What Is Freelance Customer Service & Why You Should Consider It

What Is Freelance Customer Service?

Freelance customer service is a type of customer service that is provided by independent contractors. Also, freelance customer service is a way to hire an experienced representative to answer questions and provide support for your customers.

A freelancer allows you to get the expertise you need without bringing on a new, full-time team member. It can be done in-person, over the phone, via email, or through instant messaging depending on what your client prefers.

In this article we’ll talk about why you should consider becoming a freelancer in this field:

10 Most Valuable Freelance Skills | Upwork Expert Talk
Takeaways
Freelance customer service offers flexibility in terms of work schedule and location.
Freelance customer service jobs can provide higher income potential based on skills and experience.
Working as a freelance customer service representative allows you to gain valuable experience in different industries and with diverse clients.
Freelance customer service provides an opportunity for personal and professional growth, enhancing communication and problem-solving skills.
Building a freelance customer service business requires continuous learning, adaptability, and effective time management.

1. Work From Anywhere

Since you only need an Internet connection to work, freelance customer service means that you can potentially do your job from anywhere. You don’t have to stay in your office or even at home. You can work at a coffee shop, the library, a hotel lobby, a restaurant (if you don’t mind working through lunch), or a bar (if you don’t mind working through happy hour).

You can also try something more adventurous like coworking spaces and digital nomad hubs. If you really want to change things up and consider yourself somewhat of an aspiring nomad, try working from different countries!

Freelance customer service specialists have a wide range of job opportunities available to them. If you’re interested in exploring the best freelance jobs in customer service, our article on 14 Best Freelance Jobs for Customer Service Specialists can provide valuable insights and help you make informed career choices.

2. Flexible Schedule

Having a flexible schedule can be incredibly advantageous for freelancers. As a freelancer, you’re deciding when and where to work. This can be in the morning, evening, or night, at home or at the office, with breaks whenever you need them. These are all options that most people working full-time jobs do not have.

Freelance customer service is one of those careers where having a flexible schedule is possible to some extent. Even if you take on projects that require you to work set hours (say at night), your time away from that project will still be yours without restriction. This makes freelancing ideal for those who prefer having more control over their daily schedules.

It also allows you to choose when and how much time you want to invest in other areas of your life as well such as family and friends, personal business ventures, or learning new things through education and travel.

3. Increases Your Earning Potential

In addition to making you happier, freelance customer service also increases your earning potential. You’ll be able to choose the best-paying gigs while rejecting lower-paying work. You can also charge more per hour since companies will save money on hiring and managing a team.

While this won’t necessarily mean you earn more than others who work as part of a team, it does mean that you can negotiate a higher salary than would otherwise be possible. Plus, if you manage to get enough clients, you could potentially earn as much as 10x what you do now for working the same amount of hours!

4. Helps You Improve Your Time Management Skills

If you want to be a successful freelancer, it is imperative that you learn how to manage your time effectively and efficiently. You need to know how to prioritize tasks and deal with them one at a time. You also need to know how to have a balanced life and work so that you can excel in both aspects of your life. You will learn the importance of being organized when it comes to managing your time.

A cluttered desk or room is an indication of an unorganized person, which means that he/she is not able to focus on what really matters in his/her life and thus fail at achieving his/her goals due to lack of focus on what needs attention first before anything else.

Finally, you need to plan your day effectively so that there will be no more wasted hours during which nothing productive happens – this way, each moment spent working from home (or anywhere else) will count towards something important instead of just being spent aimlessly surfing social media sites for example. Helps you learn how to better communicate with people from different countries and cultures

Looking to earn income through freelance customer service jobs? Learn effective strategies and tips for securing freelance customer service jobs and ensuring financial stability by reading our guide on How to Get Freelance Customer Service Jobs to Pay the Bills.

5. Helps You Develop General Social Skills

One of the most important skills you need when working as an online customer service representative is communication. Without proper communication, you will never be able to close a deal with your clients.

There are many ways that you can develop your communication skills such as participating in forums or groups that are related to what you do. You can also go to seminars and workshops where you will be able to interact with other people who have the same interests as yours.

Another great way of improving your communication skills is by reading books or watching videos on how to communicate effectively with people from different cultures and countries.

When communicating with clients, it is also important that you understand their needs and requirements so that they will feel comfortable dealing with you. You should always ask them questions so that they can give answers to these queries in a clear and concise manner.

6. You Will Be Able To Work On Different Projects And Use Various Systems

This is especially useful if you are thinking of changing career paths, but also if you simply want to keep your skills fresh and up-to-date.

When working with different clients, you can learn how to use different systems and applications. You will be able to figure out the most efficient way of using a system and the best way to help customers on each platform. This can help you gain new skills that you can add to your CV or LinkedIn profile when applying for future freelance projects, or even full-time jobs.

7. You Can Choose The Company That You Want To Work For Or With

You can choose the company that you want to work for or with. When working as a freelancer, you get to pick which companies you work with. It’s a great way to improve your skills and make sure that you are learning new things all of the time.

To find a company that you want to freelance for, try these few tips:

Look at company reviews online. You always want to make sure that the companies you are working with have good reviews and don’t have anything negative said about them in the press. If they do, try finding out why so that way you know if it was just a one-time thing or something ongoing.

Find out what they specialize in. Before getting started, look at their website and see what they specialize in and if it fits with your interests/skills then start working on making connections there! It’s always good when both parties align well before starting anything new together!

You will become more computer literate.

While some people are adept at using computers, many Americans are not. Unfortunately, as technology continues to advance and companies begin to outsource jobs, you may need to improve your computer skills in order to find a job. You may be surprised by how quickly you learn how to operate various systems and software applications when you are forced to use them for your own income.

Freelance customer service jobs offer numerous advantages, making them an attractive option for many individuals. Discover the reasons why freelance customer service jobs are highly sought after by exploring our article on 15 Reasons Why Freelance Customer Service Jobs Are So Attractive.

8. You Will Learn New Things

One of the great things about freelancing is that you can learn new things every day. This can be both fun and challenging, but it helps keep you interested in your work.

You might not know much about a certain topic when you first start working on it. But, after a few hours of work or research, you will have gained a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time.

You can learn new things by doing new things for example if you want to learn how to write a blog post, find someone who has written one before and ask them how they did it. You could also read blogs or watch YouTube videos about writing blog posts.

If there’s something that interests you but doesn’t directly relate to your job, try researching on the Internet or talking to people who know more about the subject than you do.

9. Easy To Set Up And Start Doing It

You don’t need a lot of money to get started; most people have computers and can access the internet. If you have those things, that’s all you need. You don’t need any employees – in customer service, it’s just you and your client. You can set up a contract for each project or job so you’re both clear on what is expected from one another.

You don’t need an office; customer service doesn’t require an office space (unless your work requires it). You can work from home, in coffee shops, or whatever other place works best for you!

You don’t have to have a lot of experience; if you’ve worked in customer service before and want to go freelance with it, that’s great! But even if this is the first time working in customer service, anyone with prior experience in dealing with people can make an excellent freelancer.

You don’t have to have a product; as I mentioned before, customers come to *you*. So if they want help setting up their own business’ website or how to market it better online, they will seek out someone who has the skills needed for that job.

10. No Traffic

With no need to commute long distances every day just so that you can make it on time for your first shift of the day, there will be less stress involved because of avoiding all of those rush-hour drivers out there who think they have the right of way on busy highways or roads during rush hour traffic times when everyone is trying to get where they need to go at once because…well…they all work at nearly the same time too!

You will be more productive.

You won’t find yourself constantly getting distracted by irrelevant things around you. You will not have to worry about office politics as much when you’re working from home. You will have more control over your environment than in a traditional workplace, which is often loud and distracting. 

Being able to work at your most productive times of the day can also help increase productivity. For example, if you work best in the morning and afternoon instead of late at night or early in the morning, working for yourself allows you to schedule your time accordingly so that you can get more done during these hours.

As a freelance customer service business owner, there’s always room for improvement and growth. Our article on 13 Things You Still Need to Learn About Your Freelance Customer Service Business provides valuable insights and practical tips to help you enhance your business and achieve success.

11. Earn Extra Money With Your Skills And Experience

Freelancing is a great way to earn more money without taking on a second job. If you have the skills and experience, you can offer those to companies that need help. This could be anything from creating resumes for clients, to consulting in your area of expertise. These types of jobs usually require a lot of writing, so if you’re looking for an opportunity where you can use your writing skills and make some extra money at the same time, then this might be something for you!

Some people don’t know how much they’re worth until they start working as freelancers. When I first started out freelancing back in 2012, I wasn’t sure if anyone would pay me $20 per hour because they didn’t know my value either (and neither did I). But once I began doing it? Whoa!! People started paying me that much because they saw how much work went into what I was delivering them – which resulted in even more clients who wanted my services too!

12. You Can Do Something You Love

Make sure it is something you actually love doing. If you’re not sure, create a list of things that you truly care about and are good at. Not only does this give you clarity on your passions, but it will also empower you to think about how your skills can be used for meaningful work.

You can also think about what frustrates you like being chained to a cubicle or having to sit in rush hour traffic every day after work. You can then use this as a motivator to find an alternative career option that allows more flexibility and freedom.

13. You Will Be Happy As An Independent Worker

Self-employed people are just generally happier than employed people. According to researchers from the University of Warwick, self-employed people are, on average, 33% more satisfied with their jobs than those who are employed.

This happiness comes from a combination of factors: having control over your working hours and choosing the kind of work you want to do, pride in your work, freedom to choose when and where you work and finding it easier to balance your work life and personal time.

And it’s not just their job satisfaction that is higher independent workers also have an increased sense of autonomy (how much control they feel they have over their life) which has been shown in studies to increase overall happiness and reduce burnout.

14. Job Security

Job security is one of the top concerns for freelancers, but it’s not really a valid concern anymore. The companies that hire freelancers keep them on contract. They don’t have to pay benefits, and they don’t have to abide by “at-will” laws when deciding whether or not to terminate your services. If you’ve been mistreated or violated your contract in some way, they can fire you without fear of being sued. But if you do your job well and treat the company with respect, there’s no reason that you can’t be a valuable asset to their team.

Services like Accountful are designed to ensure that freelancers are treated with respect and compensated fairly for their work. Account does quality control in order to make sure their clients get the best service possible from freelancers who know exactly what they’re doing.

Success as a freelance customer service representative relies on various factors and strategies. If you want to excel in your role, check out our article on 12 Secrets to Success as a Freelance Customer Service Rep to uncover valuable insights and actionable advice that can propel your career forward.

Final Thoughts

We hope these reasons have shown you the benefits of working in customer service. If you are looking to challenge yourself, then working in customer service may be a good fit for you.

As we have seen above, it is a great way to learn more about the world, gain work experience and earn extra money.

In addition to this, If you’re interested in working in a service industry but don’t have the right temperament for customer service, then freelance customer service might be the solution. It’s not an easy field to break into, but there are a ton of opportunities out there and a variety of different roles you can take.

You could be an independent contractor who works with several clients (or even just one) or work as a virtual assistant with one client only, or you can work as a company employee who is temporarily placed at another company.

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources for further reading on related topics:

5 Reasons Why You Need a Good Customer Service: Discover the importance of providing excellent customer service and the benefits it brings to your business.

Why Do You Want to Work in Customer Service?: Gain insights into the reasons why individuals choose a career in customer service and how to effectively express your motivation during job interviews.

What Is Freelancing?: Understand the concept of freelancing, its benefits, and how it can offer flexibility and independence in your professional life.

People Also Ask

How To Apply For A Freelance Customer Service Job?

To work as a freelance virtual customer service representative, you need to know your way around the internet and must have excellent typing skills. You will also need a good headset with noise cancellation and a high-speed internet connection.

How To Become Freelance Customer Service?

A virtual customer service representative provides excellent support services to clients through online call centers and email channels. They can work from home part-time or full-time by providing support via phone or email in their spare time, so long as they have access to reliable internet and phone lines. All you need is an internet connection to do it!

Why Should I Consider Hiring A Freelancer?

If you are running a business and don’t have the resources to hire a full-time, in-house customer service agent, hiring a freelancer can be a great way to delegate some of your more repetitive tasks. This can free up more of your time so that you can focus on growing your business.

How Much Does It Cost?

The rates for freelance customer service agents will vary depending on their experience and client needs. Freelance customer service agents charge anywhere from $15-$50 per hour. There are also services that offer professional customer service representatives at competitive rates.

What Type Of Work Do They Handle?

There are many types of tasks that can be delegated to a freelance customer service agent. These include answering frequently asked questions, providing tech support, handling live chat and email inquiries, and monitoring social media accounts. Since hiring a freelancer can increase your efficiency and productivity, you may find that you have more time available.

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