How To Earn a Living As a Freelancer in Singapore

Freelancing is becoming a way of life for many people in Singapore, especially as the cost of living has increased. Luckily, there are many freelancing opportunities in Singapore and just a little commitment of your spare time and existing assets will allow you to earn extra money to supplement your regular income. Also, thanks to the internet, earning extra income has become much easier and less bound by geographical distance. If you are keen to explore freelancing in your free time, here are some opportunities that will get you started.

Offer Skills-Based Client Services

Many people have extensive skills and talents that can easily earn a quick buck, if leveraged and marketed correctly. The internet has made it so easy to access a large pool of clients, both locally and internationally. By browsing platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer or Guru, it is possible to locate projects that best suit your time and profile.

Possible Gains:

Whether you choose to get paid hourly or based on a fixed rate, your experience and portfolio will often determine the fee you can command. Let’s take freelance writing as an example, the cost of a freelance writer can range from S$8 to S$250 for 500 words, depending on their research or SEO experience. Knowing the level of your writing experience and interest will help you determine a reasonable fee.

What You Need to Get Started

At the very least, you must be proficient in the language you are writing in. You must also be able to research and create content that are relevant to the topics you are assigned. A passion for writing will definitely be a bonus. Access to a laptop (or computer) and WiFi are also must-haves for freelance writers. There will always be lots of online research work and hours spent drafting articles.

Become a Private-Hire Driver

This is likely to be the first gig that comes to mind if you have access to a car. Being a private hire driver has been a popular freelancing option for students, full-time workers and even business owners. Many choose to ferry passengers during their spare time, when commuting to and from work (peak hours are great for getting higher rates) and even weekends, just to make enough to cover for their petrol and part of their car loans.

There are no restrictions on how long you have to drive or how many trips you need to make a day. However, if you want to earn a bigger package from the private hire companies such as Grab or Gojek, you may have to clock more hours a week to make as much as S$12,980 in a month. On average, drivers can earn up to S$30/hour during peak hours and S$25/hour during non-peak hours.

What You Need to Get Started

There are more requirements for becoming a private hire driver in Singapore, these are the criteria that you will need to fulfil:

Incentives from each private hire company vary from month to month, however, drivers who can commit to long hours of driving are entitled to bonuses on top of their regular driving fee.

Publish an Advertisement on Your Car

One of the easiest ways to make money on the side is to let companies advertise on your vehicle. In some cases, this will net as much as S$700 per month. If you are iffy about the type of ads that will go on your vehicle or where the decal will be placed, you can simply opt-in or opt-out of the options provided to you before the agency commences with the contract.

Potential Gains

Allowing advertisements on different parts of the vehicle can yield different rates. Based on a sedan car, these are the possible advertising fee that you can make:

There are different pricing models for different vehicle types but what is obvious is that the bigger the surface area of your vehicle, the higher the fee you can demand.

Develop Your Own Online Course

If you are an expert in a particular subject, you can create and sell online courses on the topic on online teaching sites like Udemy. Do not be surprised if you quickly garner a growing fanbase. According to a study, the total market value for the e-learning business will reach US$325 billion in 2025, so why not jump on the bandwagon now to make the most of this opportunity.

Potential Gains

There are options for marketing your online course via platforms like Udemy. Udemy offers free marketing through their database if you opt-in for their promotional campaigns. Do note that there will always be a 50% revenue share between the platform and course owner. Below is an example of the potential returns you can receive in a year if you choose to promote your course through Udemy’s marketing campaigns:

This is a lucrative return considering once the course is developed, you can continue to reap the harvest for as long as the content is relevant. While it may take days if not months to develop a simple course, it is well worth it since it can yield long-term returns.

What You Need To Get Started

If you are creating your course video content from home, you will need a computer with video recording and editing capabilities. You should also be well-versed with the topic that you want to teach. Based on your expertise, you have to submit the following to the online platform before your course will be launched:

Learn About Relevant Regulations Before You Begin

According to a government survey, the number of freelancers in Singapore has been on the rise. People are increasingly seeking new and innovative ways to make money. However, you should bear in mind that there are licensing and tax rules you’ll need to follow depending on the industry and your level of involvement. With the growing supply and demand of freelancing jobs and side gigs, now is a great time start monetising a niche that resonates with you.

Be sure to safe prudently and invest wisely to grow your money as a freelancer. Check out our roundup of the best investing tools in the market today to get started!

Read More:

• How to Get Started On Your Freelance Career in Singapore
• How Freelancers In Singapore Can Save For Retirement
• Five Ways to Earn Passive Income in Singapore
• Make Money Doing What You Love: 5 Hobbies You Can Monetise
• Making a Career Switch? These Are the Most Lucrative Industries to Be In 2024 and Beyond

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