I've spoken to thousands of freelancers, and these are the most common (and some less common) things they said they'd wish they'd know before they'd started freelancing.
We're writing up all of the WIKs we've heard, to create a comprehensive list, so you don't need to be surprised too.
Tell us your "Wish I'd Known" and we'll share it with others.
Tell us your WIKA "Wish I'd Known" from the community.
Come back next week for another!
Payment on account surprises many freelancers, and it can be a painful cost you weren't expecting.
I've been self-employed for over 30 years, and have been supporting fellow freelancers for 10+ years. In that time, I've spoken to literally thousands of freelancers.
This is a collection of the things they've told me they wish they'd known sooner, so you can avoid the missed know-how.
In addition, we're undertaking a meta-analysis of hundreds of blogs with titles like "15 things I'd wish I'd know before I started freelancing" to see if there are common patterns.
It's this work, plus my annual first party research into what challenges freelancers face, which powers the Freelancing Support and Flightplan platforms.
Stay in touch with us, to hear when we launch new resources.
SubscribeLook back through the archives, so you don't get caught out
Top 20 ranked "I wish I knew", many new freelancers don't proactively know much to put aside for tax and national insurance.
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.
Building communities of support with fellow freelancers has more benefits than drawbacks.
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.
Payment on account surprises many freelancers, and it can be a painful cost you weren't expecting.