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Blog: Change also offers opportunity, as long as you remain curious

AI is going to affect (almost) all businesses and jobs. You may see that as a threat, but if you look into it, you will probably also see opportunities. It is also best to face the tax authorities' check on whether you are self-employed with an open mind. It will make you a better entrepreneur. And you will (in both cases) be prepared for questions from clients or others.

AI, "what's in it for me?"

According to the latest Freelance Market Index (Q3, 2025), experience with AI will become a "must have" skill for self-employed people. Clients see added value in freelancers who use AI intelligently. At the same time, 80% of clients expect AI to partially replace work done by freelancers. Not often do you find two such contradictory findings side by side in a single survey. The message being: generative AI is both an opportunity and a threat. It is up to you to figure out how to increase your AI expertise.

Using chatbots
A so-called chatbot is an AI tool to get certain tasks done quickly. Think of writing code when programming, having ChatGPT write a summary of a text or generating an image.

For the maximum result, though, you need to ask the right question (prompt)/ask it. The quality of the question/ask determines the result. The better the input, the better the output. The reverse is also true: an incomplete or coloured prompt or question will give a generic, or even invalid result. In short, you will have to learn about "prompting". Learning to write good prompts will increase your chances of getting a new kind of assignment.

What is not allowed? Privacy-sensitive information
It does not mean you can uncritically apply applications like ChatGPT:

  1. Although developments are lightning-fast, you cannot take inputs blindly. In the end, it is a tool. It makes your life easier, but cannot come at the expense of your expertise. You make the difference, thanks to your knowledge, experience and network.
  2. Note! You should not simply use confidential and/or privacy-sensitive information for an AI chatbot. Carefully check what rules apply in your industry before importing datasets with sensitive information. And never use your client's data without asking explicit permission beforehand.
Tip! AI is all about trying it out. The more you work with it, the more applications you find for it. There are many more chatbots than ChatGPT.

Choose entrepreneurship

The Tax Office's control of false self-employment is another example of an issue that makes many clients and self-employed workers nervous. Again, throwing your ass against the manger does not help. If you are currently more employee than entrepreneur, you have until the end of the year to tap into your entrepreneurship. From 2026, the tax authorities may impose fines in addition to additional assessments.
The question you have to ask yourself is: do I want to go back to employment? If the answer is "yes", this is the time to start talking to your client. If the answer is "no", then you need to think about what needs to change to stay out of trouble. Two questions are very important here. Is there:
  1. work-related or organisational direction by the employer (a relationship of authority)?
  2. performing the labour at his own expense and risk?
In both cases, it's about seizing your autonomy and starting to behave like an entrepreneur. That is also where the opportunity lies. "Never waste a good crisis", to quote the words of Winston Churchill. Try to imagine where you want to be in five years as an entrepreneur and work towards that.
Note! In the Decision clarification assessment labour relations you will find the criteria for both points (authority relationship and entrepreneurship).
Tip! With the government campaign "The right contract: zzp yes or no?" you can use a questionnaire to check what applies to you.

Embrace your optimism
Entrepreneurs are optimists, the cliché goes. Embrace that with a healthy dose of realism. See what is possible, delve into AI and the rules that make you an entrepreneur. And also get good advice. Talk to your clients, ask for their views on AI, for instance. Maybe you are not far enough along in your development yet, but at least you know where your opportunities lie.

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NOAB KEURMERK

The Dutch Association of Administration and Tax Experts (NOAB) is a trade association with over 1,050 member firms.
Together, these member administration and tax consultancy firms serve more than hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs in the SME segment,
focusing on unburdening, guiding and advising entrepreneurs.

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