The freelancer glossary

A software as a service (SaaS) is when a business sells subscriptions to a platform and the customer pays in recurring periods. As an example, a customer subscribing to Netflix and paying on a monthly basis.

A sole proprietor is someone who single-handedly runs his or her own unincorporated business. A sole proprietorship is the simplest type of business structure.

A splash page is the very first screen that a user sees when entering your site. It is often delivered as a full-screen pop-up that draws attention to a particular CTA.

Split testing (aka A/B testing) is the process of optimizing a site, ad, or other marketing asset by launching two versions of something and seeing which one performs better.

A stakeholder is someone who has an interest and is able to impact a project, business, or decision. He or she could be an internal member or external one.

A statement of work (SOW) is a document outlining the deliverables, timeline, and other requirements of a project. They are intended to define the exact scope of work.

Strategy consultants help to guide a business through their current challenges by offering their industry expertise and committing themselves entirely to solving the question(s) at hand.

A style guide is a set of instructions on how a brand should be represented in writing and/or design. It is meant to reinforce strong, consistent branding wherever a company is mentioned.

Subcontractors are people or companies that are hired by a contractor to handle certain parts of a project. For example, as a freelance writer, you may subcontract a graphic designer to complete an assignment.

A subject matter expert (SME) is an authority within a certain field. He or she is often the go-to person for questions regarding a specific topic.

Sweat equity refers to the amount of time and effort that someone (often a startup founder or employees) puts into a project or company. These individuals are usually compensated via sweat equity shares.

Target market (aka target audience) refers to the group of consumers that your product or service aims to delight.

Tax deductions are expenses that can lower your taxable income. For freelancers, they include things like business startup costs, health insurance premiums, home office costs, and others.

Taxable income refers to the portion of your gross income (which includes wages, salary, rent, and other earnings) that is subject to tax. It is essentially your AGI minus standard or itemized deductions.

Tech stack refers to the set of tools, frameworks, hardware, programming languages, and services used to create an app or website.

A term sheet is an offer letter presented to a company by a lead investor stating the terms of the financing round. The terms often include the amount that will be raised, the valuation, and share preferences.

A thought leader is a person or an organization that is viewed as an authoritative figure within your industry. Brands may use content to build themselves into thought leaders.

In freelancing, a time log is a written record of all the time spent completing tasks for a client. It is generally used for internal purposes e.g., completing an invoice and analyzing efficiency.

Top of the funnel (TOFU) refers to the very beginning of the buyer’s journey, in which a prospect is not yet aware of—or looking to buy—your brand’s products or services.

Toptal is a freelancing platform, where businesses can connect with talented developers, designers, finance experts, project managers, and product managers.

The total addressable market (TAM) refers to the amount of money that your company could potentially make. It is an estimation based on market research, sales data, and/or other factors.

Turnaround time is the length of time between the moment a request was received to the moment that it is completed. For example, a freelance writer may require a five-day TAT for a draft.

Twine is an online marketplace that connects buyers with freelancers in various fields, including design, film, music, engineering, marketing, and AI/ML.

A UX/UI designer is responsible for improving both the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) of a product. He or she typically leads usability tests, interaction design, and more.

A unicorn refers to a startup that has achieved a valuation of $1 billion or more. The term originated in venture capitalism to describe a rare situation in which a startup grows to be this big, but unicorns have become more common in recent times.

A unique value proposition (UVP) is a statement that clearly communicates how your business benefits its customers and what makes it different from its competitors.

Upselling is when you persuade an existing customer to purchase a more expensive or upgraded version of an item or service. For example, many SaaS companies may upsell their users on premium subscriptions.

Upwork is an online marketplace where freelancers and clients can easily connect. Freelancers can bid on projects posted by clients, or list their various services for clients to purchase.

User experience (UX) is related to UI, but specifically refers to how enjoyable and memorable a user’s interaction with a system is. Good UX design relies on a deep understanding of user behaviors and preferences.

User interface (UI) refers to the screens and elements that a user interacts with on a website, app, or other device. An optimal UI is one that’s easy to use and easy to navigate.

Valuation is an estimation of how much a company is worth. Valuations are based on various factors and can differ from appraiser to appraiser, similar to public stocks, in which each investor values the company differently.

A vendor (aka supplier) refers to the person or business that provides goods or services to paying customers. In other words, freelancers are a type of vendor.

A venture capitalist (VC) is an investor that specifically provides capital for startups and small businesses. VCs receive equity stake in return for their support.

In marketing and sales, a vertical is the market or industry that a business is looking to serve. For example, a SaaS platform may target verticals like eCommerce, education, or healthcare.

A video editor helps to stitch together and refine footage to effectively tell a story. A typical day may include rearranging shots and adding special effects for a movie, commercial, or social post.

A videographer records footage for events, such as weddings, commercials, tv shows, and documentaries. He or she is often expected to storyboard and edit footage as well.

A vision statement is a short sentence or paragraph that describes the ideal future state of a company. It is intended to be very aspirational and provide direction for a team.

A voice-over artist helps to bring a script or character to life by recording his or her voice. Work could range from commercials and documentaries to TV shows and video games.

We Work Remotely is a platform for finding and listing fully remote jobs. Job seekers can find opportunities in fields like programming, design, sales, and marketing.

A web developer helps to build and maintain a website using his or her mastery of coding. Depending on the job, tasks could range from front-end code, back-end code, or both.

Webflow developers know how to create and optimize the front end of sites specifically built on Webflow, a SaaS application that’s quickly rising in popularity.

A white paper is an in-depth, persuasive report that explains a company’s stance or outlook on a complex issue. Its primary purpose is to educate, not pitch a product.

A wire transfer (aka bank transfer or credit transfer) is a method of payment whereby funds are moved directly from one bank to another.

A wireframe is a blueprint of a webpage. It is intended to show the basic layout and organization of the page, prior to filling it in with any color, typography, illustrations, and other design elements.

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOM marketing) refers to brand promotion that occurs as your consumers engage in daily conversations with other consumers.

A workflow describes the series of steps that you take to complete a task. For example, when working on a new freelance assignment, your workflow may begin with outlining and researching the topic.

Writing clips are copies of published work that give prospective clients an idea of your writing skills, experience, and style. They are often required of journalists or freelance writers.

Year-over-Year (YoY) refers to a comparison of any data points between two consecutive years. YoY comparisons are used to identify the changes that took place in the span of 12 months.

An iOS developer creates applications for mobile devices built on Apple’s iOS operating system, which requires proficiency in Swift or Objective-C.