While the work that I do at home is currently all for clients within the United States of America, I have been realizing more and more that working from home brings with it the ability to participate in whichever marketplace you would like to participate in. Some people wish to work strictly with local clients in their immediate geographic area. Others like myself may wish to expand their reach and serve clients that are interested in their services, wherever those clients may be located. It is entirely up to you how you design your business and position yourself in the marketplace of your choice.
Advances in technology give us the ability to deliver our products and services to those that need them wherever they may be. With the ability to send information over the internet and attend meetings online, we can help our clients to get what they need when they need it without the costs associated with being physically present in their office. The amount of companies that use the services of freelance professionals is steadily increasing and although there are many talented freelance workers out there doing many different types of work, there is always room for others who are interested in jumping in to the talent pool.
Sites like Elance.com, Guru.com, and others post freelance jobs from clients all over the globe. The very fact that you can set up a profile on a web site and bid on jobs where skills exactly like yours are needed somewhere in the world is pretty amazing if you think about it. The ability to reach a global audience is great for all freelancers, but especially important if you are someone with highly specialized skills that may not be of much use to clients in your local area. It means that you can do the work that fits your skill set even though the people that need your services are located far away.
The ability to reach a global marketplace is something that I do not think about very often in the course of my day to day work. It is quite an empowering and inspiring thing to think about, whether you have been working from home for years or you are thinking about switching from traditional work to home-based work. I would love to hear any stories about how the ability to reach a global market has helped your home-based business to thrive.
Photo by duboix on morguefile.com.