Starting up Freelance Web design

[ninoharris]

Hi, I'm 15 and for quite a long while I've wanted to go freelance in Website and print design. I've spent alot of time (about 16 hours a week for 3 years) in my free time developing my skills and I would say I'm quite good at it.

Anyway onto the business side of it. Is it legal to be a freelancer for very small and local businesses at the age of 15, I have no money to spend on an license however? And if not, how dangerous is it?

[wuwi]

Below is everything you should need to know about freelancing, please read it all if you want to become a freelancer!

A freelancer is a person who is self employed. Freelance work is used in many different professions, but most commonly a freelancer works in the fields of writing and editing, photography, web design, graphic arts, or computer programming. In any given profession, freelancers sell or contract their work to a client rather than being employed by a business.

A freelancer's career commonly begins with a business or agency at which the freelancer gains experience and contacts in a particular field. Often, talented freelance professionals leave their place of employment because their services are in great demand and they can receive better pay as a freelancer. A freelancer can work at home, in the community, or at their client’s place of business.

Businesses find many advantages in using freelancers. A business that needs particular work done, such as copywriting, can use the services of the writer only as needed. This is ideal when the business requires sporadic work or a one time project. The company is not obligated to provide steady work as it would be for a full time employee. Hiring a freelancer is also economical for a business because the business does not have to provide benefits such as health insurance, personal and sick days, or retirement benefits.

There are also many advantages for a freelancer. A person who is self employed can usually choose their own work schedule. Income may be greater than when working for an employer. A freelancer is his or her own boss and has the freedom to work independently, usually from the comfort of home. Freelancers also have the opportunity to pick and choose which jobs are of interest.

The down side to being a freelancer is that one must keep track of one's own books. This requires a lot of self discipline in order to fulfill tax requirements, time management and health and retirement factors. Another disadvantage is that it may be difficult to maintain a steady stream of work. A freelancer is responsible for finding and winning projects. Sometimes, convincing a client to hire a particular freelancer can be a job in itself.

There are many websites that offer to connect clients with a freelancer. These services often have many freelancers who bid on particular projects that clients post. Other services simply post projects and allow freelancers to submit a resume and samples of previous work. A freelancer often can find projects through word of mouth, from a former employer, or from classified ads in print as well as on the web.

[greggomatic76]

Love to see some of your work if you have any to show off. As far as legally, you could register a DBA with your parents and get started that way or try to convince each design gig you get to hire you on temporarily as an employee...which might be tricky to swing but if you do good work you may be able to convince them.

[ScottRobertson]

I don't know much about these kind of legal issues, but in Canada we have something called "casual labour." There are times when I'm in school and my old boss needs me for a day or two here and there, so I work for him as casual labour. It makes it so that he doesn't have to worry about my social security number (even though I'm just kept in payroll there now), or taxes or anything.

Due to the nature of what your doing (working a few days randomly for different businesses) you might be able to consider yourself as casual labour and stay away from all of that headache.

You'll have to look into it further for your country and how it can work for you.