We get asked about how one should make the transition from part time freelancing to full time freelancing and from full time work to part time freelancing a lot. And those we speak to are worried about, well, everything! Will I have enough money to pay the rent? Can I run a freelance businesses on my own? Did I put a red sock in with the white wash? Ok, maybe not the last one so much but the fear of going freelance is common and something all freelancers must deal with at some point. Before you make the leap, here's a few pointers to consider.
ARE YOU A JACK OF ALL TRADES?
Whilst studying Fashion Management at university, I tried my hand at styling, costume design and copywriting as side modules. Although I studied all of these skills simultaneously, I didn’t realise that I could apply a similar structure to my future career as a multi-disciplinary freelancer.
THE FRUSTRATIONS OF FREELANCING
A lot of people think that being a freelancer is a walk in the park – I mean all we do is sit at home drinking tea in front of the computer, right? Definitely not right! Although there are, of course, plenty of perks to being a freelancer, it’s not all Cappuccinos in our PJs and things can certainly get frustrating.
WHAT CAN FREELANCERS TEACH POLITICIANS ABOUT NEGOTIATING BREXIT?
Brexit, the most important negotiations for the United Kingdom in a generation, and freelancing have nothing in common, right? Wrong! There are many similarities that freelancers will have noticed whilst watching Britain’s exit from the European Union, but there are also many competencies that freelancers could teach the negotiators on both sides. Here are my top 5 negotiating skills that politicians could learn from freelancers to make the Brexit negotiations just a little less frustrating.
FREELANCE ADVICE - ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL
Freelance Advice. It's everywhere. Blogs, sites, books, people. Everyone is offering their 2 cents when it comes to freelance advice. Can you remember the moment you thought ‘I know, I think I’ll become a freelancer’?. I’d imagine a feeling of liberation coursed through your entire body. Then there is the moment that feeling of excitement turns to reality. Now is the time to start planning.
THE COMPROMISE BETWEEN ART AND BUSINESS
Do you consider yourself to be a creative or business person? Can you be both? The relationship between art and business has always been tenuous - many artists see what they do as an endeavour of the spirit rather than a means for capital gain and as a result, expressions such as ‘sell out’ are all too often chucked around.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A MENTOR
The idea of spending money on a mentor, particularly when starting out or freelancing part-time may seem like the last thing on your shopping list but it may just be the one investment that saves you the most money in your career.
FREELANCER MYTHS
The idea of not setting an alarm in the morning and working in my dressing gown all day really aided in my decision to become a freelancer. But when my workload went from eight to nine to ten hour days and I was dragged from pillar to post by new clients wanting to meet in person before working with me, I soon realised that freelancing wasn’t going to be such a breeze. And there’s plenty of other misconceptions to being a freelancer, here are a few you may have encountered: