HOW TO SUCCEED AS A FREELANCER

IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

 Contents Introduction

The Freelance Revolution

The Global Picture

Get Educated

Compile a Portfolio

Useful Resources for Writing a Business Plan

Creative Freelancers Business

Marketing
Finding Work
Finance
Getting Advice and Protecting
Your Business

Project Management and Getting Clients

Productivity Keeping Clients

Financial Management Get Going!

Collaboration
Introduction The Freelance Revolution
The prospect of working for yourself has undoubtedly As companies become more trusting of outsourcing
run through your head. Flexible hours, being your projects and realise the benefits of scaling back on
own boss, managing your own workload – imagining in-house employees, the opportunity for freelancers
your life as a freelancer can make being self- is growing. In 2015, the UK has over 1.8 million
employed seem like a dream. people working in freelance roles across all sectors.
This upward trend in the freelance market is being
Dreaming is always nice, but working out how to welcomed by millions of skilled individuals worldwide
become a freelance photographer, graphic designer, for a variety of reasons, including:
illustrator, or creative professional of any other
kind, and actually taking the step of going solo is
difficult and one that many are too afraid to take. • The ability to set their own timetable
• The opportunity to work from home
To help you make the jump with confidence, we’ve • The possibility of earning more money
put together an ultimate guide taking you through • The option to take holidays at any time
everything about how to become a freelancer – • The chance to work while travelling
from how to find your first client to how to build • The prospect of working for clients from around
your success into an empire. We’ve also compiled a the world
list of over 50 of the best freelance resources to • The potential to work on a greater variety of
help you set up and run your business as simply and projects
effectively as possible. • The free time to work on personal projects

To find out whether you’re more suited for a career

as an in-house employee or a career as a freelance
creative professional, check out our blog post on
the pros and cons of working as a freelance graphic
designer. Although this article is specifically related
to graphic designers, the main points are applicable
to anyone with an interest in the creative industries.
If you decide that freelance is for you, good choice!
As the statistics below will demonstrate further,
there’s never been a better time to go alone.
 The Global Picture
The global freelance economy is on the rise and shows
no sign of stopping any time soon. The US is often
seen as leading the way in the trend with Freelancers
Union claiming that 34% of the country’s workforce is
now freelancing.

Similarly, in the UK, freelancing is becoming more

popular every day, especially among graduates, and
the figures from many other European countries tell a
similar story:

Freelancing in the UK Freelancing around Europe

• 14% more freelancers in the UK now than a • Across Europe, freelancers make up 22% of
decade ago workers in arts and entertainment
• 1.4 million freelancers across all sectors • Freelancers make up the fastest growing
• Design and multimedia professionals make group in the EU labour market, increasing
up 24% of this number (336,000) from just under 6.2 million in 2004 to 8.9
• 78% of the UK public think that freelancing million in 2013
and flexible working help promote a good • Spain and Slovakia both have freelance rates
work/life balance at 13%
• 72% of the UK public think freelancing has a • Italy leads the way with a freelance rate of 21%
positive effect on family life
• In 2013 the number of businesses hiring
freelancers online increased by 46%
• The average hourly rate for freelancers also Percentage growth of freelancers by
increased by 6.7% in 2013
country from 2004 to 2013:
(Source)
• Netherlands – 93%
• Poland – 88%
• France – 85%
• UK – 63%
Freelancing for UK graduates • Finland – 56%
• Belgium – 53%
• 87% students with first- or second-class • Spain – 51%
degrees see freelancing as a lucrative career option • Germany – 43%
• This compares to 77% of graduates with lower-class • Italy – 12%
degrees
• 21% of graduates with first-class honours (Source)
say they have already chosen to work as a freelancer
• 29% of all graduates say freelancing is part
of their career strategy for the next five years
• 69% of all graduates feel that independent If the above has got you thinking seriously about
work offers a better work-life balance getting the ball rolling as a freelancer, then you need
to know what to do next. Read on…
(Source)
Get Educated will often lead to better opportunities and will entitle
you to charge a higher rate for your services.
You’ll find it much easier to secure work if you have
a degree in a subject related to the area you want to
work in. Potential clients will respect your qualification
and be more likely to use your services. Studying
Compile a Portfolio
towards a degree will also give you a good grounding
Your portfolio will be crucial to securing work.
in your discipline and help you to plan and organise
With a substandard portfolio you will be unlikely
your workload better. You’ll also be likely to meet
to attract much interest. Studying on a degree
fellow creatives from around the world who could be
course is the best way to create a body of work
vital in progressing your career in the future.
that showcases the best you have to offer. Having
your course tutors and peers give you advice and
feedback on your work is incredibly helpful, and
Studying online graduates tend to have more professional portfolios,
with a higher standard of work than non-graduates.
Studying a relevant degree course online offers a
fantastic opportunity to experience what life is like as You should also have a large presence online with
a modern freelance designer. With communication key your portfolio displayed to relevant audiences in
to your career success, taking part in online forums, various places. For more advice on this, read our
working and uploading to deadlines, and pitching guide to creating an online portfolio.
projects to your tutors and fellow students from a
distance will help you develop desirable skills. The
flexibility of studying to deadlines according to your
own schedule will also give you a valuable insight
into what your working life will be like as a freelance
creative.

Study while you work

Another great thing about working as a freelancer is
that you can use the flexibility of your schedule to fit
in further study, particularly if you study online. By
managing your workload, you can take short courses
to brush up on skills or even advance your existing
qualification to a master’s degree. A master’s degree
Writing a Business Plan
Writing a business plan will help you decide exactly
what it is you want to do and sets in motion the
methods you will use to achieve your goals. Every
successful business starts with a well-constructed
strategy and yours is no exception. Business plans
vary with some going into more depth than others.
A freelance graphic designer’s business plan will, for
example, obviously not go into as much depth as that
of a company like Apple, but your plan should cover
at least three broad sections: business, marketing,
and finance.

with a vague idea that you’ll instantly get a few clients

Business with lucrative contracts, then you’re kidding yourself.
In the beginning, you need to find your clients, the
This is self-explanatory. Take your time deciding on a clients won’t come to you.
business name and let it settle for a few weeks before
making it official. If you find out someone else already The first thing you should do is find the people who
uses that name, it doesn’t suit what you plan to do, or will be willing to pay for the services you offer. This
you simply don’t like it; it can be difficult to change if can be tricky if you haven’t quite nailed down what
you’ve already implemented it across your marketing exactly you will be doing. If you don’t know your
channels and submitted to clients. You will also need target audience, marketing your services and pitching
an address for your business. Travelling the world for work in the right areas will become confused and
might be an advantage of freelancing but you’ll still result in a lack of opportunities.
have to pay tax somewhere.
When discovering your niche, you should also
consider the market for this kind of work. For example,
Find your niche a poster designer will pitch to venues and events
companies, whereas a menu designer will pitch to
Find your niche and prove your skills in that niche. restaurants or cafés. You’ll often need to ‘superniche’
That doesn’t mean a niche in your field of work, but in your services to an even smaller market. For example,
the kind of businesses you target: branding for digital if you’re creating menus for restaurants, what kind
start-ups, logo design for independent cafés, poster of restaurants? If you’re creating posters for events,
designs for bands, etc. If you go for everything and what kind of events? By superniching your skills, you’ll
anything at the beginning, you’ll end up with a random get a much better idea of whom to target and how to
and weak portfolio that won’t get you very far. Narrow promote your work to them.
your focus and don’t be generic. As you progress, you
might want to get some secondary skills to make you
even more appealing to a wider range of potential Identify the competition
clients.
Who are the people offering a similar service to your
target audience. How do you differ from them? Can you
Define your clients compete with them? You should keep a close eye on your
competitors and take inspiration from any great work
Finding clients is without a doubt the most difficult they do in marketing their services. It’s even acceptable to
task a new freelance creative has. Many start off approach them and attempt to form a bond between your
freelancing alongside part-time (or even full-time) two businesses. That way, they’ll be more likely to refer
work to ensure they have a large enough client base clients to you instead of turning away work during busy
to support themselves financially. If you leave your job periods. Just because they’re your competitors, it doesn’t
mean you can’t benefit from working together.
 Writing a Business Plan

Social Media
Marketing
Learning how to use social media channels is the best
Some people estimate that at the beginning you will way forward for a free campaign, but first you should
spend up to 90% of your time marketing. This might make sure that your target audience are also on social
be a slight exaggeration, but one thing that’s certain is media or your efforts will be pointless. Here are a few
that work won’t ever come and find you, no matter how guides we’ve put together on how to use the most
talented you are. popular channels:

You first need to figure out how you’re going to reach • Facebook
your target audience. If you’ve spent time doing this
• Twitter
earlier on in your freelance business plan, then this
should be easy. In the marketing section, you should • LinkedIn
identify not only who your customers are, but what • Pinterest
their problems, often referred to as ‘pain points’, are • Google+
and what your services can do to provide a solution to • Behance
this. Answer this question and you’re on to a winning
marketing strategy. It will take you a while to build up a following that’s
worth anything, so don’t get discouraged. Learning
to handle rejection is a big part of the job at the
Build an online presence beginning.

You’ll certainly need to build a website to refer If you have time to start a blog, this is a great way to
customers back to, but you’ll need to decide whether improve your website’s authority online. A newsletter is
also a great way to let your audience know what you’re
all your marketing will be done online and what your
doing and keep your services on potential clients’
budget is. A freelance photographer, for example, might radars.
want to advertise in the local press to attract local
customers; however, many in the creative industries The content you post on all channels should be relevant
find the best return on marketing spend is online. You’ll to your niche and should be highly targeted towards
have to spend some time testing which method is best your audience. Don’t worry if you don’t find instant
suited for your business. success, but if you don’t have positive results after
a few months, perhaps you should reconsider your
If you don’t have money to spend on advertising, or strategy.
time to learn how to implement an effective strategy,
don’t worry! Effective online marketing strategies can
be implemented simply and for free. You’ll just need to
spend a bit of time setting everything up.
 Writing a Business Plan

this will all be worth it when the jobs start rolling in.
Tell everyone you know You need to budget for this period of inactivity, so make
sure you have some money in the bank.
The most powerful form of marketing is, and probably
always will be, word of mouth. You can use this to your
Don’t simply rely on your marketing efforts to attract
advantage by telling everyone you know about your
clients either, especially at the start. You need to get
fantastic new business venture. You’ll be surprised by
on freelance job sites and start applying for work. You
how many clients you get through friends and family,
might have to take a few jobs that are not quite what
especially at the start of your career. Just make sure
you want, but if you do your best on every job, the
you do your best on every job and positive referrals
good clients will come along soon.
through word of mouth are bound to spread like
wildfire. You should also follow up with pleased clients
to get a glowing testimonial to display on your website.
Finance
Volunteer Work out your rates
If you’re struggling to find any clients at the beginning When asked for your rates, you don’t want to put a
of your career, there’s no harm in volunteering. Unpaid client off, nor do you want to undercharge for your
work is better than no work. Just make sure that it services. Remember that you’ll need to be paid more
doesn’t become a habit and that people don’t take as a freelancer to cover time spent looking for work,
advantage marketing, promoting, filing your tax returns, paying
of you. into a private pension, and taking holidays. One way
to ensure you cover yourself is to first think of your
ideal salary, work out the hourly rate, and then double
Don’t expect work to come to you it. Even if your demands aren’t met, this will give you
a good starting point for negotiating. Whatever you
Cold calling is a daunting thing to do, but it’s often do, remember you are representing an industry of
necessary when starting a business up and leads to freelance workers, so don’t drop below the average UK
results more often than many give it credit for. If you freelance rates:
don’t have the nerve for this, sending individually
tailored emails can often work just as well. Don’t ever • Junior – £12 – 15
send a mass email asking for work. Nobody will take you • Middleweight – £16 – 30
on if you don’t take the time to show that you know • Senior – £30+
something about the work that they do.
(Source)
You might need to spend more time on marketing in
the beginning to set your freelance business up, but
 Writing a Business Plan

How do UK freelance rates compare to Make sure you’re covered

the rest of the world?
Starting out as a freelancer is insecure and financial
Here’s a quick snapshot of the average freelancer rates fears are often what holds people back from
in a few countries around the world: freelancing. However, if you go about it the right way,
there’s nothing to fear.
• UK – £20
• US – $30 (£19.50) You’ll need to make peace with the fact that you don’t
• Germany – €25 (£18) have all the rights that you may have become used to
• Australia – A$30 (£14) as an employee. It’s a good idea to join a professional
• Canada – C$30 (£15) body relevant to your specialism who can protect you
• India – R295 (£3.50) as a freelancer. You don’t want to be left on your own
in a difficult situation.
(Source) All figures are intended as a guide only.
Remember that you’re launching a business, so just
like any new business, you’ll need to have some
investment to start out. A savings cushion is important
What are your expenses? to give you something to fall back on, and the average
recommendation would be at least enough to keep
Expenses are something you might not think of when you going for six months without work. If something
moving from employment to freelancing. The important happens to you, such as illness or injury, you will be
thing is to keep track of everything you do. If you spend solely responsible for your or your families well-being.
any money on tools, software, hardware, or anything You need to adopt a business mind-set or you might
to do with your business, make sure you keep a note end up worrying about your finances so much that you
of this and budget for it, so your projected income will don’t have time to do your job. Getting your finances
cover this. in order is the most important part of the transition to
becoming a freelancer.
Remember to keep receipts, so you don’t end up paying
too much tax. In most countries, you only pay tax on
your business’s profit and money that you spend on
the business is not deemed as profit. However, it’s up
to you at the end of the tax year to prove this, so make
sure you are in a position to do so; you could end up
with a fine if you don’t.
Getting Clients your fees straight up as well as your availability and
deadlines. Make sure the client knows exactly what it is
you propose to do for them and get them to sign off on
There are a number of ways to get clients, many of anything they agree to. You’ll be surprised how often
which are suggested in the marketing section above. a client will be unhappy with the results of something
However, you should also apply for freelance work they previously agreed to. Getting the work signed off
on relevant job sites (a list of these is located in the will ensure that you can prove that this is what they
resources section at the end of this article), ask local agreed to, even if they don’t like it.
services if they need your creative skills, or go along
to freelancers’ coffee mornings or events in your local
area. When you finally meet a client that is interested
in employing your services, don’t jump straight at the Pitching
opportunity. Remember that negotiating is as much
about ensuring you’re happy as making sure they are. Many clients will expect you to pitch for the work. Do
your best on every pitch and remember that you are
up against others who will be doing the same. Follow
this designers’ pitching guide from CreativeBloq to
Negotiating make sure you perform the perfect pitch every time.
Negotiation skills are a must as freelancer and if you
don’t have them in the first instance, you certainly will
after you’ve negotiated your way into some terrible
positions. Stick firmly on your rates and consult with
every client. There are many so-called ‘mills’ online
offering freelancers the opportunity to work for rates
that are below industry standard. While many find these
a useful way of keeping money coming in at quiet times,
you shouldn’t rely on them as a main source of income
or you’ll end up working yourself into the ground for
little gain. These mills have also come under scrutiny
from the freelance community for driving down the
rates of skilled individuals. If you want to support the
industry, don’t become overly reliant on low-paid work
from easy sources. Get out there and prove that you’re
worth something more!

When you do meet a promising client, make sure you

negotiate early on to avoid any problems later. Agree
Keeping clients Time Management
Repeat business is the lifeblood of freelance success. Make As a freelancer, you need to be organised to succeed. You
sure you do your best to impress every client you work might be your own boss, but you still need to be strict.
for, so that you’re top of their list if they choose to hire Don’t let yourself away with slacking, but at the same
a freelancer again. If you’re getting no repeat business, time, you don’t want all your waking hours to be working
you might just be unlucky, but you could also be doing ones. Stick to shifts and try to finish when you decided. If
something that makes you undesirable to employ again. If you’ve organised your workload well, you shouldn’t end up
you meet deadlines, make yourself available when you say working late into the night. Start projects early in order to
you’ll be available, and treat your clients with respect; you finish them ahead of the deadline.
should be OK.

Keeping in touch with clients after the project is a great Make yourself available
way to encourage repeat business. A simple text asking
how they are or if they need anything done can often Clients will contact you during working hours and it will
get great results; don’t do this too often, however, or you seem more professional if you can reply promptly to
could end up annoying them. them. If you’re going to work at night, make sure your
Other ways to keep on clients’ radars can be less pushy client knows this and is happy with communicating with
but just as effective, such as sending a Christmas card, you asynchronously. However, there will definitely be
liking and sharing their updates on social media, and times when you need to meet or speak to clients during
sending them a copy of your monthly newsletter. their working day, so you need to flexible enough to
arrange this.
If a client is happy with you after a job, don’t forget to ask
for a short appraisal in writing. Endorsements like this sit
very nicely on your website and are a great way to attract
new clients to your services. Stay social
Make the most of your flexible working hours to visit
friends and family. Freelancing can be a lonely profession
and if you don’t keep up with your social life, you may end
up losing your friends along with your social skills. Turning
up to a client pitch after 10 straight days of isolation
might not be the best idea.
 Get Going!
Finding success as a creative freelancer requires a lot of
work, but it can be incredibly rewarding when you end up
with a steady base of clients providing you with a lucrative
salary. With so many opportunities in the modern market
for freelancers around the world, you should make your
business plan as soon as you can to take full advantage
of it. Just remember to be organised. Don’t be too rash
either; ease your way into your new career and make sure
you cover yourself. Get it right, and, like many modern
freelancers, you might never look back.
Useful Resources for YunoJuno
Sign up to YunoJuno and get access to a number of
Creative Freelancers well-paid jobs from a variety of high-profile clients.

Aquent
The following is a list of online resources that will be Based in the US but with a lot of remote positions
helpful in setting up your freelance business; from how on offer, Aquent is a place to search for digital
to find freelance work to keeping yourself productive: creative jobs.

TaskRabbit
Finding Work TaskRabbit is a decent job site to keep you ticking
over, but don’t expect to earn in excess of £20 an
Upwork hour.
A great service linking clients to freelancers.
Fiverr
Hiive Again, as the name may suggest, don’t expect Fiverr
Network with fellow creative professionals and to make you rich, but it is a good place to find a
potential employers and keep up-to-date with any variety of interesting short-term projects.
new opportunities.
Guru
Onsite Guru tends to be a place for big projects, so if you’re
For the more technically minded designer, Onsite is up for a long-term project, you should take a look.
a great place to meet quality clients.

Elevate
Run by recruitment specialists, Elevate is doing a
great job in promoting the skills of freelancers to
the appropriate markets.

PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is a place for prospective clients
to search for the perfect person to solve their
problems.

Freelancers.net
A great job board for a variety of freelance
opportunities from around the UK.
Getting Advice and Protecting Project Management and
Your Business Productivity
Freelance Advisor MindMeister
Freelance Advisor is a useful service for getting Mind mapping application that’ll help you think
a good insight into freelancing in the UK and through your projects with the option to turn your
discovering more about how to become a freelancer. mind maps into presentations at the touch of a button.

IPSE FreedCamp
Join the EU-based Association of Independent Create shared to-do lists to keep on top of tasks. It’s
Professionals And the Self-Employed if you want a great free for all version of Basecamp.
help protecting your business.
Evernote
FCSA Evernote is a fantastic resource for staying organised
The FCSA works to protect a flexible work force in across all your devices. As your freelance business
the UK and ensures all members are adhering to the grows, you can upgrade to the plus and premium
legal requirements of running a business. versions.

Chartered Society of Designers Oh, Don’t Forget

The authority on professional design practice, Schedule messages to be sent to your phone to make
the CSD is a great organisation to join if you’re a sure you don’t forget important deadlines.
designer of any kind.
Remember the Milk
D&AD Remember the Milk is a simple but powerful task
A highly respected international body representing management app which integrates with Gmail & Siri.
the interests of anyone working in the creative
industries. TeuxDeux
The minimalist design makes TeuxDeux a popular to-
ACID do app. They’ve really stripped it back to the basics.
Copyright is often a complex issue for modern
creatives and Anti Copying in Design (ACID) can help Strict Workflow
if you run into trouble. Strict Workflow is a plugin for Chrome that enforces the
‘Pomodoro Technique’ – blocking distracting websites
The Association of Photographers for 25 minutes then giving you a 5 minute break.
With over 40 years’ experience, the AOP defend
the interests of their members and maintains the Toggl
reputation of the photography industry. Toggl is a simple to use tool that tracks your time. In
freelancing, time is money so you need to use a tool
British Institute of Professional Photography to stay well on top of it.
The BIPP is an internationally recognised photography
organisation that aims to train, qualify, and support RescueTime
professional photographers. Rescue Time is another time tracking tool that gives
you a great insight into your daily habits.
The British Institute of Interior Design
The BIID is a highly respected organisation 1Password
representing the interests of interior designers Relieve the password headaches by using 1Password
internationally. to keep them all in one place.

The Society of British Interior Designers Dashlane

SBID represents the interests of interior designers, Dashlane is another popular tool for keeping all your
manufacturers, and educators in the interior design passwords in one place and across all devices.
industry across the UK.
ZenWriter
The Association of Illustrators As a creative freelancer, you don’t want to spend all
The AOI is a membership body that represents day bashing away at the keyboard, so get it all done
illustrators in the UK and campaigns for their rights. as fast as you can with a distraction free writing tool.
FollowUp Collaboration
Staying on top of your emails is a crucial way to
impress clients. Schedule emails in advance to make Trello
sure you never forget to follow up on a project. Trello is a great tool for collaboration that allows you to
organise all your projects into boards. At a glance, you can
The Email Game see what’s being done and what needs to be done.
The email game turns replying to emails into a game.
Reply before the timer runs out and clear your inbox Basecamp
quickly or you lose precious points. Basecamp is the tool of choice for professionals who
need to keep in touch on a project. It ensures everyone
Sane Box working on the project is up-to-date on what’s been done
Sane Box uses a clever algorithm to determine the and what there is left to do.
importance of each email and moves those deemed
‘unimportant’ into a separate folder. Bidsketch
Bidsketch speeds up the time you take making proposals
for projects and submits them to clients with a well-
designed collection of templates.
Financial Management
DropBox
FreeAgent Sync all your devices to DropBox and store all current
Free agent is a fantastic service for keeping track of project files there to ensure you always have access to
everything and anything to do with your finances. With everything you need. DropBox also makes it really easy to
their support team of accountants on hand and the ability share large files with clients.
to submit your VAT, RTI, and Self Assessment directly to
HMRC, you’ll be able to focus more on getting on with Docstoc
your creative work. If paperwork is not your thing, head to Docstoc where
you’ll find templates for every business document you’ll
Freshbooks ever need. There’s also a fantastic collection of resources
Freshbooks helps you to keep track of billing. Calculating to help you improve your business skills.
rates and hours can turn into a heated email battle with
some clients. Cut out the confusion by letting Freshbooks Clarify
work it all out for you. It’s always surprising how many times you’ll need to take
screenshots when working remotely. Clarify makes this
Shoeboxed simple allowing you to take screen recordings as well.
Shoeboxed makes scanning and organising receipts,
business cards, expense reports, and any other paperwork SnapEngage
you need to keep track of a lot easier. SnapEngage is a live chat app that’s perfect if you get
tired of the cumbersome emails. Keep up with your clients
Mint or collaborators in real time.
Mint is a simple free tool for keeping track of cash flow, Hively
budgets and bills. Not as in-depth as many but great if you Hively makes it easy for customers to give you feedback.
want to keep it simple. This is not only great for attracting new customers with
testimonials but also a great way to ensure you give your
Braintree best on every job.
Braintree from PayPal aims to integrate payment systems
on the internet to make paying for things a lot easier. Join Me
Join Me allows you to share your screen with clients
easily, even if they’re not signed up.
 Thank you!
Want more interesting articles like this one?
You can find more on our blog, Creative Drum, by IDI.

This article, ‘How to Succeed as a Freelancer in the Creative

Industries’, is written by Tom McCallum.