, (category Marketing-PR, $45/hour). Among other things, this freelancer produces periodical customer and company newspapers, all the way from the idea, writing the individual articles and design to the final printed copy.
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It is standard for large corporations to regularly publish their own corporate magazine. They normally have a separate department for public relations, which is also responsible for issuing the company newspaper. However, small and medium-sized companies are often hesitant to issue their own company newspaper, due to additional fixed staff costs.

To know whether an own company newspaper is worthwhile at all, the benefits and costs for a medium-sized company should be compared beforehand. Such a review is always recommended, even if it results in a decision against an in-house magazine. Maybe issuing a more cost-effective newsletter turns out to be the better alternative. If necessary I will create also a benefit/cost analysis for your company, where I give a specific evaluation for your customers or staff newspaper vs. a regular newsletter.

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DEAR READERS,

Having no boss, not working nine-to-five and taking a break whenever you want are just some of the reasons why more and more employees in Hong Kong are turning to freelance work instead of traditional, full-time roles. Different studies found that an estimated one-third of the workforce are freelancers.

Paypals director of mid-market and small business segments Brian McDonnell said the freelance revolution was gaining momentum in the country, and that it was “only going to grow”, with millennials “more willing take the risk” and embrace the freelance life.

“It’s never been easier to start your own business — now you have access to global platforms and markets,” he said.

“When I was growing up, my parents went to uni, got a job and worked hard, but these days it’s also never been easier for people to create their own job offering services and signing up to a freelancer platform.”

McDonnell said the growing use of freelancers highlighted a shift in the traditional work structure since companies opted for staffing models which include a smaller number of main staff.

He said businesses needed to embrace and take advantage of the growing trend to drive their business forward.

The research found businesses were most likely to hire freelancers to work in web design, programming, graphic design, web or mobile development, web marketing and sales, accounting, data entry and internet research.

It also found 70 per cent of businesses expect to be doing more work with freelancers in future.

A recent opinion poll conducted by market researcher Gartner among the IT managers of large companies (CIOs) in Hong Kong and abroad found that 4% already implemented Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 46% plan to do so.

Despite the tremendous interest in AI technologies, current implementations remain at a fairly low level, said Whit Andrews, vice president of research at Gartner.

However, there is potential for strong growth as IT executives of large companies start to drive AI programs through a combination of their own development and acquisition.

According to Gartner, the early adopters are faced with many obstacles to the use of AI. For them, the Gartner analysts have summarized four lessons from early AI projects:

Lesson 1: Do not set too ambitious goals in the beginning

Lesson 2: Focus on giving more responsibility to people rather than replacing them

Lesson 3: Plan the knowledge transfer

Lesson 4: Choose transparent AI solutions

Every day there are more people in Hong Kong decide to become freelancers and take advantage of their talent and skills, without having to meet schedules in a company. If this is your case and you are starting to create your own business, remember that although there are many advantages that this lifestyle offers, there are also many points that you should consider to achieve lasting success.

Starting is not easy. Thats why at the beginning many freelancers feel lost and do not know how to go forward and counteract the daily challenges. It is normal to have doubts about this new, wide and competitive world. These tips will help you to take off and leave fear aside:

1. Sign up on various job platforms

2. Build your own brand and differ from other freelancers

3. Make your offers the most attractive in the market

4. Offer reasonable rates for the market

5. What is your best time of day? Take advantage of it!

6. Do not be afraid to say no

7. The key is in communication

8. Go out and see the world

Freelancers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.hk-News. Today we present you a provider who is specialised as an interim manager.
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After many years of international management activity (including 10 years as a member of the management board of a well known mechanical engineering company), I have been offering the development and expansion of professional procurement management since 2003. My main focus is the optimization of purchasing, mainly for medium-sized manufacturing companies. The goals are the sustainable cost reduction of material and logistics costs as well as process optimization in materials management.

My work focuses on success and cost-oriented measures, such as value analysis with suppliers, development of meaningful make or buy decisions, targeted outsourcing (e.g. to low-labor-cost countries), improvement of contract management, optimization of inventory management, standardization of components and the introduction of supply chain management and global sourcing.

I have relevant experience as a negotiating professional at a very high level (even under the most difficult conditions), including negotiation and signing of major supply and service contracts at national and international level. Due to my strong technical understanding and business background, I contribute significantly to the successful implementation of your desired corporate goals. My successes are based on both a cooperative and motivating approach to people and the successful development of performance and success-oriented teams in the company.

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DEAR READERS,

According to the Doing Business 2018 report, Hong Kong again remains to be in the first 5 spots for ease of doing business. This study was compiled from the input of over 13 000 experts from all over the world. In total 190 different economies were rated.

In this study, the ranking is being determined by the Ease of Doing Business Index which rates countries according to 11 factors. These indicators cover varieties from starting a business to getting electricity. The ranking shows us how difficult or easy it is to start a business or to get electricity in different countries.

In this report, Hong Kong is ranking number five with a score of 83.44 points. The ranking of Hong Kong for each indicator is as follow:

Starting a business (3)
Dealing with construction permits (5)
Getting electricity (4)
Registering property (55)
Getting credit (29)
Protecting minority investors (9)
Trading across borders (31)
Paying taxes (3)
Enforcing contracts (28)
Resolving insolvency (43).

The main reason for being number five is that Hong Kong is great at providing official permissions and permits of registering a business, approving to build a warehouse, having easy access on getting electricity, protecting the interest of minority investors and complying with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes.

Although Hong Kong placed fifths in the report, Hong Kong still needs to improve itself on the matters like exporting, quality of the land administration, and importing and resolving a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes.

In case you want to see the whole report in order to obtain more information, here is the link for downloading it.

The Freelancing.HK-group is happy to announce that Omer Can has joined our customer administration team. Omer will help us to improve the quality and responsiveness of our customer service and will also work in marketing to improve our perception in the market.

“I have a passion for self-development which helps me think of good ideas. By observing the problems and brainstorming solutions, I will bring them to life. I am looking forward to apply my skills now to help freelancers and their customers to cooperate successfully”, says Omer.

At the moment, he is sharing his insights and marketing knowledge during his current on-boarding. Right now, Omer is learning the customer admin processes. Omer will initially focus on freelancer activation before taking over full responsibility for our contractors. He will also support our marketing and social media activities.

Omer Can has a B.Sc. in civil engineering and worked for construction companies such as TAV Construction where he was employed as a data analyst and timeline controller. He also started his own online retailing business for mobile phone accessories. Omer’s hobbies include travelling, sailing, and outdoor sports.

We wish him lots of success in his new role in our team.

From Amor Dhaouadi
In my coaching sessions with freelancers and executives, we discuss different sales methods that employees should use in their sales activities. It is fascinating to see the different success rates of the different sales methods, depending on the industry segment (B2B or B2C) being considered. Below is an overview of the most commonly used sales channels and methods:

Networking:

Email:

Telephone:

Print media:

White papers and case studies:

Fairs:

Social media:

Digital marketing:

Due to the rising demand for engineering freelancers, we have decided to divide the existing freelancer category “Engineer” into following four individual sub-areas: “Engineer-Civil”, “Engineer-Electrical/Electronics”, “Engineer-Mechanical”, and “Engineer-Other”. We feel that this way, it will be easier for you to find a suitable expert.

Freelancers in the “Engineer-Civil” category focus on construction drawings, construction costing, and estimations, as well as finding solutions for various structural engineering problems.

Freelancers in the “Engineer-Electrical/Electronics” category deal with technical planning, development, installation and testing in the field of heavy current and low current technology. These include electrical machines, electronic circuits, sound engineering and safety engineering.

The “Engineer-Mechanical” category deals with the development and design of machines and machine components as well as special machines. The main industry areas included are mechanical engineering, vehicle and plant construction, drawings (CAD), concept development, project implementation and commissioning.

Freelancers in the “Engineer-Other” category cover those with expertise not represented by the other engineering subcategories. These include specialists from naval architects to thermal science engineers.

With the introduction of these four new categories, we now have 23 different service categories at Freelancing.hk, ranging from accountant to trainer...

Freelancers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.hk-News. Today we present you a service provider who specialises career coaching.
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I have been offering professional support for personal change processes since 1995. My focus spreads from the rediscovery, further development and self-presentation of individual potential with connection to the optimisation of individual self-management. It is all about learning to better control one’s emotions, to reduce conflicts and to implement new target strategies for success in both professional and personal contexts.

My way of training is appreciative, transparent and systemic-solution-oriented. The coaching and training start, after a detailed analysis of a client’s current situation, as well as clearly defining those facets of yourself that you specifically want to change. The focus is on using your own strengths, finding new perspectives and becoming aware of your individual behaviour, patterns and attitudes. In this process, you will find your unique solution in a series of steps. Success is also based on the fact that your entire environment, as well as the interweaving of communications, actions and relationships, are all integrated into the process of achieving your specific aims. Ultimately, you will achieve maximum success in achieving your goals.

I approach this creative process neutrally and guarantee you absolute confidentiality. My way of working is independent of ideologies or religions. My services focus on both out-placement and new concepts, career planning, job application training, assessment centre training, start-up coaching, potential analyses, soft skills analysis, mental training (emotional competence) and training in self-confidence and self-motivation.
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DEAR READERS,

Freelancing.hk is media partner at the Access MBA Event which will be taking place on 26th October in Cordis/Hong Kong. ACMBA (Association of Chinese MBA) and HKMA (Hong Kong Management Association) are also the media partners for this event.

The purpose of this event is to connect experienced business professionals with top international MBA recruiters during one-on-one meetings. Well-known business schools such as HEC Paris, Cass Business School, ESCP Europe, IE Business School, UBC-Sauder School of Business, University of Miami Business School and more will be attending.

At the event, there will be services such as:

1) One-on-one meetings:

2) GMAT advising:

3) Candidate orientation:

4) Conferences and debates:

According to research conducted by the City University of Hong Kong, the most suitable sectors are public administration, social and personal service sectors for Hong Kong university students. The survey was conducted with Hong Kong and Taiwan university students.

A total of 1,159 students from six universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan were interviewed and important factors were considered in this report such as employment, salary expectations, willingness to work overseas, interest in starting their own business, and employment capabilities.

According to the results, almost 32 percent of students from Hong Kong would like to pursue a job in the public administration, social and personal service sectors.

In addition to that, 50.2 percent of Hong Kong students would like to become civil servants after graduation.

The factors for considering jobs were:

1) Whether the job suited their interests or not:

2) Salary:

3) Career prospects:

4) Job location:

5) Contribution to society:

How do I prepare my discussion partners for the goals of my presentation? What do I want to convince them of? How do I achieve a common basis? How do I establish communication with the participants? How do I react to objections and critical questions? And what should I do about my excitement?

First of all, the correct attunement of the participants is just as important as the content of the presentation itself. For example, a decision about opening up a market in China could be introduced with success stories from well-known companies, or with quotations from recognised authorities. Great examples of success are those where calculable risks were accepted. This way the participants are prepared for entrepreneurial decisions by taking courageous risks and calculating underlying high opportunities. Other ideas and examples would be chosen when it comes to buying a house (family, security, etc.) or a reorganisation of a project (risks of the status quo, the inevitability of change, etc.).

Second of all, a convincing presentation should not be a performance up which you dance in front and the audience watches and applauds. Instead of this, it should be a conversation with the participants. It best begins with questions that involve the participants and are not only rhetorical phrases.

- What are our (strategic) goals and priorities?
- What are the reasons to look for a decision right now?
- What happens if nothing is done or decided?

Registered service providers can introduce themselves with a short article in Freelancing.hk-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer in the consulting category.
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I offer consulting work in the field of personal development and personal selection. The focus of my services is on the organisation and facilitation of assessment centres. I also advise companies on the design and selection of assessment exercises.

There is often a lack of trained observers for the selection processes. I can also help companies as a competent observer. Since the assessment of candidates in assessment centres is based on observing behaviour, exercises and role-plays should be as realistic as possible. Role-players are needed who can empathise flexibly with a wide variety of roles. I can also be hired as a role-player.
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DEAR READERS,

Whether you are a freelancer or a business owner, it is always good to use different methods when seeking clients or freelancers. One method for this is social media. Therefore, in this article, we are going to show you how to use this method and how important social media is in our country.

Social media has become an inevitable part of our personal and business lives. According to Statista.com, in 2017, daily social media usage of global internet users amounted to 135

Suggestions specifically for freelancers

1) Groups:

2) Create content:

3) Invest in advertisements:

4) Review your clients’ and competitors’ accounts:

Suggestions for specifically for business owners

1) Set your social media goals and objectives:

2) Learn from your competitors:

3) Decide which platforms are right for you:

4) Know your audience:

5) Create a calendar:

Due to the rising demand for consultant freelancers, we have decided to split the existing freelancer category ‘Consultant’ into the following four individual sub-areas: Consultant-Business, Consultant-Strategy, Consultant-Risk Management and Consultant-[Other]. We feel that this way, it will be easier for you to find a suitable expert.

Freelancers in the sub-category “Consultant-Business” cover all consulting subjects including business strategy, business planning, business management, coaching, process improvement, process management information systems and process redesign.

Freelancers in the sub-category “Consultant-Strategy” help companies to achieve the best possible market position and help them to secure it long term at the same time. They analyse business operations and projects, understand corporate goals and objectives, conduct extensive market research, and implement strategic solutions programs and practices.

Freelancers in the sub-category “Consultant-Risk Management” identify, assess and prioritise the risks. Following on from this is a coordinated and economical application of resources to minimise, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events in order to maximise the relation of opportunities.

Freelancers in the sub-category “Consultant-[Other]” do not just determine a specific consulting approach but also cover several areas at the same time, for example, strategy, restructuring and process consulting.

With the introduction of these four new categories, we now have 25 different service categories at Freelancing.hk, ranging from accountants to copywriters.

Defining goals and successfully implementing them is usually easier said than done. One of the reasons for this is that the goals have not been well documented or concretely formulated. Lack of discipline can also be an important factor in the implementation of the planned goals.

The bestselling author Alan Weiss proposes the One-Percent-Rule. With this 1 percent approach one aims to be better every day by just one percent. Purely mathematically the ability of one´s own will double itself every 70 days. Imagine you could build up such a clear advantage in your business. You probably ask yourself how to do something like this: You must be open to learning, and use every opportunity to experience something new. This can be done in different ways, for example, an article in a trade magazine, a tip from a colleague, an important note in a blog or newly acquired skills from a seminar. The possibilities are practically endless, you simply have to be attentive and take every opportunity to learn something new or innovative and try it out.

In addition to your actual subject area, there are many other areas where you can improve further. Just think about how you could better negotiate agreements with your customers, how you could make presentations more successful and how you could stay motivated every day despite setbacks and stress. Or how to optimally prepare for customer meetings, how to develop your leadership skills, and how to improve your innovation skills. The list can be continued indefinitely.

The one per cent approach helps you to continuously improve and stay one step ahead of the competition. This can also lead to innovative product and sales ideas. For example, freelancer Amor Daouadi offers his customers a discount of 10 percent if they pay the total amount at the beginning of the project, and he guarantees professional and high-quality consulting work. This way he achieves a completion rate of 75 percent. This method is particularly successful with large companies, as many department heads and managers know that their project could no longer be overturned by any cost savings.

Registered service providers can introduce themselves with a short article in this Freelancing.hk-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer in the Business Consultant category.
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I got to know my client, a financial services provider specialising in cost management, through the Freelancing Group. My task was to develop a concept for winning new customers.

Financial services are usually abstract and in need of explanation. For a better understanding, I developed a key visual (pictographic symbols) with the appropriate advertising message. This enabled my client to achieve an appointment agreement rate of over 27 per cent.

My customer was very satisfied with the advertising statement that I developed. My customer knew that a traditional light bulb delivers only 5 per cent as light and the remaining 95 per cent disappears as heat. Your costs similarly behaves like this statement which is underpinned by the pictogram symbol of a modern energy-saving lamp.

After developing the key visuals and creating a striking corporate design, we launched a two-stage direct mailing that was supported by advertisements in trade journals. The web design was also appropriately revised. The high success rate made my customers feel confident. I am pleased that I was able to find this customer through the Freelancing Group.
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DEAR READERS,

Day by day, more people are becoming interested in co-working spaces. According to Hong Kong Business, we have 202 co-working spaces in our country (compared to 330 in New York City and 1,136 in London). When most people think of “co-working”, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and digital nomads generally come to mind. However, the co-working space is a growing market, not just for freelancers but also for an increasing number of small businesses.

The concept of co-working was first introduced by an iconic programmer called Brad Neuberg. He launched his first co-working space in San Francisco to replace the less productive home offices of “small businesses”. In Hong Kong, co-working offices have become a real trend over the last few years and the co-working market has grown exponentially since its inception. Now, there are over a hundred co-working spaces in Hong Kong. According to Savills, a global real estate company, co-working space operators currently occupy about 2.16 million square feet across the city and have doubled in size since the end of 2017”. In Hong Kong, the demand for co-working spaces led to the rapid establishment of many co-working space operators such as The Hive, The Desk, Servcorp and more. However, this rapid expansion has, in turn, led to a crowded and highly competitive market, with industry analysts predicting that some operators will eventually withdraw from the business.

Many freelancers working from home sometimes find it difficult to concentrate due to external interference, like construction work or having children running around. The availability of co-working spaces helps to overcome these home-workplace frustrations and also acts as a creativity boost.

Co-working offices tend to unite entrepreneurs so they can operate and interact as a community. They share WiFi, servers, boardrooms, bathrooms and cafes. This soon extends to sharing ideas, advice and even business networks.

Inevitably, this trend has strengthened the connection between people using the co-working spaces and helped them to expand their networks. You never know who you are going to meet in these co-working hubs. If you are a freelancer working from home, it is maybe time to join the trend!

Last month we reported on the iconic speech entitled The One-Percent Solution by bestselling author Alan Weiss, in which he encourages his audience to aim to be better by simply improving their activities by just one percent every day. From a mathematical standpoint, your abilities would improve by 100% every 70 days. Imagine if you could build such a fast-acting advantage in your business. One of our readers, Mr. Rolshoven, shares his opinion about this solution:
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Maybe you shouldn´t take the 1% approach too literally. If someone was able to double their own abilities after 70 days they would have improved by 32-fold after one year. After two years they would have improved by 1,000-fold, and after four years their abilities would have improved by one million...

As wonderful as fairytales may be - perhaps you should simply take some time every day to become a little bit better in a certain area. For example, it is good to plan at least ten minutes for improving a certain ability every day.
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From Amor Dhaouadi

Every success story starts with a thought or an idea. In order to achieve the hoped-for success, the idea needs to be followed by action, inspiration, enthusiasm, passion, sacrifice or devotion.

I recently read an inspiring speech that I recommend to anyone who has set themselves special life goals. This speech titled, “The Man in the Arena”, is over 100 years old and was given by Theodore Roosevelt in Paris. An excerpt from the speech says:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

For those of you looking to create a better life for yourself, I advise you to read this text again and again, every day if you have to. You might find that there are numerous parallels between The Man in the Arena and anyone who paves their own path.

I am especially interested in this speech from the freelancer´s point of view. They have to fight their way through every day - dealing with difficult customers, challenging working conditions, an increasing number of competitors and new technologies. Despite all this, a freelancer´s biggest battle is against his inner critics, which prevents him from developing and testing new and better methods.

If you want to achieve something special, you have to work harder than anyone else in your field. Even if you don´t have a lot of talent, resources, or relationships, the most important part of finding the path to success is to go where others don´t dare to. You will certainly suffer through failures, but that is also a part of your journey to success. Setbacks help you to learn what does not work so you can refine your skills, expertise and working methods. However, it is important not to doubt yourself and to get up again and continue fighting.

I highly admire top athletes and would like to share an example from the field of sports for comparison. One of my favourite athletes is the gifted and brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo. If he had not spent thousands of hours in the gym, practiced his free kicks over and over again or tried out thousands of dribbling techniques, he would not have become the football player of the year.

Only through perseverance, hard work and failure can you achieve top results. You simply have to build up the courage to go your own way against all odds.

Registered service providers can showcase their skillset with a short article in the Freelancing.hk-News, In this issue, we present a multiple-book author with a doctorate who has had almost 20 years of first and second level management and leadership experience in medium-sized corporations.
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Coaching is a clarification process aimed at reviewing existing activities, behaviours and assessments in the client´s field of work. If adaptations of existing activities are necessary or completely new activities emerge, these are identified in the coaching interview and it is then found out together how this can best be done. In principle, the various components of the situation and its implementation should, therefore, be analysed, evaluated and solved.

The to-do lists summarise the coaching session and contain a future picture of the activities and the expected results. A to-do list is designed in such a way that future situations can be dealt with successfully and the client can go into his reality in a stabilised way. The to-do list also includes the objective in the sense of a personal agreement on objectives, the description of the strategies/measures for achieving the objective, the persons involved and the underlying business or action processes.
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DEAR READERS,

According to research recently released by Global Work From Home and Small Business Prices, 32 cities were investigated to see how they performed in terms of the opportunities available and affordability for the rising freelance workforce.

In this report, ranking was determined by an index score which rated economies according to nine factors. These factors covered a variety of topics ranging from the number of freelance jobs available to the average price of rent in the city centre. The ranking showed that New York, with an index score of 6.58, was the best place in the world to become a freelancer or work remotely.

In comparison, Hong Kong ranked fifth with an index score of 5.31, with a breakdown of each aspect as follows:

Broadband speed:

Free WiFi spots:

Number of freelance jobs available:

Number of coworking spaces:

Average working hours per week:

Average rent in city centre:

Average monthly salary:

Cost of broadband per month:

Average temperature:

What are the biggest challenges companies face when looking for a freelancer? This question was recently presented to Rainer Kurz, the Strategic Advisor of Freelancing.hk, during a blog interview. Here is his answer:

It can be a challenge choosing a freelancer with the appropriate skills and experience. You have to consider their hourly rate, location, language, and availability. In any case, you should take the time to find an optimal service provider with provable experience, and not only make a hire based on their educational background. A marketplace like Freelancing.hk, which clearly compares each freelancer’s features and experience, can be of great help during your virtual hiring process.

Even if you have found a freelancer who matches the specifications of your job post, there is still the issue of building mutual trust between freelancers and clients. Can the freelancer really accomplish what they promised? Is the client reliable? Should the freelancer deliver something first or receive upfront payment before submission? This is where Freelancing.hk’s escrow payment services help to build trust between both parties (“escrow” is defined as making a payment via a trusted third party). At Freelancing.hk, we try to help both the freelancer and the client by providing a free-of-charge secured transaction method to alleviate and mitigate any concerns.

In medieval times, some mercenary warriors in Europe were not sworn-in to any lord or king. Warfaring lords could hire these medieval mercenary warriors for their services.

As they freely owned their own weapons (like lances), the term “free-lance” was used for them. Early mentions of freelancers were noted in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe, published in 1820: “I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused them...”.

Nowadays, with the development of trade and technology, the term freelancer is used for self-employed “business warriors”. A freelancer’s weapon arsenals now tend to consist of computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Service providers can showcase their work with a short article in the Freelancing.hk-News, In this issue, we present a marketing expert focusing on branding.
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Brands have determined my life for years - professionally as well as privately. Consistent brand management requires a fundamental analysis and a good strategy.

It is necessary to understand and grasp the brand in its entirety instead of targeting a group-oriented view. The brand must be adapted to your company structure and should be determined and managed according to the desired customer effect. Only by taking a holistic view, the success modules of a strong brand can be discovered and strategically planned.

Based on a holistic brand analysis and consulting, every company can increase its added value by certain strategic measures. As a freelance brand researcher and consultant, I am looking forward to your assignment!
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We are happy to announce the newest feature of our website. This feature can be seen in categories which have more than twenty freelancers.

There, you will see the button “Show the closest 10 freelancers” below the map. Once you click on this button, a new map will appear which lets you select a location where you need a contractor.

After the selection of the location, freelancers will be shown below for you to choose the closest freelancer. By adding this new feature, we aim to save time to our clients in their search for a freelancer next door and support their local community.

In their latest IT freelancer study, market research company Lunendonk asked the ten leading freelance brokers about the sales impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They expect a decline in sales of three per cent in 2020. ´Compared to other B2B services markets, this is a rather optimistic forecast,´ says Jonas Lunendonk, describing the situation. It would not be surprising, for example, if sales shrank even more in 2020. For example, some service companies are reporting a drop in turnover of more than 30 per cent drop for the second quarter of 2020.

In some areas, however, the Corona crisis also led to increased demand. For instance, experts in cloud technologies were in high demand during the pandemic.

However, revenue expectations for 2021 are again considerably optimistic. For the period after the Corona crisis, digitisation, IT modernisation, cloud and transformation projects will likely result in an increasing number of projects, many requiring freelancers.

Before the pandemic, many companies suffered from a lack of skilled workers. Although this shortage is currently less severe, it will become noticeable again when the economy returns to a growth path.

According to Payoneer’s latest report, in a survey of over 1,000 global freelancers, they found that 60% of freelancers experienced a decrease in demand for their services during the pandemic. Due to the decrease in the demand for freelancer services, we have prepared some tips that are of particular interest to our readers.

1st tip:

2nd tip:

3rd tip:

4th tip:

5th tip:

Freelancing.hk is one of the media partners at the Access MBA Online Event which will be taking place on 17th September.

The purpose of this online event is to connect experienced business professionals with top international MBA recruiters during one-on-one meetings. Well-known business schools such as Washington University in St. Louis, Olin, HEC Montreal, Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business, SDA Bocconi, IESE Global Executive MBA, Cass Business School and more will be attending.

At the event, there will be services such as:

1) One-on-one meetings:

2) GMAT advising:

3) Candidate orientation:

Registered service providers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.hk-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer who specialises in brand management.
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Brands have been determining my life for years - both professionally and privately. Consistent brand management requires a fundamental analysis and a good strategy.

Contrary to the widely held opinion that brands are geared towards specific target groups, it is necessary to understand and grasp the brand in its entirety. The brand must be adapted to your corporate structure and should be determined and managed according to the desired customer effect. Only by taking a holistic view can the success components of a strong brand be discovered and strategically planned.

With the help of a holistic brand analysis and consulting, which can also be done online, every company can increase its value-added power using strategic measures. As a freelance brand researcher and consultant, I look forward to your order!
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DEAR READERS,

Teleworking has become inevitable as a result of the corona pandemic. The current Gartner study showed that three-quarters of all CFOs expect that at least 5 percent of previously on-site employees will continue to telework permanently after COVID-19.

After initial doubts about teleworking, companies noticed that this new form of work will continue to remain in the long term. McKinsey mentions the example of a pharmaceutical company with more than 10,000 sales representatives: In February, it switched from on-site work to practically 100 percent remote working. When the Corona restrictions come to an end in Hong Kong, one might expect remote working to disappear again.

However, the company is planning to introduce new models in order to take advantage of the newly developed online capabilities of its field staff. These models include a 30 percent online work model with only 70 percent on-site work on a permanent basis.

Many employees learned to telework in the first phase of the crisis either by trial and error or by resorting to spontaneous training methods. On the other hand, for those who have completed their advanced training, teleworking can become a permanent task. For example, sales teams can use video conferencing to effectively manage customer relationships in remote locations.

Organizations are now increasingly developing their employee´s online skills as executives now systematically search for the best ways to digitally manage teams. This transition is often smoother and easier for long-standing employees who have built relationships and understood their role than for new employees who have yet to get to know the company without informal office interactions.

Additional collaboration tools and new work culture will be available when companies return to normal working practices. Individual companies are already creating new collaboration locations in suburban centres and downsizing their central offices to reduce commuting times for employees. As entrepreneurs seek remote working skills such as the ability to self-motivate and strong time management, recruitment processes are also being affected at the same time.

The current challenges will make employees think about whether they want to work from home in the future. According to Gartner´s research, up to 80 percent of the employees also want to work from home.

In Hong Kong, prior to 2019, it was very uncommon for employees to work from home. Geographically, Hong Kong is relatively small and the commute to work for the majority of its employees is less than one hour. However, the protests in Hong Kong and the Coronavirus have changed the way employees work. Even though the third wave has mostly elapsed, people are still worried and this resulted in many employers instructing their employees to work from home although the fourth wave has not arrived yet. Although many workers can fulfil their contractual obligations at home, employers must ensure that they continue to meet their legal requirements and provide adequate support for employees who have moved from working at the office to working at home.

In addition to that, according to the statistics of the Census and Statistics Department, the number of unemployed people increased by around 5,800 from 242,500 in May 2020 to 248,300 in June. Over the same period, the number of underemployed people also increased by around 13,200 from 136,000 to 149,200. It can be seen that the numbers of unemployed people are increasing. This is thought to be largely due to the protests and the Coronavirus. Because of these reasons, for those who are working from the office and, therefore, thinking about quitting their job, we have prepared some suggestions which will help them find new opportunities and enable them to work from home.

1) Do your research, limit the companies known for having a remote workforce:

2) Add “remote position” to your keyword section:

3) Networking:

We are happy to share the details of the conversation between us and Jasmin who is a Hong Kong-based freelance copywriter. Jasmin is experienced in writing and distributing press releases, writing branded editorials, email newsletters and website content, planning and executing public relations and social media campaigns across Hong Kong, Greater China, and beyond. She loves working with clients to nail down their brand voice and craft messages that cut through the noise.

Last month, she gave an interview to Freelancing.HK-News. You will find the details of this interview below:
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1) Tell us about yourself; how did your freelancing journey start?

Registered service providers can present themselves with a short article in the Zealancer-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer who specialises in online marketing, content marketing and SEO.
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People spend more time online than ever before. According to a survey by the National Statistics Office, they are mostly looking for products and services. For you, this means that your prospects are looking for you online. But do they find you?

The entries are mostly done via search engines, like Google in online searches. If you are not found there, you leave the business to your competitors. Therefore: Become visible online with search engine optimisation!

As a copywriter specialised in SEO:
1) I can analyse your website and define technical and content-related measures to improve your search engine ranking.
2) I can create texts for you that will inspire your readers and search engines alike.

I would be happy to carry out an initial SEO analysis of your website for you - without obligation and free of charge. Talk to me!
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Dear readers,

You may be the most talented freelancer in the world. However, if you just sit at home and let no one know you exist and how great your work is, you will struggle to land jobs and secure contracts.

The truly successful freelancers are not actually the most talented ones. More often than not, it is the people who tell the world what they can do and therefore consistently gain new clients. After all, being a freelancer is largely a people´s business. Even in times of COVID-19, the best jobs come from contacts in your own network. So if you want to advance your career as a freelancer, you should learn to network. Our eight tips are a good place to start:

1) Choose the right event:

2) Do not necessarily think of it as networking:

3) Pursue a clear goal in networking:

4) Stay in touch:

5) Work in a coworking space:

6) Keep in touch with former colleagues and clients:

7) Be prepared for opportunities:

8) Give speeches and run workshops:

The current hourly rate analysis of freelancers from nine different categories listed on Freelancing.hk has just been released. And the conclusion? An hourly rate comparison is always worthwhile!

On average, a freelance service provider costs HKD 448 per hour. A comparison of different service providers is always worthwhile when deciding who to work with. This is important as hourly rates do not only depend on the service and the service provider’s qualification. Other factors also play a role, such as gender and the age of the service provider, amongst others that we will discuss.

Surprisingly, even the hourly rates of comparable freelancers can differ by more than a factor of two. Additionally, some freelancers even charge different hourly rates to their clients. Many factors are considered, including the client themselves, the scope of the project and their personal interest. The selection amongst equally qualified service providers can therefore save an average of 30 per cent in costs.

Let´s discuss the influencing factors on the hourly rate and examine them in more detail.

As expected, remuneration depends strongly on the type of service. On average, a freelancer in the language category charges HKD 199 HKD per hour while a consultant charges HKD 776 per hour. Predictably, services requiring academic qualifications are better remunerated. Interestingly enough, the ability to deal with people is paid at a higher rate than pure professional knowledge. Thus engineers at average charge HKD 396, while it is HKD 897 per hour for project managers.

The age of the service provider also plays a role. Older service providers are generally more experienced and are, on average, two times as expensive as younger professionals. The average 18 to 29 year old charges a rate of HKD 364, while for those over 50 years old, the average is HKD 689.

Gender has only a small influence on the requested hourly rates. Although men request an average of HKD 493, which is more than women at HKD 349, this seems to be due to the fact that women are more strongly represented in the less well-paid services. For example, 60 per cent of all language providers are female, while only 12 per cent of business consultants are women.

Within a service category, the differences in remuneration are therefore small. For example; female accountants with an average rate of HKD 200, charge slightly less than their male counterparts - an average of HKD 270.

Pricing on the basis of clear market criteria is only partially happening in Hong Kong. For example, very different prices are paid for comparable services without there being any qualitative reason for the disparity. We found that hourly rates vary widely within a type of service - there are consultants, for example, from HKD 310 to HKD 2340 per hour. Interestingly, this range also applies to comparable qualifications and experiences. Thus, when we compare consultants with 10 years of experience and similar skills, the hourly rates can spread between HKD 470 to HKD 1170.

A lack of market transparency may likely be a contributing factor for the large spread of hourly rates. Both suppliers and customers are often poorly informed because they know only a few market participants. With the growing importance of electronic marketplaces in Hong Kong, however, the information deficit is shrinking. Thus the service providers listed at Freelancing.hk often orient themselves according to the hourly rates of fellow providers. Flexibility in determining the hourly rate is surprisingly high for many freelancers. If service providers discover that they are rarely selected, they often reduce their prices by up to 30 per cent. Likewise, service providers who are in high demand in the marketplace often significantly increase their hourly rates significantly as a result.

However, there is often more than just one hourly rate for a specific expert. Depending on the customer and sales channel, some specialists charge different hourly rates. In individual cases, the hourly rates that can be found on the freelancer´s website are twice as high as those listed on Freelancing.hk.

It is therefore worthwhile for companies to compare the skills and hourly rates of freelancers. As our statistically selected samples showed, one saves on average, 30 per cent if the cheapest service provider is selected out of five instead of resorting to the first one available. In addition, a larger pool often leads to the discovery of the most suitable expert. The classical way to compare providers is to ask for quotes from several service providers. While this process is time-consuming for both requesters and providers, this selection can now take place in a few minutes thanks to the existing internet marketplaces. Therefore, there is no longer any reason to not compare the freelancers and their offers before making an informed decision.

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Registered service providers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.HK-News. In this issue, we present you a freelancer who is expertise in financial and also a certified accountant.
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My focus is on sustainable profitability increase in small and medium-sized enterprises. In the course of more than twenty years of independent work as an accountant, I have specialized in cost monitoring, cost reduction and thus increasing the profitability of small and medium-sized companies in connection with the preparation of accounts.

By setting up a full-fledged controlling system and integrating it into the processing system of the accounting (strategic accounting), I can save you the otherwise usual additional costs for independent controlling systems, since the necessary controlling data is provided directly via the accounting. The running costs for such a strategic accounting system require only a small additional expense compared to conventional accounting.
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Dear readers,

We have moved into 2021, with most of last year taken up by adjusting to the new normal. Even though it was a bad year for restaurants and retailers, on the contrary, it was a good year for takeaway platforms, e-commerce and encouraged many businesses to move online.

Daily lives of people from Hong Kong were turned upside down for virtually the entirety of 2020 as COVID-19 raged across the globe, infecting over 8,500 people in the city, and killing more than 135. Everything such as shopping, dining, going to work and travelling, attending public gatherings, church services, weddings and funerals had to be adjusted to the ongoing health crisis and the new normal.

When the pandemic had surrounded the city in late January 2020, as a precaution, the government asked 176,000 civil servants to work from home. After that, the private sector also followed and implemented the same approach. Of course, some people have misused the given opportunity and left their homes despite being requested otherwise. For instance, some Hang Seng Bank staff were caught on social media sneaking out for a bit of fresh air.

For freelancers, this unprecedented situation has brought with it new opportunities. Many employees were forced to resign from their jobs as they did not want to risk leaving their home and going back to the office every day. In turn, this forced companies to outsource expertise from many freelancers. In terms of newcomer freelancer profiles, there is an increase up to 15 per cent according to Freelancing.hk.

Although freelancers often only need a small starting capital for the implementation of their business, the first step into self-employment is always risky. The risks are, for example, the workload, acquisition costs, lack of capital reserves and inability to make payments on time.

If this risk is too much to take in one go, one can also try starting self-employment step-by-step in order to minimise this gamble. After all, no one is obligated to plunge head over heels into cold water!

Being self-employed on the side means slowly approaching your own independence without the fear that you will not be able to pay the rent. Becoming self-employed while keeping your current job is particularly suitable for people who attach great importance to financial planning and security. After all, employment can still be terminated as soon as the appointment list has been filled. Starting self-employment on a part-time basis is also a good way to find out whether you feel comfortable in the lifestyle of a freelancer.

In the beginning, stage, since you are not yet dependent on the income from self-employment, you can also take care of the necessary administrative tasks more easily, from visiting the tax consultant to creating your own website. The part-time self-employment is, therefore, a good way to try yourself out in the entrepreneurial role and to achieve initial success without too much pressure and a good prerequisite for long-term success.

In the past, freelancers have complained about introductions with professional project brokers. Less than 10 per cent of their enquiries lead to a project, which is well below our success rate of 37 per cent. Many project brokers are also in the habit of negotiating for lower hourly rates in order to increase their own profit margin. Since the freelancers pay the introduction fee with us, most of them do not want an introduction to other project brokers and subcontractors.

Having said that, project brokers who are genuinely interested in an introduction with a freelancer at Freelancing.hk can, however, bear the introduction fee in place of the freelancer. The introduction fee is two-hourly freelancer rates.

Normally our freelancers introduce themselves in a short article. This time, however, we have a contribution from our client who has been introduced to one of the freelancers in the trainer category within the Freelancing.hk-Group. Our trainer is specialised in training, coaching, time management and job applications.
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After 15 years of working for the same company, I stumbled across a job advertisement that eventually motivated me to apply. However, my last application was a long time ago, so I had difficulties preparing convincing application documents within a few days, especially since the application should also be in line with current practice. Then I came across the Freelancing.hk group in which I was able to contact a trainer in a very short time.

This freelancer, who specialises in the preparation of application documents, was able to work out the most suitable application documents with me immediately. Thus I received an invitation for an interview only 5 days after sending my application. We used the remaining days to develop a strategy to master the job interview. With success! This is how the Freelancing.hk group has helped me to reach new shores.
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Dear readers,

One of the few positive things that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the professional environment is the implementation of flexibility in the workplace. The pandemic forced companies, small and large, to adopt remote-working. At the same time, It has also allowed new freelance jobs to emerge. As a result, there was a 22 per cent increase in freelance earnings in 2020 compared to that of 2019, according to CNBC. Inspired by this significant increase, the Freelancing.HK team has researched the latest reports to find out the most popular and profitable categories for 2021.

Our latest research involved a detailed analysis of our full freelancer database. According to the analysis, thirteen categories have been identified as the key areas where businesses are looking for the most freelancers.

In short - no. On average, freelancers receive six introductions per year, whereby the frequency depends on the individual freelancer profile. In the profiles of the individual freelancers, you can see directly how often they have been introduced.

Even if freelancers are never introduced to a client, they do not run any financial risk by registering. This is because Freelancing.HK does not charge monthly fees, but only fixed fees per introduction.

From Bert Logan

Small businesses waste an enormous amount of money on marketing. People have to make mistakes to learn and more often than not, small business owners are not qualified in the same way as most larger corporation owners. We are here to help, these are our five ways small businesses waste money on marketing.

Target advertising

Giving up too early

Paying for expensive branding

Not knowing how to track

Not knowing when to change

Registered service providers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.HK-News. In this issue, we present you with a freelancer who is an expert in information technology strategy.
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According to a recent study, more than half of all IT projects fail. The reasons for this are manifold. As an expert for ERP/PPS systems, I, therefore, accompany and support small and medium-sized enterprises in business process optimisation, neutral IT-supported selection and introduction of comprehensive information systems as well as the integration of IT security internally and externally.

My particular advantage, apart from my extensive experience, is the IT-supported approach. The use of neutral questionnaires guarantees absolute neutrality. The database, developed and maintained by independent experts, includes over 600 providers with over 500 software solutions.

Using a 6-step method, I find the most suitable system for my client’s requirements at the lowest possible cost. Due to my experience and approach, the typical errors that normally occur in such a selection process are eliminated.
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Dear readers,

Although freelancing provides a fair bit of freedom from the “rules” of a traditional job, there are still a lot of significant challenges freelancers face on a regular basis. A new study by Skynova, ‘Overview of Invoicing: Exploring Invoicing Habits and Woes of 1,000 Freelancers’, has revealed exactly what these challenges can be.

The biggest challenge that freelancers face is meeting unrealistic demands. Over 43 per cent of respondents labelled it as their most significant obstacle. Fighting to win new business closely followed with 43.5 per cent. According to the participants, new business is their biggest challenge, which may only get harder since the demand for freelancing has increased in Hong Kong.

Many of the other challenges are embedded in the model of freelancing: Ensuring on-time payment (40.4 per cent), having to do it all (35.5 per cent), distractions (27.4 per cent), long hours (25.0 per cent), loneliness (22.8 per cent), and not having coworkers (22.4 per cent).

Almost a quarter of all freelancers (23.3 per cent) face the problem of people thinking they are unemployed. While freelancing can be a type of work that people do in between jobs, it is increasingly becoming a full-time career for tens of millions of people around the world. With flexible working becoming more mainstream, full-time freelancing is no longer considered out of the norm.

From Sara Woods

Today, video is the most popular media consumed on the internet. Every second, roughly one million minutes or 17,000 hours of video are uploaded online. In other words, if your brand is not creating and sharing videos, you are missing out on a massive opportunity to connect with your target audience in Hong Kong. Below, we have outlined a few of the most important things to keep in mind when creating effective and engaging promotional video campaigns.

Keep it to the point

Optimize The Size And Placement Of Your Video

Create an engaging script

Speak to your target audience

Low cost and effective promo videos

Do you know why customers would prefer to stay away from salespeople? It often happens to us (and we certainly believe many of you too) when entering a store. We do all can to avoid the salespeople in the store. Even if we are sometimes looking for something specific, we do not want to be advised by a seller. Unfortunately, sellers still have the reputation of being forceful hard-selling salespeople, for it is widely believed that sellers do not act in clients’ best interests, but in those of their own.

A few weeks ago a colleague of ours asked his client about their level of satisfaction with the service of a freelancer that they requested. The client wanted to express their displeasure but held back and only commented briefly, The freelancer did not want to be involved with my ideas for building my house. For some context, the freelancer was an architect.

Often businesses, freelancers and service providers make the mistake of believing that the customer knows a lot less than they do. They do not let customers have their say, both to impress customers, as well as to inform and train them.

In the world that we live in today, it is no secret that customers make use of the Internet and many other sources to gain knowledge. Some customers could be even more aware and informed than “the seller in the store” (freelancers and other service providers). They certainly are more aware of their needs.

Especially with important projects such as building a house, most customers spend a lot of time choosing the location (transport links, leisure options, neighbourhood, etc.), design (environmental compatibility, energy efficiency, comfort, etc.), material and much more. In most cases, customers already have an exact idea of ​​what their house should look like when they engage an architect. And unless a freelancer or service provider knows what customers think about a product they will not be able to respond effectively to customers.

As a result, one of the most important tips in better client communication is to use questioning techniques rather than close-ended techniques. This means more insightful questions, which cannot be simplified with ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and usually require more elaborate replies.

Amongst the plethora of open-ended questions, there are two questions that we believe to be more important and more significant than other forms of questions.

The first question is: ‘Why?’. More often than not, customers have not fully thought through their reasons behind a particular decision. If you, as an expert, ask them specifically about this, you will learn the reasons, goals and motives for this decision which can better inform the service you provide.

Let us take the case of an architect as an example. As specialists in their field, they could chat with customers about many things, such as the environmental compatibility and energy efficiency of the materials used. But the customer may not want to hear that because they have already made their selection. But if the architect asks why they prefer this particular material they could then learn the reasons for their choice. And if their answer is not enough (like an answer such as, ‘This material is better because of its energy efficiency’) - then you can always say: ‘Would you please tell me more about it?’

The second type of question that I recommend for customer discussions is: ‘What else?’. This type of question is just as important as the first question. It allows you to extract more information from your customer. It actually builds on the first question. With this question, you will learn more and more about the motives and goals of the customer and can position your answers and your arguments accordingly.

Do you have more tips on how to communicate more effectively with customers in Hong Kong? We would love to hear from you!

Registered service providers can present themselves with a short article in the Freelancing.HK-News. In this issue, we present you with a consultant who is specialised in the recording of care services.
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I have specialised in the ´recording of care services´. Thus, I accompany and advise outpatient care services and inpatient care facilities and support their establishment and further development of quality management and risk minimisation.

Care institutions are among the companies that are busy with day-to-day business and are subject to increasing demands. The dangers for such companies are foreseeable, especially when quality management is incomplete. For example, incorrect classification of those in need of care reduces income and thus the scope for action.

My professional services are characterised by direct, speedy and active assistance in the field of care documentation. After an as-is analysis of all documents related to care documentation, my clients receive the necessary implementation assistance on site. At the end of the project, the valid requirements are fulfilled and the client returns his room for action.
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At the gate of heaven stands an electrician, only 35 years old.

‘Why did you let me die so young?’ he asks Peter, the gatekeeper, reproachfully.

Peter looks in his register and then says, ‘According to the hours you charged your customers, you are 95 years old, so we thought it was time for you now.’