Certain individuals become members of the club to learn more about running a freelance business. Others find value in showcasing their portfolio and making industry connections. Additionally, there are members who join the Freelancer Club specifically to secure new clients. While offering general advice on best practices when applying for work is always useful, we decided to ask one of the more successful members of the club who appears to have mastered the art of landing the job!

I still remember my first ever client meeting like it was yesterday.  It was right before Christmas, 2017. With a project start date immediately upon return from the holiday break.   And this wasn’t just any client, this was an American tech startup led by a woman who had run a department at the Rio 2016 Games. She’s the type of anxiety inducing high-flyer who budgets every minute of her time. The kind of client who will look at her watch the second you start to bore her.

Our latest Complete the Brief campaign saw Fashion Stylist Jacki Clark take the reigns on a studio shoot in London. Jackie teamed up with Francois Boutemy, Fashion Photographer, and founder of Simulacra Studio, Makeup Artist, Nike Johnston and model,  Francesca Quici to produce a shoot around the theme 'Northern Lights'. We sent our camera crew down to meet the team, check out the studio, and capture some behind the scenes footage on set.

Why are universities always chasing the next unicorn? Now, I don’t mean a unicorn as in the mythical horn-headed creature featured in thousands of years of European art and literature. Nor do I mean that “special someone” that hapless romantics fantasise about meeting in a magical way just like they do in the movies.

Here we go again… The power shift. The pendulum swing. The force of hand.  Just when the dust was starting to settle in this new post-pandemic era, someone comes along to rain on our parade all over again. Just when you thought you were finally in control, the rug is swept from right underneath you. The new buzzword, “Contract-for-hire,” is the culprit.  And it’s very clever. Perhaps a little sneaky. Hey, maybe downright manipulative.

This International Women’s Day, the Freelancer Club is in conversation with Ladies, Wine & Design (Vienna, Bristol and New York) to discuss the role of female and non-binary talent in the creative fields.

Remember that olde saying from back in the day…. “Don’t take no for an answer.”  It was drilled into us from our mentors, favourite business gurus, and idols alike — those that achieved their dreams by never giving up.  We fantasised about the day we would take our sellable skills out into the world and then immediately get rejected with that word — “no” — and then we’d embark on our own fiercely passionate, dedicated journey of discovering that life-changing “yes,” for-as-long-as-it-takes.  It’s almost as if this was a time where actually talking to another human who would recognise our existence and give us the courtesy of a reply, was the basic norm.   Gosh. They really were simpler times, weren’t they? 

We frequently hear that ‘Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion’ are essential to business success but what are the realities from a freelancer’s perspective? Are minorities fairly represented amongst blended workforces and what are the challenges faced by freelancers in this space?