It's official. Freelancing is on fire. More people and companies are hiring freelancers than ever before and there is a genuine opportunity for talented individuals to earn a living or generate extra income from their skills and passion. However, there's a problem and it's a big one that not enough platforms are talking about. One in five freelancers fail within their first year of business and 60% are forced to close their doors within 5 years. A worrying statistic and one that badly needs addressing. We delve deeper to find out what is going wrong and how we can fix it?
As the name suggests, Freelancer Club proudly supports the self-employed through a bunch of features and a thriving community. We truly believe freelancing is a viable alternative to traditional work that allows individuals to take control of their lives, earn money from something they love to do and work on their own terms. It’s not just the financial rewards either. Many of our members are interested in freelancing to gain more flexibility in their lives and, as we establish a new era of hybrid and remote work models, freelancing is no longer the outlier but the preferred choice for many. In fact, it's predicted there will be more freelancers than employees in the US by 2027!
That said, let us address the burning question, why are so many freelancers failing to succeed? Analysis of HMRC tax records by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the Office for National Statistics through the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and the Economic and Social Research Council found that freelancers (in 2019) were setting up in their droves but failing quickly.
We couple this data with our own study that asked why freelance businesses were failing. Of course, there's no single reason when a company fails. It can often be a consequence of internal and external factors, fluctuating markets, personal circumstances and dumb luck so we asked for broad stroke reasons.
At the core, most freelancers simply weren't able to earn enough to sustain their business.They simply didn't realise how much one needed to know and do to set up and run a freelance business.
The enemy of most businesses is time and money. For many freelancers, they either start selling their services on the side of a part-time or full-time job or they save up a few month's worth of expenses and dedicate all their time to their business. The former have the luxury of gradually growing until one day they pull the trigger and do full-time freelance, whereas the latter face a race against time. They need to figure out how to generate a steady income quickly before they run out of their savings.
Jack of all trades, master of one!
Freelancers, contractors, and side-hustlers launch their business to do more of what they are really good at, yet they spend far too much time setting up, doing day-to-day tasks, seeking out new clients and dealing with admin when they should be working on paid projects and clocking up billable hours. It seems impossible when you first start. How can one person learn how to do so many things, from setting up the business, building a website, designing a logo, establishing a brand, marketing your services, managing clients, chasing payments, sorting out the finances, and 101 other elements of running a successful freelance business?
How have successful freelancers done it?
There are 3 main ways freelancers tackle manage these tasks. One, they use tech and online tools to automate or semi-automate the processes. You probably already use a version of automation. If you use Dropbox to store files, Gmail to schedule messages or Canva to design your social media content, you're already using tech to speed up these business processes. AI is playing a greater role in business as chatbots and image generators enable business owners to produce content and imagery without the cost or the time. More sophisticated tools such as Zapier and IFTTT can help you connect multiple apps and tools in this regard, saving you even more time.
The second option is to outsource the tasks. If you spend lots of time fielding emails and managing your clients, a Virtual Assistant might help. Do you struggle to do your financial accounts? Hire a freelance accountant to take that stress away. Freelancers hire other freelancers all the time and they can be the key to growing your business.
The final way freelancers run their business is by doing it all themselves. It's more common than you might think. Hands up who has trying designing a website using a free online tool! Bad, isn't it! We recommend you engage with all elements of your business to a degree but know your limits and tap into options A or B above when faced with a task that is above your pay-grade.
In truth, most freelancers run their business using a combination of all of these elements. The problem is how do know what to automate, what to outsource and what to do yourself? More importantly, how can you run a freelance business without an understanding of the business basics in the first place?
Introducing: Online Masterclass Courses
Freelancer Club was founded on 3 principles: Education, Support and Opportunity. We regularly run live masterclasses, have a wealth of articles and offer one-to-one sessions to help our members develop their business skills. Our campaign 'Rise, Freelancer', aims to support 1 million people by 2026 and our latest product roll-out will help us achieve our goal.
By improving your understanding of business, learning how to automate the administrative tasks and adopting the right mindset, you can set up a viable and rewarding freelance business in a very short space of time or, if you’re already freelancing, vastly improve your efficiency and achieve your goals. If you feel stuck in a vicious cycle of going project to project or are generally frustrated at the lack of progression, our new online learning masterclasses and freelance business school is for you.
We're excited to announce the launch of our Online Freelance Courses, a range of short courses and bite-sized lessons to help freelancers develop their business, mindset and soft skills. In addition to insight concept designed specifically for freelancers by experts in the industry, members will be able to see which courses they have completed, pause lessons and learn at their own pace, and join conversations with others that have completed the course.
We will be regularly adding to our masterclass courses so members can constantly develop their skills and keep on learning.
Freelance Business School
In addition to our Online Masterclass Course, we're proud to offer Freelance Business School. Delivered by our Founder, Matt Dowling, Freelance Business School comprises 4 courses that cover the business essentials every freelancer should know to succeed. Business essentials, branding, marketing and sales (including pricing and negotiation).
“With over 10 years of experience as a freelancer, 12 years running businesses supporting freelancers and 10,000 hours of teaching freelance essentials, I’m excited to share my knowledge and expertise to help freelancers, at all levels, achieve their goals and ambitions.” Matt Dowling
