freelance

Fed up with working for someone else and enduring the office politics? Want a bit more freedom? Then perhaps the world of freelance working is for you. I’ve been freelance for many years now and wouldn’t change virtually any of it. The freedom of being able to pick and choose clients (that’s if work is plentiful and believe me that’s not always the case), being flexible with working hours and being answerable to yourself is a real bonus but it doesn’t work for everyone.

So what are the plus points of freelance:

• Working hours can be flexible so you can pick the children up from school, go for that dog walk or just plan your own time
• Working from home so the commute is only a minute but you do need a home office
• Picking and choosing what work you do
• Everything you earn goes straight to you
• Maximising your skills to their true ability
• Allowing the possibility of doing some charitable or volunteer work alongside paid work
• Flexibility on how much you work and what you work on. It can be full time, part time or even just 1 day a week

And the downsides:

• Freelance can mean long hours and often finishing work in the evening or weekends
• Working on your own can be lonely so ensure you have colleagues to chat to and bounce ideas off
• You need to do your own tax return and budget finances – that July or January summons from HMRC for tax is depressing so make sure you always put money aside
• No pension or benefits – again plan your finances
• No office benefits of away days, expenses lunches or office chat
• Always looking out for the next piece of work so you don’t suddenly have a dearth of work so you must be visible to your market
• Working out your charge out fee – this often has to vary depending on the client and in the world of PR it’s usually fixed. All too often we can put in far more hours than we’re actually paid for as you want to produce the best work. You have to keep monitoring this.
• It needs self motivation to sit down and work each morning

But freelance work is becoming far more common, especially post pandemic, as it allows companies to bring in experts for their expertise on certain projects without employing them while giving workers flexibility. So if you’re thinking this is the life for me – and I’d highly recommend it – then go for it and follow your dream!