Being Freelance

Steve began learning his craft in 2008 and took it professional in 2011. His ambition, back then, was to build a name for himself as an action sports photographer in the world of Parkour (freerunning). Depsite knowing there wouldn’t be much money in it, Steve gave it a go anyway. And he invested his time into a second niche, too. Calling on his background and contacts within the food industry, he...

Rafal taught himself design and started freelancing around his schoolwork at age 16. When he moved from Poland to the United States at 18, and with zero contacts and no design qualification, he landed a full-time job as a developer. Rafal progressed within the company, designing for some of the biggest websites and blogs out there, all while continuing with freelance work on the side. Until, event...

Eman was working as a production assistant at a local TV station when she realised she wanted to write. She began applying for jobs while at the same time setting up her business and brand. Eman took a job offer and became the communications manager at a charity. A necessary experience, she says now, even though the commute was a killer and she barely saw her young son. These days, Eman’s found he...

Christian spent the best part of two decades working in agencies before eventually going freelance. He’d had a couple of trial runs before but this time he wanted to do it properly. To Christian, that meant bringing in his own clients rather than setting up in the corner of an agency. And it’s working. These days, Christian gets most of his work via social media or word of mouth. He talks about ta...

Lina spent a year working at an agency before going to design college. When she did, the agency offered her a first freelance client - the United Nations, Sweden. She picked up other freelance work while studying and soon founded a feminist communications agency with a friend, bringing together a network of freelancers for shared projects. A year out of college, Lina went freelance full-time on he...

Reuben left the life of full-time employment behind when he jumped in a van and started chasing athletes around. He’d graduated from photography school during the 2008 financial crash and, with no apprenticeship or staff job, he was finding his own way, meeting new people as he went along. He talks in detail about how he found work and clients at the beginning and now, including through networking...

When Kingsley landed a job as a creative director, he learned the business skills he’d need to make full-time freelancing work the next time around. After two and a half years, the freelance work he’d continued to do on the side was taking over. The second time Kingsley freelanced for Nike, a dream client, he realised “I can’t stay in this job any longer. I just want to be home, focusing all my en...

After the agency she worked for lost its major client, Helen took her first business full time. Later, when she found herself “slogging away not making enough money”, it was time for something new. Next, she set up her second business, a marketing and PR consultancy, and since then, she’s found a niche in coaching entrepreneurs to write authority-building books. Helen does some ghostwriting, too....

Paul finally took the plunge and went freelance five years ago, with a solid 18-month gig lined up but no savings. With a young family to think about, it was a big decision. These days, alongside his consultancy work, Paul produces a weekly podcast, runs an annual conference and hosts a Slack group. He talks to Steve about how each drives new business for him and how he manages his time with so mu...

Nadieh was working full-time when she launched a personal project with a friend. They documented the process closely, sharing in-depth blog posts that explained the hows and whys behind their decisions. Six months later, Google reached out to them and became a first client. And so Nadieh’s freelance story begins. She talked to friends, read books, got an accountant and started putting herself out...

Iain’s in his fifth decade now and freelancing for the second time around. During his first stint, he painted blackboards for pubs, restaurants and shops. He started from scratch with a small portfolio and went door-to-door until he’d built a full-time business. And then, in 1996, Iain moved to Copenhagen with his Danish girlfriend. These days, he’s designing graphics, websites and illustrations f...

Hash landed his first freelance gig by accident while he was still a student at uni. It’s seven years later now and he’s never looked back. He got some studio space from that first client in return for the odd bit of work, and through word of mouth and meeting people, he was able to build up his contact list and bring in a steady flow of work. Hash has learnt as he’s gone along, bouncing back from...

Sara started freelancing in 2018 after she was laid off from a VP of Marketing role in Silicon Valley. Since then, she’s relied on her network and word of mouth referrals to keep the work coming in. When she’s not working for clients, Sara spends her time doing standup comedy. As well as gigging regularly, she’s spoken at the SXSW conference about the links between standup and marketing and how pr...

Matthew left uni in 2009, right after the financial crash. Ready to find a way to combine his love for music and games, he started freelancing immediately, picking up small projects and commissions, getting involved with whatever he could outside of his full-time job.  But it wasn’t until 2016, after he was made redundant, that Matthew went freelance full-time. He had plenty of good contacts and s...

What if you could find a mentor who’d teach you everything they know for free? That’s exactly what happened for Melinda when she connected with Chris Do, founder of online education platform, The Futur. After talking one on one and realising they could learn from each other, Chris invited Melinda to co-host a series on his YouTube channel, where they’d talk about the real-life issues she was havin...

James started freelancing in 2010 after spending a couple of years building a name for himself online. He was still working for an agency during that first couple of years. He’d spend his days working on whatever landed on his desk, and his evenings creating exciting things for clients like MTV. Eventually, the balance tipped and James went freelance full time. By working on his own projects and p...

Bored at home when she first became a mum, Diane decided to launch an online shop. She didn’t have money to invest so she got to work DIY-ing the website herself. She barely sold a thing, but she did start getting questions from people who wanted the name of her web designer. And so a new business was born. It’s ten years later now and, as well as running her own web design business, Diane’s teach...

Rose is on her second run being freelance after things didn’t work out the first time around. After realising she’d underestimated the amount of work she’d need to put in, Rose took a job at an adult store in London. She’d been a writer at a magazine for years before going freelance and then ending up in retail, so when she found out her new employers were launching a magazine and website, she put...

Ruud launched an illustration studio straight of university in the Netherlands with his then-girlfriend. It started well but the work didn’t keep coming, and he soon took a job as a web designer to help pay the bills. After a move to Scotland, where his girlfriend landed her dream job as a game developer, Ruud took another shot at building the studio. He set up in a co-working space and made frien...

Julia spent 8 years designing greetings cards in-house at Hallmark and Moonpig before she was “forced into freelancing”. Turning away on-the-side gigs that she just couldn’t fit in around full-time work, Julia realised she was losing money. She went freelance full-time, securing guaranteed work from her former employer for the first year, and continued to teach the calligraphy classes that were he...

John’s freelance career began in 2009 after he was made redundant from his role as a software tester. Struggling to get an interview, let alone a job, he embarked on a new adventure as a technical writer. Work came via old contacts, family and friends for the first five years, and then John discovered the world of online marketing. He developed his website, began using his skills to create “Relent...

Anne got into web development in 2010 and eventually found that coding for email was her sweet spot. She worked in permanent roles for years while freelancing on the side, and then her cat got diagnosed with cancer and she went freelance full-time to be with him. It turned out to be great timing for Anne. She’d been involved in ‘Email Geek’ communities online, and by being active, helpful and enth...

Being Freelance returns on Sunday 12th January with our first guest of season 10, but for now, a bonus episode with Holly June Smith and Andrew and Pete. Both previous guests in the Being Freelance community on Facebook, Holly, Andrew and Pete all joined Steve for Live Q&A sessions, where they answered your burning questions about being freelance. Holly is a life coach who helps people find th...

Did you know Steve Folland from Being Freelance also co-hosts another podcast for freelancing parents? It's with Frankie Tortora from the Doing It For The Kids community.  Whilst Being Freelance is on its winter break, here's a chance for you to hear what the DIFTK podcast is like. Each episode is just 20 minutes, with a Q&A format. This episode is number 20, all about beating procra...

It's time for the 200th episode of the Being Freelance podcast. Recorded live at the Underpinned Freelancer's Christmas Party in London. Sharing his story is Kieron Lewis, otherwise known as 'Kay' of Olga & Kay - a collaborative freelancing creative duo. Kay from London, Olga from Latvia. Designer and photographer. Kay shares how he got started freelancing on the side of hi...