On Online Freelance Opportunities

Gem, of The Lady Programmer, has written something about Convincing People to Online Freelance Opportunities. After reading her post I decided to add a  comment because I share her views on this issue but after a few minutes of typing the comment i realized that I had written not a comment but an article. What you will read below started out as a comment to her post but ended up as a post here. 

  

Despite the fact that we are now in the computer age, many people are still intimidated by the idea of using the computer. Many of the average computer users today are satisfied with just knowing the basics of using the browser, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint--just enough for them to function in the office. They see that going beyond that is going into the realm of the IT professionals who deal with mysterious codes and complex processes that could make the average Joe dizzy. They dare not venture into that realm because they are too lazy or too intimidated with the idea of harnessing the power of the computer. Online freelancing is just in its infancy, five to ten years from now we will see it stand up on its own and start to walk. Give it 20 years and more than half of us would be working at home, in front of the computer. I am fortunate to be one of those who are into it now while it is still early. By the time online freelancing becomes a big boom I would have learned all the ropes and be at par with others. 

I have tried convincing people I know to jump into the vast field of opportunities which is the internet and earn money online but they have doubts about it. The first question most of them ask me is: "And how do you get the money? You do not know or see the people you are dealing with, how can you be so sure about being paid?". Most of the questions they raise is along this line. They think that typing away in front of your PC a few hours a day for the bucks to flow in is too good to be true. I could not understand why they could not see it the way I see it; no matter how hard I explain to them the light of it, they see the dark side. I realized later that it is impossible to explain color to the blind. So far I have convinced only two persons to try making money online. One is my wife (who would be cashing out her very first blogging earnings two weeks from now) and the other one is my cousin who is now starting to blog, she is not earning yet but I know in the next few months she will start to reap the rewards for her perseverance. 

I am not saying that we all quit our day job and do freelancing. I haven't quit mine although I am contemplating it now. Day jobs are boring. Probably i am just the kind of guy who could not live under the shadow of a boss nor could  I be satisfied with casting my shadow on my subordinates forever. I love working independently, be my own boss and get to deal with other people as my equal. 

The internet is a vast field of opportunities, much of it is still untilled. Now is a good time to claim your portion of that field.