How to Freelance in Malaysia

Hi guys, it's been a while since I blogged! Sorry about that. I have been busy lately. For today's topic I have a sudden urge to blog about freelancing. If you don't already know, I am a freelance commercial actress and model. Do you like my Kitty Bank picture? I've had it since I was 7 years old 😻

What is freelancing?

"A freelancer or freelance worker is a term commonly used for a person who is self-employed

and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term." - Wikipedia

Since venturing as a freelancer, I've met so many wonderful people. When you freelance, you can get hundreds to thousands for a day's job instead of waiting an entire month of working in an office. However it does come with it's own pro's and con's that not many people are aware about. I have been freelancing since I was 15 on and off. I used to blog under quinkitty.com and earned commissions through cookies through reviewing products and using links or codes whenever anyone used it. I did not take it seriously though but I also did blogging part time when I was still in Uni. And that helped me increase my shopping money & savings.

Many people can freelance part time, whether you're a student, a blue collar worker or even a housewife. Even kids can freelance! How many freelancing jobs are there? It can range from modelling, acting, emcee-ing, promoter jobs, ushering, make-up artist, sketch artist and many more. Even youtube-ing and uber is considered freelancing btw. Because you only get money if you upload a video and people watch the ads or when you send a customer to his destination. Basically some of the jobs you can do it at your own time. I will focus more on acting in this post because I have more experience in commercial acting. Some people even freelance full time. How much you earn depends on how much you're willing to sacrifice your time, money and effort. The harder (and smarter) you work, the luckier you will get.

Where do I find freelancing jobs?

For a lot of jobs, you can find the ads on facebook group or pages. All you have to do is search part time or freelancing jobs in Malaysia. Most people will do freelancing jobs part time if they already have a full-time career. Some people actually do it full-time. Freelancing means you can make a lot of money but you have to work really hard because you will not get a pay cheque every month and you have to keep your own money since EPF (KWSP) & SOCSO won't be deducted. I recommend doing it part-time if you want extra income.

Is it easy to get jobs?

There are many people who are doing freelancing jobs full time so many people are more experienced than others but for acting, sometimes they will pick someone with an impressive profile and sometimes they want a fresh face. Once you start working, you will meet a lot of people, whether it's the person who hired you, agent or clients. Depending on what job you're doing. The best way to get more future jobs is to maintain a good relationship with everyone. Don't be a diva if you're acting and don't come to work late. You need to have a good attitude and know how to carry yourself well. If you don't, well nobody's gonna think of you when they have a new project coming up.

Does looks matter?

For the most part no but you have to be well groomed & neat. But for acting, modelling and ushering specifically, it does. So only go for it if you have the looks and you are confident. Some jobs require you to be tall for modelling, being a car show girl, at least 160-170CM tall barefoot. How to know if you have the looks? This is very tricky because beauty is in the eye of the beholder but for commercial If you always get praises from people like, "You should model!" or "You should try acting" (and by people I don't mean your mom and dad but friends and strangers) then you know you have the looks. If not you can try but don't have high hopes. Talent agencies will say everyone is welcomed, whether you are tall, short, skinny, chubby, light skin, dark skin, young or old. But for most of the commercial jobs, they want Pan-Asians. What is a Pan Asian? If you google it, you won't get the exact answer lol

"Pan Asian can mean different things in different contexts. From multiple parts of Asia. You've tagged this question under restaurants, so Pan-Asian cuisine would mean cuisine from across Asia. Unifying force of Asia. Another meaning would be Pan-Asianism, which is an ideology that seeks to unify all of Asia." - Quora

Pan Asian

The meaning of Pan Asian (At least in Malaysia) is someone that has fair skin, doesn't look too Malay, too Chinese and too Indian. Basically someone that looks mixed race. For example I got various jobs because I look half Malay half Chinese. (My grandmother is Chinese but I'm the only one blessed with this look in my entire family) and it's also cos both of my parents have fair skin. My dad looks more Chinese than me tbh. The reason why they want Pan Asian look is cos it saves money when they air the ads. People can't tell if you look Malay or Chinese. So they don't have to make 2 different commercials for different TV stations/different target market. All they have to do is voice dubbing. I have done a commercial where it's aired in Vietnam. Yes having Pan Asian looks means you can look like other SEA race too. I've also done an ad where they will use the video for Malay channel & Chinese channel. If you have dark skin, you can work in dramas. They really want Malay looking people and mixed Malays for the most part. However drama jobs don't pay that well for extras. Going for auditions helps to get better roles that pays really good. I know all the main actresses earns about 5K per episode. If there's 10 episodes that's already 50K.

The downside of freelancing.

Some agencies will tell you to pay a fee, most of the reputable agencies won't charge you money for registering because they earn a certain percentage of what you make! So don't fall trap to those kind of disgusting, liars who take your money for "registering". Some agencies even have a contract that doesn't allow you to take jobs from other agencies which is totally unfair unless they can guarantee you will get jobs every week. Sometimes you have to wait for late payments, especially if it's more than 1K. However I have worked with various agents and most of them pay OTS right after a shoot. For events, most of the time they will pay after the event end. Other than that, it's probably the competition. Many people are freelancing. You have to work smart and work with people who share the same goals as you. I have to go to many castings to land a job. It doesn't mean you think you've done your best during auditions/castings that they will pick you. It depends on what the client want in the end. For example, they won't necessarily pick the most good looking person if another person can do a better funny face for a funny scene. People won't understand your job. I experienced this a lot and some people actually get really jealous because they have to work so hard working 9-5 and come back late when I'm free most of the days. You will also meet some of the most hard working people and some of the laziest people ever! Most of the jobs will get you on your feet literally all the time, sometimes 11-15 hours straight. I have done shootings with call time 9AM that ends at 2:30AM. I really admire a lot of freelancers but at the same time some of them are only in this industry because they don't like to study and only want easy jobs. So be careful with who you mingle with.

Okay I think I have covered enough for today. I hope this post is helpful for some of you! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment down below ^^

Favourite song at the moment: Can't decide between

Dancing With Our Hands Tied - Taylor Swift

& End Game - Taylor Swift Feat Ed Sheeran & Future

(I just got the album today!)

XOXO

Diana

#blog