Being Freelance

When she was burnt out from teaching and stuck in a funk, Maddie’s husband asked her “What is it you really want to do?” Suddenly it became clear - Maddie realised she wanted to create picture books for children. She phoned her boss that night to give notice and, within a month, she had an agent. Maddie hit the ground running from there, taking on small projects and saying yes to everything that l...

Ketan left his full-time role as a graphic designer with 2 or 3 freelance clients lined up. Within a couple of years he had enough work to hire a second designer, but when they lost a big client the following year, Ketan had to let his employee go. Ketan went on to co-found his own agency in Manchester before moving to Australia with his wife and son. He worked remotely for a year before the agenc...

Joe’s been making music forever, but his first real-world project came during an internship he took after leaving school. He freelanced on the side after that while waiting tables, and then landed a corporate sales job which he really, really hated. With help from a friend, Joe found his way back to music and began studying for his masters and picking up freelance work once again. He had a stint i...

Stanley’s first break came when he was doodling on a bit of paper in the fish and chip shop he worked in. The customer he was serving was an art buyer, and he set Stanley up with an interview that landed him an agent. Later, back in the days of MySpace, when Stanley first began building a profile online, he got a 3am phone call from The White Stripes’ management team. They’d seen his illustrations...

Ready for a career change in her mid-30s, Nik landed an internship with a local design company. She took a risk and went freelance soon after, with only 1 client on her books and no cash to back her up. It worked for a while, and then Nik ended up back in employment with a boss she didn’t respect. It didn’t take long for her to return to the freelance world, and this time she came to it with fresh...

When a 20-year-old Ira flew to the UK in search of his biological father, he had no idea a new life awaited him. Ira met his partner on that trip, and after 4 years long distance, he moved to London to be with him. Ira had freelanced in the Philippines before his move, and he now runs freelance photography agency Ventana. He chats to Steve about finding and keeping clients - by building relationsh...

Hayley felt trapped working in-house on projects that didn’t inspire her, and although she moved from a sports broadcasting company to work with Google’s internal production team, she didn’t quite find the spark she was looking for. Since going freelance, Hayley’s found a way to attract the kind of projects that matter to her, and she’s produced work for both the Bill Gates Foundation and the Unit...

Over the last 15 years, Rachel’s gone from unhappy administrator to IPSE’s Freelancer of the Year. Rachel teaches 1 on 1, she mentors choirs, she’s performed around the world and appeared as a judge on a SKY 1 TV show, and she runs workshops in schools and communities. And that’s not even everything. By taking her talent and finding plenty of different ways to apply it, Rachel’s been able to build...

Ready for a change, Seattle-based Evan and his wife bought one-way tickets to Argentina, and Evan went freelance full-time. That’s a sizeable change. Especially with 4 daughters under 10 in tow. Evan had never been to Argentina, but he did have some experience being freelance. He’d done it on the side of permanent jobs for years, always with the idea that he’d freelance full-time one day. Evan cha...

“I’m working way too hard for way too little money. How do I fix this?” That’s the question that triggered a series of business model shifts in just a few years. From charging hourly and then daily, to focusing on retainers for a while, Hillary tested what worked and kept refining it as she went. She now takes on high-ticket project work, and it’s giving her the freedom she’d been looking for. Hil...

David developed an array of skills studying multimedia at university in Ireland, and he’d freelanced on the side of full-time gigs for years, as well as going solo for a while before one of his clients took him on as an employee. He didn’t stay long though. By then, David had caught the travel bug. From Ireland to Central America and everywhere in between, he’s spent the past couple of years trave...

After working as a creative in an ad agency, where he developed concepts for big brands and worked across a range of media, Robbie was ready for something new. His work was fun and exciting, but it left him with no time for his own projects. And, while he admired those ahead of him in the industry, Robbie didn’t want to be them. He knew agency life wasn’t for him. Robbie now works remotely, living...

Sian started freelancing on the side 12 years ago, with one gig leading to another. When a job came along that was enough to cover rent, she left the security of employment without giving it much thought. 6 months later, Sian’s client folded and she was out of work. She bounced back and found her niche, built relationships with clients, and grew and edited her own successful website. She now write...

He’s now based in Amsterdam, but South African born Devon’s freelance story kicked off in New Zealand, where he worked as a motion designer and videographer for a church. After one of the congregation offered him his first freelance gig, Devon was hooked. “It’s like that first taste of bacon…” he says, “I got the bug.” Devon freelanced on the side for years while working full-time at Xero in Welli...

We've had some amazing Live Q&As in the Being Freelance Community this year. So as a bonus here's just some of the amazing answers Paul Jarvis and Kate Toon gave to questions poised by freelancers in the group. These are just SOME of their answers, but you can catch the whole replay of each in video, in the group. Here we cover topics such as personal brand versus business brand cour...

When a two-year stint in Hong Kong inspired Mel to pursue illustration, she put her fine art degree to good use and began teaching art workshops to top up her income. Mel soon bought a Mac and taught herself how to use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, setting up a website and building a portfolio over time. Mel’s earned money in a variety of ways since then, experimenting with workshops, commissio...

Working in a job he didn’t like with a bully for a manager, Leif was desperate for a way out. But, nearing 30 and expecting his first child, he didn’t have many options. After discovering copywriting and feeling drawn to it, Leif began freelancing on the side; going to networking events, building up his portfolio with “friend of a friend" gigs, and launching a website, all alongside his full-...

“Be the best boss you ever had,” says Stefano, and he’s trying to live up to that himself. From not letting an employer’s limits hold him back, to re-imagining work-life balance on his own terms, to developing a portfolio that’s not just about winning work, but about showing his journey too; Stefano tries to make his professional development and mental well-being a priority. With an “umbrella of s...

After moving from her small island town to the big city of Brisbane, Australia, Emily set her sights on a job as a copywriter. She interviewed for positions but the market was tough, so she took on some nannying work to tide her over. As luck would have it, the dad from the family Emily worked for was a web designer, and he just so happened to need a copywriter. Emily partnered with him on some pr...

After leaving high school in LA, where he was born and raised, Storm toured as a professional musician for five years before transitioning to photography. When a friend passed on a lucrative job shooting for Nike, Storm knew right away that this what he’d keep doing. He soon found that the best gigs aren’t usually so easy to come by, and when a friend told him “Don’t get mad, get better”, it stuck...

This week, we’re LIVE in London at IPSE’s annual event, National Freelancers Day. Steve chats to past IPSE award winners, Iona Bain (Freelancer of the Year 2018), and Harvey Morton (Young Freelancer of the Year 2018). Taking part in a school enterprise competition aged only 13, Harvey was given £25 to start his own company. He launched the IT Support business that’s been his side hustle throughout...

After graduating in 2008 during the Great Recession, Tatiana found herself looking for a next step that would make sense financially. Calling on the design skills she’d picked up as a kid, she started out freelance, sending personalised “Do you need a designer?” emails to everyone she knew. Tatiana’s come a long way since then, finding her focus as an independent designer who works with accessibil...

Cathy only needed 3 days work when she first started out as a freelance social media manager, and she was lucky enough to fill those slots without too much effort. When she lost a client later down the line and found herself exploring lead generation strategies, Cathy retrained as a Facebook Advertising specialist, re-positioning herself and her services in the process. Cathy talks about her exper...

“We don’t become freelancers to sell,” Nick says, “we become freelancers to do.” Nick tried the entrepreneurial route of scaling and managing people, but he soon realised it wasn’t for him. And yet, despite his reluctance to build an agency, Nick’s still going after those big money clients where budget is no issue. Find out how he positions himself in order to win that kind of work, what his take...

Paige got her start on Upwork after moving to Finland for love. Struggling to find work in a country where she didn’t speak the language, Paige jumped into freelance life without much of a plan. She’s levelled up several times since then, using a mix of courses, mastermind groups, and authority building content to establish herself as a trusted expert. These days, Paige plans everything. She talks...