Although I usually work with small to medium-sized businesses, I do occasionally work with professional freelancers. I’ve had clients who are business writers, graphic artists, and digital designers. Freelancing is a great way to work because you have very low overhead and, if you know what you’re doing, you can make a killer income. The only real issue that most freelancers face is finding clients. And, that’s where LinkedIn comes is.
Last year, LinkedIn launched a new service called LinkedIn Pro Finder. Basically, this service connected freelancers with people who need their services. If you’ve ever heard of Upwork, this is LinkedIn’s version of the same idea. Potential clients come to Pro Finder and post jobs. Freelancers, on the other hand, bid on the jobs. If the client accepts the bid, then the freelancer has found a new client. This model has been tried for a few years now and tends to work very well both for clients and for freelancers who know how to make the platform work for them. (It can be a little frustrating to get rolling with this as a new freelancer!)
Looks like Pro Finder is off to a good start, too! LinkedIn isn’t revealing how many jobs have been rewarded, but just looking at the platform you can see that it’s being used by thousands of freelancers. There are over 5,500 business writers on the platform as of the time I wrote this article. Pro Finder comes with a free trial. Freelancers offer a variety of services. Everything from IT, to content writing, to digital design is there. You can even find legal services and accounting services on Pro Finder. Basically, all of the freelancers or outsourcers you’d need to get a business up and running can be found on LinkedIn’s new freelancer platform.
