Going freelance? 15 things all creators need to know

I've been a freelance writer for (gulp!) more than 30 years now. I've made all the mistakes. To stop you doing the same, here are a few things I wish I'd known from the start of my career.

1. You are not for everybody

Not everyone will love your work. And that’s OK. It really is. They’re just not your people. Try to make something that will please everybody, and you’ll end up pleasing no one at all. You won’t even like your work. And that really is depressing.

Whether you're a writer, artist, photographer, designer, you’ll start by copying the greats in your field. Learning from them. But aim to develop your own voice, your own idiosyncrasies, your own niche.

If you're offering a service, be loud and proud about who you are, and who you most want to work with. Own your weirdness, rather than trying to hide it.

Then go out and find like-minded souls, people who will love you, and what you do.

Kevin Kelly wrote a famous and often-quoted essay explaining that in the age of the internet, you only need 1000 true fans to be successful. It's worth reading. Only a thousand people to please, world-wide. That leaves you a lot of space to be authentically, gloriously you.

2. Save for taxes

Seriously. Like death, there’s no escaping them. Every payment that comes in, you need to put a portion of it aside for tax. (I use a separate account, so I’m less tempted to dip into it.) Otherwise you’re in deep, deep trouble when the bill comes in. And it will.

You know this, already. But it’s easy to forget. Especially when you’re dizzy with the achievement of actually getting paid for your work – and there are bills to pay.

Every time you see a director helming the kind of commercial film they swore they’d never make, an actor in an ad that compromises everything you thought they stood for, a band who clearly hate each other doing a reunion tour, or a fiercely edgy and independent designer suddenly signing a tacky licensing deal: odds are you’re also seeing an unpaid tax bill. (Or the aftermath of a messy and expensive divorce. To avoid that one, read points six and 12 below.)

3. Say no more often

It’s a short word, starting in N and ending in O. With nothing in between. (Nothing, that is, except the fear of the abyss, a lifetime of people-pleasing, a dread that if we say no once, we’ll never get the chance to say yes again.)

But just get comfortable with no. Use it without guilt, emotion, or apology. No, I can’t do hours of extra work, for no extra fee. Nope, that’s outside my skillset. Can't do it, I’m taking a week off.

It gets easier, with practice.

4. Build a Freedom Fund

If you chose to be self-employed, the chances are that freedom is important to you. So build savings that enable you to make choices that aren’t just based on money. People sometimes call this a rainy day fund, but I think that’s all wrong. I prefer to think of it as a Freedom Fund.

Sure, it’s there to help me deal with emergencies (a global pandemic, for instance). But the savings I’ve built also give me the freedom to go on a spontaneous trip, to take time off if I need it, to do a low-paid project that will be great fun, to do more training or take on help if I need it. And of course, to say no.

So try to build up at least 3-6 months living costs in a savings account, over time. Real freedom is having choices.

5. Trust your instincts

When you get a funny feeling about a potential client, trust it. When a job just doesn’t feel like a great fit for you, turn it down.

Every time I've gone against my instincts or ignored my red flags, the client or the job turns into a nightmare.

Sometimes it’s hard to hear our own still, quiet inner voice – our deep, primal knowing – because we’re too busy dealing with anxiety mosquitoes, our inner critic, imposter syndrome, and a host of other nagging voices in our heads.

Tip: if it’s unkind, rude, snide, angry, harsh, it’s not your inner truth speaking. It's that chorus of inner voices who are ineptly trying to keep you safe, by keeping you well within your comfort zone.

Even when it’s telling you that you can do better, your inner mentor is kind, encouraging. That voice is your ally. It believes in you. And when it picks up signals about a client or job, trust it.

6. Take more breaks

You now work for a lousy, demanding, over-critical boss. You.

Learn to cut yourself some slack. Rest more. Take breaks. Take weekends off. Finish your day at a reasonable time.

Allow yourself recovery time after a tough day/big deadline/difficult meeting. And especially after being full-on with a project that has stopped you taking weekends off or finishing at a reasonable time.

You'll work better, be a better friend, parent and partner, and you'll be happier. Which, in the end, is why you decided to build your own business, no?

7. Stay curious

Keep learning. Keep asking questions. Read lots. Look what others are doing, not just in your own field but in all disciplines.

As a journalist, I was lucky to meet and interview people at the very top of their creative fields. If they have one trait in common, it’s this: they are interesting because they are also interested.

8. Charge what you’re worth (not what you think they can afford)

You are responsible for your own work, your own bank balance, your own life. Don’t waste time and energy trying to guess what’s going on in everyone else’s.

Concentrate on doing the best work you can, and learn to present and market it well. Then price it accordingly. The people who can't afford you? They're not your customers.

(PS This doesn’t mean that I don’t work for less sometimes if it’s a friend, a cause I believe in, or a project I really want to do. But it feels really different when you’ve chosen to do that. There's no resentment, for a start.)

9. You don’t have to do this alone

Freelancing can be lonely. So find support. There will be a professional body, a Facebook group, a sub-Reddit, a virtual community of people who do what you do. Join it. (You’ll probably have to try a few before you find the one where your tribe really hangs out.) And if you really can’t find the right group, start one.

Then connect with others in that community. Help when you can. And ask for help yourself when you need it.

Get a coach, join a mastermind group, seek out a mentor, hang out with other creatives. Collaborate on projects, when that feels right for you.

If you get help to do the work you don’t enjoy, or aren’t good at, it can free up time to take on more of the work you love. A cleaner, a Virtual Assistant (or a real one), accountant, tech support can all make a huge difference. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.

10. Pitch, market and sell – every day

Don’t wait for the phone to ring (or the email to ping). Create your own work. Do your verbs. If you’re a writer, write. If you’re a photographer, take pictures. If you’re an artist, make art. If you’re a performer, perform.

Initiate projects. Make ideas your currency and your habit.

But also, learn how to sell what you make. How to pitch those ideas. How to show your work, build an audience, and sell it. These are all skills that can be learned. Find what works for you. Then make them a regular part of your routine – always.

When you have a lot of work, it’s tempting to stop. But being consistent in your marketing ends that familiar self-employed cycle of famine or feast. And if you’re consistently getting more work than you can handle, it’s time to take on more help – or to raise your prices.

11. Build multiple income streams

No matter how small, it helps to have cash coming in from different clients, different sources. Then if your industry is disrupted by new tech, your biggest client disappears, or your business changes, you still have some bills covered.

Keep building new income streams. Look for new clients. Explore new markets. Run experiments, to see what works for you. Then make each new income stream as easy and as much fun as possible. (And don’t try and do all of the things at once – try one new idea at at time or you won’t execute any of it well.)

At first, some of these will be little more than a trickle. But it all adds up, over time. And it helps build real security, and the confidence that you can create your own money when you need it.

12. Let go of perfectionism

You're creative. You have great taste. And so your standards are high. But done really is often better than perfect. Get your work out there, learn from the response, improve and make more.

You don't need a perfect website, perfect product, perfect branding, all the best tools and equipment, your own office or team. Not at first. You just need to begin.

13. Enjoy the journey

Celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Make sure you take a moment to savour the big victories, when they come. Don't put off life until you've reached your big goals.

Always make time to spend with people you love, to have fun, to take care of yourself and to generally have a life, as well as a business. When you're old and looking back on your life, that will be what really mattered.

14. It’s not always about the big leaps

We dream of the big break, of getting signed/discovered, of overnight success. But progress can also be about making minute adjustments, incremental changes, little tweaks and improvements.

Aiming to become just 1% better every week compounds into huge progress, over time.

15. Don’t get too fixated on the numbers

Money is great. It buys you a lot of freedom. But it’s not everything.

Focus on the life you want, then use your creativity to get it. Move to a more affordable location or even another country where the cost of living is cheaper. Try house-sitting or pet-sitting if you’d like a short-term change of scenery. Use the gym or the pool in off-peak hours, when it’s cheaper (and emptier). Cycle everywhere at home, then rent a really top-end car when you’re on vacation, or a work trip.

There are a million ways to get an experience of what you want, without needing to own it.

Get really clear on why you want to work for yourself, the lifestyle you want, what you want your work to do in the world, and what gives meaning and satisfaction to you. And work out what you need to get by financially, and to be comfortable. Those are the numbers that count.

I see far too many clients who are fixated on some arbitrary goal – £50k, £100k, £250k – and sacrificing their health and happiness to get there. This is about making a life you love and work you are proud of. Not working yourself to death for some external measure of when you’ve ‘made it’.

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I am a writer, but I‘m also a coach helping creatives get the success they want, making work they love. I have a free ten-day course for creatives who want to grow their business, helping you give your established career a health-check, or put firm foundations in place if you’re just starting out. Sign up for it here.