Freelance Things - Bryn Taylor talks balancing working for clients and building things for yourself.

I’m Bryn — from the UK and now based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

I’ve been designing for the last 11 years, have worked for a handful of small and larger agencies, and then moved to more product-focused roles at tech startups - like at Thriva, Monzo and then Pleo.

I’ve been freelancing for the last 4 years. I design marketing websites and digital products, nd also offer Webflow and Framer development for websites. I mostly work with venture-backed tech and software companies, but I also partner with a few agencies.

More so now, my role is diverging more into an entrepreneur. So a lot of my time is now working on my own ventures. Currently, I spend about a third of my time on my own things and two-thirds on client work - and the plan is to gradually increase the time I spend on my own things.

What is Freelance Things?

Freelance Things is something I started around 2 years ago. It’s an online directory of the best articles, tools, books, podcasts, communities, and videos specifically for freelancers. All of the things I wish I had access to when I decided to go freelance. A place to help people learn, get inspired, and take the next step with their freelance business.

It’s also a bi-weekly email newsletter, so you can get the recent highlights straight to your inbox.

Every item is hand-picked by me or submitted by the community. I think it’s important things are vetted. So I only add things I have used myself and taken value from, or things that I see highly recommended in my freelance circles.

I created Freelance Things because I was initially scratching my own itch. In my earlier days of freelancing, I felt a bit lost. Going freelance is tough. It feels like you’re starting again in many ways. The breadth of your role instantly multiplies.

I was comfortable with the actual designing part — but I soon learnt that would only be a small slither of my job going forward. The parts I found the most challenging were: the financial side of running a business, getting a constant stream of projects and being able to run projects effectively.

So for these areas particularly I spent a lot of time going deep into them. I found some great articles, videos and communities to help and I spoke to other freelancers. That’s when I started to think this kind of thing could be helpful for other people getting started freelancing.

And then I realised it’s wider than just people getting started as a freelancer, it can be helpful for most freelancers. And now the majority of people who use Freelance Things and get the newsletter are definitely not ”new“ freelancers.

What predictions would you make for freelancing in 2025?

1. More importance on the human touch. Now everyone can create things on the internet that weren’t possible before. You can build software products with no technical knowledge. The barrier to entry has never been lower. So naturally we’re going to see more and more AI slop. The human touch can be the differentiator.

2. More freelancers building and releasing their own software and digital products. More of a solo-person-venture-studio type model.

3. More of a shift away from time-based pricing. With AI tools and more efficient processes, you can get a lot more done in less time. Charging for the time you spend doing something makes less and less sense. The time spent on a project doesn’t reflect its value.

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a freelancer?

Actively focus on building and nurturing your network. And understand that a network won’t just happen overnight. Build it into your plan or weekly tasks with little bits of networking here and there. Make genuine connections online, support your friends and clients, and learn from others. It’ll do wonders for your business among many other things.

Have a website to direct people to. The first version should be super simple — write about what you offer and how you can help companies. Do whatever you can to get it live, fast. Use a template or massively shrink the scope. Don’t spend months trying to perfect it. First, make it exist. You can make it great later.

Bryn’s top three things for freelancers

Pricing Design by Dan Mall · Book

The second edition of this book was released just recently. You can read the whole book on the website for free. Dan ran an agency for over 10 years and has distilled everything he knows about how to price design work. It has a load of real-life case studies, walking through the whole pre-project process too.

View the book

Jamie Brindle · Instagram account

Jamie Brindle’s Instagram account is a treasure trove for freelancers. He posts a lot of great advice, tips, and lessons about how to run your freelance business. It’s practical things that you can implement too — like scripts for how to handle client situations or email templates you can copy.

View the Instagram

How to build an independent design practice · Video

I love Kevin Twohy’s approach and in this video, he shares a lot of knowledge about freelancing and running a design practice. Full of fresh perspectives and he covers interesting topics like: getting up to speed quickly with a new team, staying aligned with clients, and whether to position yourself as a studio or a person.

View the video