Many large U.S. companies are reducing the use of their offices, according to Open Forum. Firms such as HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems are only using between 35% and 40% of their available space, saving up to $ 10,000 per year and worker.

Workers are mobile and are where the customer is, and they also used the space in other ways: sharing desks or simply using multifunctional rooms as offices, meeting rooms and team work rooms at the same time, for example.

The hardest thing about being a freelance is not the work itself, but getting customers. You need commercial skills and you also need to dedicate enough time to establish contacts, answer emails that you do not know whether they will lead to anything or to visit clients in order to change an initial reluctance on the final signing of a commission.

There are a few aspects that we can not forget:

Smartise, the site that connects businesses with freelancers, continues to grow. The National Innovation Enterprise (ENISA) has backed the project and has signed a financing agreement with the company.

Under the participative loan policy formula, ENISA has made a capital contribution to partially fund the business plan for the next three years. This funding follows a special line for young entrepreneurs (under 35 years). This does nothing but reinforce the solidity and projection of the project, which is increasing its number of registered users.

Companies are increasingly looking for freelancers: the economic environment leads to cost reduction and outsourcing services, and there are also more and more professionals deciding to start working solo, so companies have a greater number of experts to choose from.

According to a study of the office services company Regus, 47% of companies prefer to hire a freelancer rather than resorting to an employee in full or part time, a percentage that is growing compared to previous years.

The benefits for companies are nearly obvious:

Freelancers consider that the most important tools at work are computers and online communication. In the list of preferences, task management tools and networking events follow. Then, coffee. And under a nice cup of coffee comes a good smartphone.

Only 5% of freelancers think that their smartphone is their most important tool, according to a study by Crunch, while 34% chose their computer, and 8%, coffee.

This information is not surprising, but it's interesting nonetheless: the most visited websites in Europe and Spain are those related to employment, including sites providing services to self-employed and freelancers, as is the case of Smartise.
According to a study by the consultancy firm Comscore, these pages are the target of 30% of European Internet users, with a total of 108.4 million unique visitors per month. In addition, visits have been increasing and, for example in September they rose 14% compared with the same month last year.

According to The Hartford's Small Business Success Study, the majority (70 percent) of US small business owners feel successful, even as they face challenging conditions, because profits aren't always the definition of success. In fact, 82 percent say they place great importance on doing something they feel passionate about and enjoy. Although 77 percent acknowledge that increasing profitability of the business year over year is very important, only 18 percent say this is the most important factor in defining success.

The tax status of freelancers who want to work in the United States is complex: we must take into account federal taxes, Social Security and Medicare, apart from any state taxes. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) usually pays particular attention to self-employed workers, also foreigners.

Freelancers willing to try Smartise can do so for free during their first month as members. Once they sign up, they will be able to apply for projects without any cost.

Thus, customers who need to hire a freelancer and providers searching for projects will be able to use Smartise's services without having to make any payment. Our goal is to get you to know the Smartise working system, and we know of no better way to learn how a system works other than using it.

When working as a freelancer, you must ensure your clients understand the differences between a self-employed worker and a hireling. Especially when working with companies that do not usually resort to this system and they are doing so now because of changes in the work market.

Obviously, this can also be seen in reverse: firms have to take into account a number of aspects before hiring a freelancer, apart, of course, of the economic agreement.