Take the world from your home office

Globalization and the internet have shrunk the world and as the world has become increasingly globalized and digitalized, new connections have emerged and boundaries have become blurred. This is especially true when it comes to working internationally. As long as you have an internet connection, you can at some point have a video conference with a client in Australia, to chat with a consultant in Italy seconds later. But how does it really work if you want to take an assignment from a customer outside Norway?

Many see the benefits of working remotely. With the corona pandemic, home office became the norm overnight. Many freelancers are probably used to not working in an office, but the pandemic has given home offices a legitimacy even among those who have previously been hesitant.

Home offices have thus generally also become increasingly popular, although it is usually the case that you have your employer or client in the same country. A survey by Sifo on behalf of the staffing company Randstad found, for example, that nine out of ten want to continue working remotely via home offices after the crisis. Perhaps the fact that homework has gained wide acceptance paves the way for clients to also look more positively at homework - regardless of whether it is a distance of five kilometers or 600 kilometers.

Research has also shown that home offices are more efficient than office work, when these are set up against each other. According to a US study from the autumn of 2020, for example, it was found that home offices were 13 percent more productive than those who continued to work in the office. In other words, the home office can be a really excellent base for working internationally.

Read more here (swedish): Kontoret, hemmet eller cowering space – hur kommer framtidens arbetsplats att se ut?

Opportunity to take advantage of the global economy - even during the pandemic
The corona pandemic has in many ways put an end to the global world we have become accustomed to. Traveling or working abroad has become significantly more difficult when social distancing has become a new, annoying, but necessary, norm worldwide. A natural consequence has also been that we have been isolated within continents, nations, cities and homes. But thanks to new digital tools, some cross-border exchanges can continue without major problems. One such example is living in one country and working in another.

Of course, this does not apply to all types of jobs or assignments. But for those of you who work with the computer as the main tool, there are actually good opportunities to find assignments outside Norway's borders - despite the pandemic. Because when designing a logo, writing a copy for a website or programming an app, long distances are not a problem. Working with international clients can be enriching in several ways; it provides, for example, the opportunity for new cultural encounters and the opportunity to exchange experiences. It can also be a way to expand your profile for future customers, sharpen your language skills and find new ways to work.

Invoicing abroad - a few things to keep in mind

Although the internet has simplified and enabled a new dimension in home office, there are some potentially aggravating factors. It mainly has to do with invoice handling, where it is important to keep track of things such as VAT number, BIC code and IBAN number and whether the country you are invoicing to is a member of the EU. If you know with yourself that you usually find administration and tax management burdensome, self-employment can be an option when you start invoicing. With self-employment, your invoicing abroad becomes easy, and you also always have someone to contact if questions arise.

Canada, Belgium, Qatar, the Philippines, Colombia ... - The world is at your feet!

The above is just a selection of the countries that self-employed people have invoiced to via Frilans Finans. As a self-employed person, you actually have all the prerequisites to make money on the global economy, whether you are driven by an ambition to expand your mission channels, long for a cultural exchange or just want to try to work internationally. In this way, the world can also continue to cohesive when our global habits take a temporary timeout.