The impact remote work has on my mental health is a complicated and nuanced issue. I currently work as a freelance artist (amongst other services). I use the dining room table to make my art, the garage for printmaking and a shared desk in the home office for my writing. Outside of my home, I occasionally facilitate workshops for a London charity where I work on site as part of a larger team. It’s a balancing act between flying solo, working with others and collaborating digitally.

As any freelancer would know, when it comes to finding new work, there’s nothing more valuable than a word of mouth referral or recommendation. Beyond that, there’s more to self-employment than who you know, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to cut through the noise and stand out against competitors—especially when applying for a gig via an automated recruitment system.

How to get paid on time is a question we get asked on a daily basis. It seems that every freelancer has a story or two about a late payment, battling with a client for payment or not getting paid at all. Getting paid on time for the work you do as a freelancer is essential to keep money flowing into your business but more importantly, to turn your passion into a long term successful freelance career. So, why is it so hard to get paid on time? 

Starting up or changing up – we’ve talked about the importance of teams before. It’s a truism that much of our success, enjoyment and satisfaction at work comes from those we work with.  Sharing the adventure of something that matters with engaged teammates is the holy grail for many businesses, especially startups. But holier yet? The flexible team. Building that dynamic group of individuals to join you on the journey in today’s shifting workplace isn’t so straightforward. 

Managing a team of freelancers is very different prospect to managing full-time employees but fast becoming an essential skill in a manager’s toolkit. According to Forbes Magazine, around 50% of Google and ASOS’s workforce is made up of freelancers and IPSE’s data shows the freelance economy in the UK has grown by 25% since 2009, generating an estimated £109 billion a year. A figure that takes on even more significance in Brexit Britain. 

Working from home is one of the great joys of being self-employed. Gone are the days of rush-hour traffic and races against the clock - now you can just roll out of bed, brush your teeth, and welcome the day at your own pace.

In 2015, we teamed up with Crunch to write a piece on the impact the general election might have on freelancers. Looking back at the article today is remarkable. Labour lost it's identity, the Conservatives chose to shun the self-employed and there has been little to no movement on the key points that were raised, namely late payments and equal rights for the self-employed. As we shuffle into a post Brexit Britain 5 years later, we look back at the promises that were made to the self-employed in the UK and ask 'has anything changed?'. 

The war between creativity and business has raged for generations and rarely is it more evident than in the passion-sectors. Fashion, art, film, music… can feel almost vocational, as if an invisible force is driving us forward to do the one thing we are meant to be doing whilst at the same time, we're often forced to make commercial decisions. Continuing our Inspirational Freelancer series, we sent our Founder, Matt Dowling, to meet with freelance singer/songwriter LEIO for a coffee and a chat. They discussed the essence of creativity, striking a balance between art and commerce and the importance of naivety.