Being Freelance

Age doesn't matter. Until it does. Until you get the feeling people won't hire you anymore because you're too old. For Mary, she was 58. From New Zealand, but having spent 30 years in Australia in 'normal' full time jobs. Faced with ageism, she realised maybe it wasn't just that the interview panels didn't want her. Maybe she didn't want them anymore either....

James Barnard shares his journey of becoming a freelancer and the strategies he uses to find clients and grow his business.  He emphasises the importance of niche specialisation. When James focussed on logo design it made it much easier to attract clients.  Steve and James discuss pricing strategies in attracting the right clients. When to first discuss budget. And how James uses forms and a CRM t...

Dan went freelance twice. First for creative freedom. Secondly to free him up for his family. Starting out as a designer for McDonald's but wanted a more varied diet of projects. With a lot of time freelancing in agencies, Dan learnt to stand out, be indispensable and build relationships to expand his chance of finding work. He also flexed himself creatively with illustration side projects (a...

From big cat zookeeper to taming words as a freelance copywriter, Adri's freelancing story starts a little differently. Burnout led to her quitting the zoo before even securing a paying client. A persistence in cold emailing, dealing with rejections that would have made many give up has led to warm relationships and a niche in emails themselves. Adri shares her approach to cold and warm email...

This time we're off to India to chat to self taught Logo & Brand Identity Designer Blesson Varghese. We cover the importance of networking, 'silent' mentors, balancing work and life, and the challenges faced by freelancers in a society that doesn't yet fully value creative professions.  Additionally, Blesson shares insights on his approach to handling clients and projects,...

Meet VA & Social Media Assistant Erin Buck. Not that she knew what that was 5 years ago. But then, she was happy working in a school. She didn't need to know. But then a twinge in Erin's back turned her world upside down. Nerve damage could left her housebound, watching daytime TV.  Instead she propelled herself into an online business world she hadn’t known existed. Erin’s optimism,...

Early success on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork led to Andréa expanding her services and horizons. Using video and podcasts she built trust. She also built an agency. Dealing with the challenges of managing a team, working around family, and staying focussed in a world of shiny objects. With the 'Savvy Social' Podcasts, YouTube, Membership, courses, retreat… as Andréa points out: it ca...

In this episode, Steve catches up with previous guest Rebecca Shipham, a freelance exhibition designer with 13 years of experience.  They first spoke for the Being Freelance podcast in October 2015 - you can hear how Rebecca got started by listening to that. Here we are, eight years on - time to hear what happened next, through the challenges and rewards of working directly with clients, her strat...

In 2014 Eddie started the Very Good Copy blog. Using it to educate himself, to explore copywriting techniques whilst working in-house. But he wasn’t the only one reading it. As it grew in popularlity, people started reaching out, offering him work. He turned them down. Until eventually in 2020, an opportunity came along that was too good to refuse. So he quit his job and went full-time-freelance....

From starting as a PR freelancer to accidentally heading a small agency, working with her husband and then transitioning back into solo freelancing, Lucy shares the challenges she's faced along the way - both professional and personal. As the creator of ‘Hype Yourself’, we hear how showing up daily even in her darkest days has built Lucy’s reputation. But maybe she wouldn’t quite do it all th...

Study, determination, and a knack for design were going to take Robert out of his poor upbringing in South Africa. But the death of his brother, drew him back again. To help young people see a brighter future for themselves, he needed time. To have time, he needed to go freelance. Faced with the daunting reality of having to survive without savings or a backup plan just one month before COVID kick...

Hannah wondered how the people she met whilst travelling could afford to travel non-stop. It turned out, they were freelancers. And so began a journey into figuring out how she could make that happen, whether she’d like it when she did - and finding her niche along the way. Now back in the UK, she is ‘Hannah from Shiny Happy Digital Design’. Happy when working. Happy when on holiday. Happy to put...

Joel was originally on the Being Freelance podcast in November 2015 . Now it’s time to catch up on the intervening 8 years. As he’s gone from a single solo copywriter to being a married father and founder of a company . We hear how Case Study Buddy grew out of a freelancing side project into a company with major clients and seven figure revenue. But is the grass greener?  From freelance to founder...

Sam was drawn to freelancing when the bar he pulled pints for, asked him to design a poster. The writing was on the wall. Well, it wouldn’t have been a great poster otherwise. Sam became known as a designer/illustrator for bars, pubs and clubs. And then covid hit. Overnight all those places shut. But Sam’s happiest when he’s working… You'll find full show notes and transcript for this episode...

For a long time Kayleigh didn’t even see what she had as a 'business'.  She was trading time and skills for money. But a few years ago she embraced outside help. Coaches. Group coaching. Working with a strategist, a photographer and copywriter. She polished her brand and found her niche. With this new confidence and focus, her rate quadrupled. As did her satisfaction. Working with client...

8 years after Franky first appeared on the podcast , it’s time to catch up. Still a freelance copywriter. Still in Bristol. But so much has changed.  Not just her kids getting taller. In this episode, Franky shares how she had to reshape her business around a chronic illness, diagnosed less than a year after we last spoke. And how she found a co-mentor in the back in the taxi. It’s been one heck o...

In this special bonus episode of the Being Freelance podcast we take a selection of the regular Live Q&As that we host in the Being Freelance Community and let you soak up the wisdom once more. You can catch full video replays of all of our Live Q&As in the Being Freelance Community . In this episode, we've got: - Freelance content marketing and SEO strategist Beth Gladstone - Tom Gar...

When Liz left uni, she was adamant she didn’t want to be a freelancer.  And yet here we are, via starting a stationery business and a family. A 9 year gradual process which has resulted in her switching from treating her freelancing like a hobby, to firmly treating it like a business. Starting a podcast. Working with Adobe. Diversifying her income and having fun along the way. This is Episode 300...

This is actually the fourth time Jackson’s been freelance. He’s not just quit jobs, he even once quit his own company. But whereas the other times he was a ‘regular’ graphic designer, this time he’s spent a decade as a specialist: a lettering artist and calligrapher. Regularly posting to Instagram and Behance got him noticed and grew an audience as commissions from around the world reached him at...

Anna had built a career across corporate and government comms in Melbourne. But if she wanted to move her family out of the city and that meant first meant transforming the way she worked. Anna set out to prove she could match her past income, now as a freelance copywriter.  The seeds she planted in the city are now bearing fruit. From a farm in rural Victoria she’s reaping the rewards - a busines...

Alex trained as a musician. He followed a drumming dream to Nashville along with an internship at a 'mom & pop' business. There, they had him creating graphics and videos - those two things came together when Alex discovered motion graphics. He took to studying and developing as a motion designer. Self taught, he’s always been constantly trying to learn and improve. He didn't wa...

Spring 2020. A pandemic lockdown. Doesn’t sound like the ideal time to build a business, but Ayo had 20 years of marketing experience as her foundations. And a love of marketing that she’d put to good use on herself. Specialising in the ‘built environment’ - think construction, engineers, architects - Ayo launched a podcast that raised her profile and brought her clients. Repurposing content acros...

Brazilian creative Victoria was working in advertising in London when in 2013 she fancied a change. A change of pace, country and language, and to help her do that she figured she’d go freelance in Spain. After 3 years she took a job in an agency. Four years on she felt ready to freelance again. A pandemic and motherhood making the flexibility of working from home even more appealing. Second time...

It’s quite a winding route that’s taken Marcelle to be known as a fashion photographer. But from working in shops on London’s Oxford Street as a teenager, now her photos can be seen in those windows instead. Marcelle did lots of work for free early on but it built a network, a portfolio and a reputation that has since served her well. Whilst her training as a graphic designer has kept her working...

Kyle left agency life and started his self-employed journey working with friends as a collective. 8 years on though, he’d built his own name through hosting meet-ups and speaking at events to the point where it made sense to go solo. From small meet-ups he ended up speaking on some of the biggest stages with the likes of Adobe as clients. Yet in 2020 decided to switch from being a freelancer to be...