Freelancer Profile : Laurent Loukopoulos

Why did you decide to be a freelancer?

I decided to start freelancing with a very specific goal in mind: ultimately, my objective is to work on my own products full-time. Freelance work gives me the opportunity to have a great diversity of missions, work on innovative projects and challenges, and to increase my skills.

What do you enjoy about your freelance life?

The advantage of freelance work is to be able to manage my schedule. I can adapt my working hours, my salary and my activity according to my personal and professional life. I can also choose to work remotely or pick in-person missions, depending on my needs from one mission to another. Another clear advantage: to benefit from a legal structure, which makes it possible to invest.

How do you work more effectively as a freelancer?

The most noticeable change I noticed comes from my position as an external resource, which offers me a great deal of independence. I’m able to weigh-up certain decisions around project viability, which can sometimes be undermined by internal politics.

But honestly, I think I have always been efficient, including before going into freelance work.

What do you do to stay competitive among freelancers?

To remain competitive, my secret is to keep in good form, take time for myself and take a step back from my missions. I am very demanding at work, and I always strive to fit right into existing teams, regardless of the duration or the complexity of the mission.  This allows me to give meaning to projects. In addition, I do a lot of research into new technologies, which I like to trial in my personal projects as well as in my client projects. In my opinion, "soft skills" are also really important because they allow you to go beyond project expectations, and reinforce team cohesion. Lastly, I try to learn the fundamentals of each job in a company in which I intervene to better understand the needs of each stakeholder.

Do you have any personal side projects or other parallel activities (hobbies/passions)?

Right now, I'm working on a personal project that takes up a lot of my time. I am building a social network based on events happening around one. You can find more information here: awesomelab.io

Outside of the digital world, I go to the gym. This activity allows me to unwind after a day at work, but above all to keep a good posture. I also enjoy creative activities like drawing and sculpture.