Sitemap

Freelancing Support

About - why this project exists, and who is behind it Contact - get in touch with us Ask Anything - ask a question about freelancing to shape the content we curate Communities - a list of freelance-first communities providing support to the self-employed Join - subscribe to updates, or create a free account to unlock additional features

Research

Research - Take part in our annual research survey into freelancing and mental health

Flightplan

Get started

Create your Flightplan account

Checklist

Step by step guide to get you started

Status

Track your tasks, celebrate your progress

1. Considering Freelancing

Some key things to consider before you make the decision to start freelancing.

1. Ask yourself why you want to freelance

It can be useful to reflect on what is prompting you to explore freelancing - so you can challenge yourself on whether it could work for you

2. Bust some myths about freelancing

Do some reading around the myths (good and bad) to better understand the reality of freelancing

3. Speak to other freelancers to ask questions

Spend time with freelancers to get their experiences and input, ask lots of questions, and understand the reality.

4. Understand the risks

It's important to understand the risks of self-employment and freelancing - so you can make a decision whether its right for you.

5. Understand affordability

Spend some time understanding whether you're able to afford freelancing, by considering your income, outgoings and the uncertainty of income which freelancing brings.

6. Start to build your emergency funds

It's never too early to start putting away some money to build up an emergency fund, even if you never go freelance.

7. Understand the mindset shift required to starting business

Freelancing isn't just doing what you love, it's starting a business - and recognising what that means is important.

8. Consider part-time freelancing

Explore options which give you a taste of freelancing before leaving full-time employment

2. Before you take-off

Essential steps before you're ready to start your business

1. Start building your budget

Getting clarity of of your financial position is essential to a successful freelancing career - don't start without doing your budgeting.

2. Start building your support community

You'll need to surround yourself with fellow freelancers, collaborators, mentors, advisors, specialists and friends who can help you through the process of building your business. There's nothing stopping you from starting that now.

3. Understand the current market for your skills

Spend some time understanding the current landscape and demand for the skills you're going to be offering.

4. Define your offering

Take time to be clear on what services you'll be providing to clients - it'll help you to understand where to focus, and help your clients to understand what value you're offering

5. Setting some freelancing goals

Whilst there's a temptation to jump straight into doing work, taking a moment to set your own ambitions and goals is essential to ensure you're making good progress.

6. Working out your pricing

One of the most common questions freelancers ask: What should I charge? - Don't make it up, base your pricing upon market rates and your financial baselines

7. Create a porfolio of work and testimonials

Spend some time to gather together a number of examples of the work you've done, so you're ready for conversations with potential customers.

8. Start warming up your network

Don't delay - start conversations with prospective customers and clients now, even if you're not ready to freelance yet.

9. Start creating your own wellbeing plan

Taking care of your mental health and wellbeing is a critical part of being self-employed - after all, if you can't work, you don't have a business.

3. Launching your freelancing business

Mandatory and recommended tasks to officially launch your freelance business

4. Before your first client

Before you start work on a client project, here are the things you'll need to have in place to prepare and protect yourself

5. During your first project

Ensure you establish your ways of working and get ready for invoicing early on.

6. After the first project

Get your invoice in, seek feedback and learn from your early experiences.

7. Three months in

Time to mind the gap, review your first quarter, keep on top of paperwork, and manage your workload.

8. Preparing for downtime

Get ahead of quiet periods, whether its taking time off, or when you're not finding work.

9. Quarterly review

Every three months, get into the habit of some regular tasks you'll need to complete and keep on top of.

10. Dealing with turbulence

Explore some of the more common situations which might happen

11. Nine months in

We're coming to the end of the first year, time to prepare for year end, and consider your financial future.

12. End of your Tax Year / April

Depending on when you've started, you'll need to understand what to do at the end of the financial / tax year.

13. End of your first year of freelancing

Congrats! You've completed 12 months of self-employment - there are things you need to do to wrap up the year.

14. Planning ahead for year two

What's coming ahead for the next year, and what do you need to think about for the future?

15. Graduating Flightplan

You might no longer be on your flightplan, but there's plenty more to think about - graduate to the Fellows programme for ongoing support.

Guides

Longer guides to key topics on freelancing.

Back to work

Getting back on track after some time off can seem like really hard work - here are some of our top tips to get back into the swing of things when you're self-employed.

Community Matters - Why finding communities as a freelancer really matters, and how to go about finding and engaging with fellow freelanceers

Building your own support network is critical - and being part of freelancing communities plays a big part in this.

Contracts - the friend you never knew you needed.

Too many freelancers work without contracts in place - and it leaves both you and your client open to risk. We introduce what concepts are, why they're important, and what you should consider including in them.

Dealing with bereavement as a freelancer

Whilst no-one wants to plan for such an event, dealing with bereavement is something which can affect all of us.

Late Payments - your rights as a freelancer, dealing with late payments, and how to avoid them.

Almost 50% of all SME invoices are paid late - leading to cash flow issues, wasted time chasing, and a blow to your confidence. What can be done to improve things?

Too solo? - Dealing with Loneliness when Freelancing

Isolation and loneliness can affect freelancers, but working for yourself doesn't have to mean working by yourself.

Quiet Times - Coping with when you're not working for extended periods

Freelancing is rarely consistent in terms of workload, but when you have extended periods of time where there is less work flowing your way, what can you do about it?

Mythbusting - Debunking (or confirming) some of the common perceptions about freelancing.

There are lots of perceptions about freelancing - some good, some bad, many false. We help you unpick the truth from the stories.

Payment on account - Paying in advance for income tax.

Payment on account surprises many freelancers, and it can be a painful cost you weren't expecting.

Sole-trader or limited company - Understanding the differences, and choosing your approach.

There are multiple ways of starting a business in the UK. Most will opt for being a sole-trader, but understand the differences before you make a decision.

Taking time off when freelancing

Time off from your business when freelancing can be a challenge, but there are ways to put things in place to help you cope.

What is mental health? - Understanding what mental health is, and understanding mental health at work for freelancers.

Understanding what mental health is, and understanding mental health at work for freelancers.

Freelancer Asked Questions

Questions asked by freelancers, answered by us.

I've money in my business account - where should I put it? - You can put money in a business savings account, so you can earn interest on it My laptop just died - can I buy a new one via my business? - Accidents happen, things break, new laptops are expensive - can I buy a new laptop via my business? Do freelancers need a business bank account? - A commonly asked question about keeping your finances easy to manage. Do freelancers need professional indemnity insurance? - An introduction to what professional indemnity insurance is, and why its so important for freelancers. How to deal with quiet spells? - The "feast and famine" of freelancing can be hard to deal with, and periods of no work is always challenging. Should I voluntarily register for VAT? - Exploring the pros and cons of voluntarily registering for VAT. I've received a letter from the ICO saying I need to register - is this a scam? - When you start a new business, you might receive a letter from the ICO asking you to register with them. Let's learn a bit about who the ICO are and what they do. What should I be including in a post looking for freelancers? - Make sure you're including the bare minimum in posts on LinkedIn looking for freelancers - it saves everyone time! Why do I keep getting ghosted? - The unfortunate phenomenon of a client you're engaging with suddenly stopping returning your calls.

Expert Views

Short opinions from experts on various topics.

Frankie Tortora on Freelancing Parents and Summer - how to cope!

Are you looking forward to summer with your kids - or does it fill you with dread, if you're juggling work and parenting? We spoke to Frankie Tortora of Doing It For The Kids for her advice on coping with the school holidays.

Matthew Knight on Why community matters

Community is one of the most important parts of your support network as a freelancer. Matthew Knight explains why it matters so much.

Stories

Personal stories from freelancers.

Anna Sampson on Dealing with Bereavement when freelancing

Anna Sampson, a freelance Insight and Strategy Consultant, shares her personal experience of dealing with bereavement whilst self-employed.

Ellie Stamouli on Dealing with Late Payments when freelancing

Ellie Stamouli - a self-employed marketing consultant for climate-tech and mission-driven brands shares her experience of dealing with late payments whilst self-employed.

Justin McDonnell on Dealing with Bereavement when freelancing

Justin McDonnell, freelance copywriter, content strategist and editor, shares his personal experience of dealing with bereavement whilst freelancing.

Louise Wilson on The value of community for freelancers

Louise Wilson, a strategic marketing & communications consultant, shares her experience of networking and finding support in freelancing communities

Lucy Thorpe on How contracts saved me from payment issues when freelancing

Lucy is a freelance content writer and copywriter shares her experience of where contracts saved her from a client who was trying not to pay

Nicola Kenny on Freelancing after redundancy

Nicola Kenny shares her experience of freelancing, not by choice, but due to redundancy a day before COVID furloughs.

Tom Chivers on Why DIY isn't always the best approach for freelancers

Tom, a freelance PR and co-founder of Sabot - a freelance collective, shares why he thinks freelancers don't always have to do everything themselves

Tom Rickhuss on Dealing with Late Payments when freelancing

Tom Rickhuss, a strategist and founder of studio RUCKUS - shares his experience of dealing with late payments, whilst running his own business.

Glossary

Definitions of key terms used in self-employment

Breadcrumbing - a client leading you on, with potential offers of work, but never signing the contract. Corporation Tax - Tax you pay on business profits, when registered as a limited company. Freelancer - An individual working in self-employment, providing services to a client on a project by project basis. FSCS protection - FSCS protects customers of financial services firms that have failed, to help keep your business funds safe. ghosting - being ignored by a client, despite having things to resolve. HMRC - HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is the tax authority of the U.K. government. ICO - The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is the UK's data privacy watchdog. Income Tax - Tax due payable to anyone earning over a certain income in the UK, and the primary tax you'll pay when you're self-employed IR35 - Tax law designed to level the amount of tax paid by those in employment and self-employment. Limited Company - A limited company is one of the legal formations of a business in the UK. Whilst you're not technically self-employed if you're a limited company director, many sole-owners of limited companies describe themselves as self-employed. Making Tax Digital - A UK government initiative to digitize tax reporting, requiring businesses and individuals to use software to submit tax returns online. National Insurance - National Insurance is a tax on earnings and self-employed profits. There are different types of National Insurance, you'll need to understand the differences. Office of the Small Business Commissioner - An independent body, set up to help small businesses deal with late paying larger companies. Payment on Account - Paying your income tax in advance, as is mostly commonly required by the self-employed. Self Assessment - The process of calculating and reporting your income and expenses to HRMC each year, rather than being taxed at source. Sole Trader - A sole trader is considered to be ‘self-employed', and is the singular owner of a business, entitled to keep all profits but liable for all losses. UTR - Universal Tax Reference - a unique identifier for you, when you're completing your Self Assessment tax return. VAT - Value Added Tax, additional tax you'll be charging your customers and liable to pay to HMRC, when your turnover is over £90,000

Calendar

Key dates in the diary for freelancers.

October 31: Self-assessment Tax Return Deadline (for paper returns) - October 31st is the deadline for paper self-assessment tax returns. October 5: Self-assessment deadline - October 5th is the deadline for registering for self-assessment, if you've become self-employed in the previous tax year.

Downloads

Useful downloads for freelancers.

How you doing? 15 things to help your mental health when freelancing - Leapers guide to looking after yourself when working for yourself Why mental health at work matters for the self-employed - A quick guide to why mental health is so important to consider when you're self-employed

Reframe

Reframe some challenging thoughts and situations

Worried about doing work just for the money? - Consider the value of projects beyond financial, to avoid feelings of just doing it for the cash.

Wish I'd Known

100+ things freelancers wish they'd known before starting out.

I wish I'd known before I started freelancing I'd need to put money aside for taxes and national insurance - Top 20 ranked "I wish I knew", many new freelancers don't proactively know much to put aside for tax and national insurance. I wish I'd known before I started freelancing The importance of backups - Keeping your files safe is critical - loss of data can be catastrophic, so putting backups in place is non-optional to keep your business sustainable. I wish I'd known before I started freelancing that fellow freelancers aren't competitors - Building communities of support with fellow freelancers has more benefits than drawbacks. I wish I'd known before I started freelancing that you'll never truly have a day off - It can be incredibly easy to feel like you have to work all the time, or taking holidays is hard - but with some structure, it doesn't have to the be the case. I wish I'd known before I started freelancing about payment on account - Payment on account surprises many freelancers, and it can be a painful cost you weren't expecting.

Updates

Opinions and project updates from our co-founders, Shib + Matthew

July 05, 2024: LSE on 'trapped' feeling of self-employed July 06, 2024: Seth Godin on freelancing rates July 06, 2024: Henley Business School on Side Hustling July 10, 2024: Freelancing isn't free July 17, 2024: Pay me first July 24, 2024: Do we need to rebrand freelancing? July 28, 2024: Move fast and break things. August 05, 2024: Racism on the streets, and in the hiring process. September 08, 2024: Returning to employment isn't a failure of freelancing September 19, 2024: New policies tackling late payments October 17, 2024: Not everyone chose this way of working October 30, 2024: October Budget - what it means for freelancers November 05, 2024: Late tax payment interest rate changes November 11, 2024: Bank of England interest rate changes affects freelancers November 14, 2024: Help us create the future of Freelancing Suport November 15, 2024: 50% of the world is not freelancing