This week, we’re hosting the next in our series of Freelancer Breakfast Club discussion meetups. These groups are intimate forums for members to discuss the real challenges that face them in their freelance lives. This time the topic on the table is ‘Money Talk’. 

What expenses can i claim as a freelancer?  If you're new to freelancing, the concept of freelancer expenses might be a little confusing and possibly a bit daunting - but they don't need to be. If you think expenses sound like a fancy word that’s only swung about in big businesses, you’re wrong. As a freelancer (sole-trader or limited company), no matter the size of your business, you’re eligible to claim expenses too.  Expenses are a purchase related to your business that is often made using your personal money or business bank account. The rules for claiming expenses depend on whether you’re a sole trader or limited company.

We speak with 100s of clients and businesses every week at Freelancer Club and we are constantly exploring why one freelancer gets the job and the others don't. We've also noticed how some freelancers are harming their chances of landing the job with their application. To help improve your odds, we've put together a list of pro tips on how to apply for freelance jobs. Enjoy

What does your portfolio say about you as a freelancer? Is it a visual CV, a trophy cabinet or something else? Does the work remind you of a particular time in your career, a certain client, a moment of pride or realisation – perhaps the project that changed everything? 

We love a good podcast at Freelancer Club. They are the perfect way to learn something new, get inspired or just zone-out when when you're on the move or have an hour to kill. For freelancers who need to know a little about a lot, podcasts can help you develop key skills in no time. To compile our list, we asked the team (all freelancers) what's on their playlist and came up with a few podcasts that have added value to our freelancing lives.

Corporate headshots… boring, right? Those endless rows of half-smiling, suited people in your LinkedIn connections are so similar, they might as well be the same person. I know a lot of my network  on LinkedIn personally and they are complicated, diverse, multifaceted characters - not cyborgs with an awkward grin.

Selling your services as a pro photographer is just one way to generate income. You may be sitting on terabytes of photos that businesses, clients or stock sites are keen to purchase. Selling photos is often an after thought for most photographers as there is confusion around ownership, IP and contracts. To demystify the process of selling photos, we’ve compiled a complete ‘how to’ sell your photos with the help of Roxanne Peters, Intellectual Property Lecturer at UAL.

Do you have a burning desire to become a full-time freelancer? Are you in a 9 to 5 job that you hate and spend most of your time looking at ways to escape? Full-time freelancing brings its own set of unique challenges but, if you get it right, can offer the flexibility, financial security and job satisfaction that's rarely found in a full time job.