go freelance the freelance advisor guide to freelancing1

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Go
Freelance
The complete guide to starting freelancing
by Leif Kendall at Freelance Advisor
FreelanceAdvisor.co.uk
The complete guide to Going Freelance...
Darkest Before the Dawn 3
What the Hell Are You Doing? – Understanding Your Motivation
Making the Leap – Knowing When the Time is Right
Cash Cushion, How Much to Save?
Moonlighting – Freelancing from the Comfort of Your Day Job
Choices – Who are You Going to Be?
Finding Work
Websites, Agencies, Cold Calling
Networking
Your Website, Being Found on the Web – Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Social Media
Your Elevator Pitch
Charging for Your Time – Setting Rates , Flexible Fees
Teetering on the Brink, Ready to Leap
Freelancing: A Way of Life 13
Choosing Your Location: Home Vs Office
Home Sweet Office, Coworking
Financial and Legal Decisions
Ltd Company or Sole Trader? VAT
Book-Keeping, Accounts and Organisation
Why maintain records?
Invoicing, Payment Terms and Cash-Flow
Invoicing, Book-Keeping, Avoiding Problems, Contracts, Debt Chasing
Happy Freelancing – Ideas for Ongoing Success
Tracking your time – tools
Getting Things Done
To-Do Lists, Time-Boxing
Life Vs Work
Time to Relax, Health and Fitness
IT – Preventing Nightmares
Freelancing the Night Away 20
Loneliness, Bordom, Being broke
Not Finding Work
Not Getting Paid for the Work You’ve Done
Where’s My Motivation?
So, What’s it Going to Be Then? 22
Are You Ready to Leap?
Darkest Before the Dawn
So, you’re thinking about going freelance?
Are you feeling that excitement, the fear, the adrenaline as you stand on the edge, ready to 
leap? You probably have a lot of questions – lots of uncertainties that you would like to address 
before you make a decision. 
Or, you’re here because you’ve already made the leap. You might have made a rash decision 
(don’t worry!), been freelanced (sacked) against your wishes or you might have just decided that 
the time was right.
Whatever your position, it’s worth remembering that freelancing is not an easy way to make 
a living. Freelancing is demanding. It requires hard work, intelligent perseverance and the 
occasional stroke of good luck.
Freelancing, For the Win!
But, freelancing is increasingly popular because it’s 
empowering; putting you in total control of every aspect of 
your work.
Want to choose your own path? Want to 
choose how you work, who you work for, 
when and where you work, and how long you 
work for? 
If you want to choose your life, choose your future and 
choose the way you live, you should probably choose 
freelancing.
Understanding Your Motivation
Why do you want to be a freelancer? If you don’t know, it’s worth considering what is driving 
you in the direction of freelancing. Some motivations are less positive than others, and some 
motivations suggest that freelancing isn’t the best option for you.
Good motivations:
•	 You want to improve your prospects
•	 You want to pursue your own good ideas
•	 You want control of your work
•	 You want to be your own boss
•	 You want to gain recognition for your work
•	 You want to do the kind of work you love
Bad motivations:
•	 You hate your boss
•	 You’re fed up of being punished for poor time-keeping
•	 You’re keen to work less
•	 You have no motivation 
•	 Freelancing sounds cool
•	 You just want to earn more money
Mixed Motivations
Of course, you probably have a mixture of reasons for wanting to go freelance. You might want: 
more control of your work, to explore new fields, to make more money, and get away from a 
bullying or controlling manager. 
It’s worth reflecting on what motivates you to go freelance, to make sure you have good, solid 
reasons for making such a radical change to the way you work. Freelancing is not an easy way 
to make a living, so be sure to have strong motivations to power you through challenging times.
What the Hell Are You Doing? 
Making the Leap – Knowing When the Time is Right
Unfortunately, there’s no scientific method for assessing whether it’s a good time to go 
freelance. It seems to be one of those things that you just have to feel in your blood. And to 
some extent, you’ll never know unless you try. 
That’s the best way to think about the things you do prior to going freelance. You can start things 
now that should ease your conversion to freelance working, and minimise the risk of failure.
Cash Cushion
Freelancing might seem like a fast route to easy cash. Daily rates like £200, 
£300 or more can be very tempting. But as with everything in life, it’s a bit 
more complicated than just:
[Working days per month] 20 x [daily rate] £200 = £4000!
The reality is that in the first month you manage to find 6 days’ work. Which 
seems like a lot, especially after you’ve spent the other 14 days chasing those jobs. But in 
reality it means:
6 x £200 = £1200
If you consider that to comfortably allow for accountant’s fees, expenses and tax, you should put 
aside 25% of your earnings, you’re left with:
£1200 – 25% = £900
Then, you have to remember that if you land your work near the end of the month, even if you 
invoice immediately, and only offer short payment terms, you’ll still be without any incoming cash 
for that month. 
Clearly, if you want to go freelance, start saving! The more cash you can put away, the better 
protected you’ll be against things like:
•	 A slow start
•	 Slow-paying clients
•	 Unexpected hiccups like injury, illness or losing your mojo.
Minimising Risks
£
Save as much as you can. How much do you need to survive? If you don’t 
know, work it out. Calculate everything you have to spend in a month. 
Things like:
•	 Rent/mortgage
•	 Bills
•	 Food
•	 Debt repayments
•	 Child support
•	 Fuel
•	 Insurance
•	 Travel
The total of these unavoidable expenses will be your survival budget. It’s the minimum amount 
of money you’ll need to survive each month. Many people suggest saving three month’s worth 
of survival budget.
In reality, many people would take years to save that much money. And you probably want to go 
freelance before you retire, so a less substantial survival fund may have to suffice. 
Being Broke Can be Very Motivating
It’s also worth considering that having a big pile of cash behind you may weaken the impetus to 
search for work. If you have a small amount of cash, perhaps just enough to last you a month on 
basic rations, you’re going to be highly motivated to find work. 
Moonlighting – Freelancing from the Comfort of Your Day Job
Moonlighting means working two jobs at once. If you want to start freelancing, you don’t need to 
quit your job. Just start freelancing. Obviously you’ll have to restrict your freelancing to the times 
when you’re not already employed, but there’s no reason why you can’t find clients now. 
Moonlighting is a great way to improve your chances of finding enough work once you leap into 
full-time freelancing. 
How Much to Save?
Finding work
Moonlighting lets you:
•	 Build a network of clients
•	 Set up your business identity
•	 Develop a portfolio of work
•	 Understand what works and what doesn’t
•	 Discover areas that you need to work on
•	 Earn additional income (perfect for building your Cash Cushion)
•	 Try before you buy. Is freelancing really for you?
•	 Get known as a freelancer.
Choices – Who are You Going to Be? 
Will you be you, or will you be a brand? Will you be Tom P Quigley or Tompq Ltd? Before you 
make a decision, consider how a particular identity will affect:
•	 Website domains – is the domain available?
•	 Branding – how will it look on business cards, letter heads etc?
•	 Recall – will anyone remember you?
•	 Longevity – is it a name that can adapt with you?
Finding Work
Freelancing means a regular cycle of finding and losing jobs. Successful freelancers are 
constantlylooking for work – something not everyone has the stomach for. So, you’re up for the 
fight – now where do you look for work?
It’s wise to try everything in the hunt for work. Different things work for different freelancers. Try 
to use a broad mix of techniques – never rely on one source of work, because you’ll be exposed 
to the risk of that source drying up.
Freelance Advisor Jobs
To help you find contracts we’ve created a jobs page on the 
Freelance Advisor website. Head on over to FreelanceAdvisor.
co.uk/jobs and you’ll find plenty advertised.
Websites for Finding Work
For every industry there are websites that unite freelancers with employers. Search for the ones 
that are relevant to you. Here are a few to get you started:
•	 www.people4business.com/
•	 www.guru.com
•	 www.noagenciesplease.com
•	 www.peopleperhour.com
Recruitment Agencies
Speak to a recruitment consultant or two. Get on the books of any agency that is relevant. A few 
suggestions:
•	 www.profilescreative.com
•	 www.xchangeteam.com
Cold Calling
Not just the preserve of double-glazing salesmen, cold calling can be the perfect way to start a 
relationship with new clients. You could send people emails, telling them that you’re available for 
work, but they’ll probably put your email with all the others, in the Trash folder. 
Calling people takes more time, requires more effort, and it shows more determination. Many 
employers prefer a polite, friendly, concise and purposeful phone call to a bland, standard email 
that you’ve clearly sent to everyone else.
We’ll help you find work
Networking 
Networking doesn’t just mean organised events with people in suits. Here’s 
a much more useful definition of networking:
Networking: verb – to create, develop and utilise the network of friends, colleagues and 
contacts that you have.
All kinds of social engagements are potential networking opportunities. Always carry business 
cards and always talk about what you do. But don’t just say “I’m a programmer” or “I’m a graphic 
designer” – give examples of what you do. Help people to make sense of what you do. If 
someone doesn’t understand what you do, how can they ever recommend you?
When you’re networking, listen to what people say. Think about what they do, see how it fits with 
what you do, and look for ways that you might work together. Always look for opportunities to be 
helpful to people. 
*See also: Your Elevator Pitch
Networking Events
Search for networking events in your area. Try a few. If you feel uncomfortable talking to 
strangers, or trying to sell yourself, remember that it gets much easier with practice. Before long 
you’ll be an unstoppable schmoozing machine. 
For a list of the latest freelance events (or to add 
your own) go to freelanceadvisor.co.uk/events/
If you don’t have a website yet, get one. 
Having a website allows you to:
•	 Be discovered by anyone
•	 Display your portfolio
•	 Feature evidence of your work & skills
Websites can be created cheaply and quickly with blogging tools like WordPress. If you can’t 
afford to pay for a website, try making your own (there are plenty of online tutorials on DIY 
website building). 
If the thought of making a website is too scary, why not swap skills with a friendly web 
developer? There are plenty of developers in the Freelance Advisor network and if you have 
a website or not you should use your Freelance Advisor Network profile as another way to 
advertise yourself and your work.
Being Found on the Web – Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
If you don’t know anything about SEO, it’s worth doing a bit of research. Your website can 
be a useful way to find new clients, but it won’t help you if nobody finds it. Search Engine 
Optimisation ensures that search engines interpret your website in the way you want – which 
in turn ensures that searchers can find you.
Social Media
There are a host of social media websites which allow you to create profiles and to connect 
to clients, contacts and the people you would like to work with. Use them – but remember to 
maintain a professional image. Every message, blurb, picture or comment you post can lose 
you work. Always remaiim positive, professional, polite and friendly.
Try:
•	 network.freelanceadvisor.co.uk
•	 LinkedIn
•	 Twitter
•	 Facebook
•	 FriendFeed
Your online presence
Your Elevator Pitch
Your Elevator Pitch is a summary of what you do. It’s concise enough to be 
delivered during a short elevator ride. It’s the quick way of telling people 
what you do – the way you’ll soon be telling friends, family, acquaintances 
and business connections about your work. 
Before you start networking, work out how you will explain what you do. You may want to have 
two versions of your elevator pitch. One version for potential employers (which assumes some 
prior knowledge) and one that’s better for random people who might not know anything about 
your industry. 
A good elevator pitch doesn’t just say what you do; it says why you’re useful to your clients. Try 
to mention the benefits that your clients derive from you.
A bad elevator pitch:
“I’m a graphic designer.”
A good elevator pitch:
“I’m a graphic designer – so I 
help businesses find the best 
way to appear to their clients, 
and take care of things like 
logos, adverts, packaging, 
posters, signs and basically 
anything that needs to look 
great.”
Charging for Your Time 
Setting Rates
How much are you going to charge? What is the going rate for someone like you? It’s easy to 
find out. Try:
•	 Check a few of your competitor’s websites. Do they display their rates?
•	 Ask an agency. They should have a good understanding of typical rates.
•	 Call a freelancer and ask them.
Get an idea of what people are charging, and charge something comparable. If you’re starting 
out, and don’t have years of experience, it might be appropriate for you to charge at the lower 
end of the pay spectrum. Increase your rates as your experience, skills and knowledge grows. 
Flexible Fees
Many freelancers have multiple rates. Sometimes it’s worth working for a lower rate if the work is 
interesting, charitable or good for your portfolio. On the other hand, some projects are unpopular 
and unappealing – so charge more for the inconvenience. 
It often pays to ask a client what their budget is before you discuss rates. Once you know what 
they can spend, you can decide whether it’s enough. 
Teetering on the Brink, Ready to Leap
Okay, so we’ve looked ways of minimising the risks of leaping into freelancing – you’ve 
accumulated a cash cushion, been busy moonlighting, networking and expanding your presence 
on the web. 
And now, what do you do? Remember: only you will know when the time is right. You will know 
when it’s the optimum time to make the change to freelancing. 
In the next section, we look at things you’ll need to consider to 
continue freelancing successfully.
Freelancing: A Way of Life
So you’ve made the decision – you’ve quit your job and are counting down your final days of 
regular employment. Congratulations! Now the rewarding business of being a freelancer can 
begin. What follows are suggestions of things you might want to consider as your freelance 
career progresses. 
Choosing Your Location
Home Vs Office
When you’re starting out, you’ll probably be intent on minimising expenses, which means you’ll 
be working from home. 
If seeing the same four walls starts to drive you nuts, make a break for it, and try working:
•	 In a nice café
•	 In a park
•	 In a coworking space
•	 In a friend’s house (if they’re out all day, why not?).
Home Sweet Office
Working from home can be lovely: you can work in your pants, munch on toast, eat like a king, 
fart without consequence, and listen to obscure Danish hip-hop at whichever volume suitsyour 
mood. 
On the downside, working from home can be lonely, distracting, unproductive and depressing. It 
doesn’t suit everyone. 
If you’re going to work from home, devise a strategy for making sure that you:
•	 Get things done
•	 Communicate with other people
•	 Get out occasionally.
Coworking
Home Vs Office
Coworking is a relatively new concept – it began as a way for freelancers and entrepreneurs 
to find convenient places to work and people to work with. If you’re lucky enough to have a 
coworking space near you, give it a try. The benefits of coworking include:
•	 You get colleagues!
•	 Coworking spaces feel like places to work in
•	 You separate work from home
•	 Minimal costs
•	 Flexibility – drop in when you want
•	 Collaboration – coworkers are potential partners
•	 Networking – coworkers are also potential clients
•	 New scenery – a new environment can kick-start your motivation.
Financial and Legal Decisions
Ltd Company or Sole Trader?
This is a key decision, and one you should make after evaluating the options. Try to speak to 
other freelancers in your industry. Ask them why they chose to be the type of business that they 
are. 
Both options have benefits and drawbacks. Understand all the implications before making 
a decision. Ask an accountant for advice, and see how this compares to what you’ve learnt 
quizzing freelancers.
VAT
Once you start invoicing over £67,000 in the course of a year, you’ll need to register for VAT. 
This means that you become a VAT collector for the government – collecting VAT every time you 
invoice a client. You’re allowed to offset the VAT on your purchases – paying the difference to 
the government each quarter.
Some freelancers choose to register for the VAT flat-rate scheme – which allows you to 
offset the VAT on your purchases, but means you have to charge your clients VAT. Ask your 
accountant if the flat-rate VAT scheme is right for you.
Book-Keeping & Accounts
Book-Keeping, Accounts and Organisation
Freelancers are not just the dynamic operatives that they seem to be. Under every good 
freelancer is a solid organisational foundation. You should always maintain an ordered 
enterprise. 
Why maintain records?
Book-keeping doesn’t exist just to provide dull people with jobs. Without accurate 
book-keeping you’d struggle to know if you’d made a profit – or how much. Without 
knowing your sales figures, profit and how your profit compares to sales – you can 
never know what can be improved. 
Invoicing, Payment Terms and Cash-Flow
Finding work is just the first step in your ongoing battle to maintain financial solvency. But let’s 
assume that you can find work and carry out the work with success. Now, you might think it’s 
time to get paid. Well, it is, if you’re lucky. Before you get paid you’re going to have to invoice. 
Invoicing
Tell your clients when you will be invoicing them. And when that time comes, send the invoice. 
Never delay sending invoices, because it will delay when you get paid. If you raise invoices on 
project completion, make sure invoicing is on your task list. Always invoice as soon as you can. 
Book-Keeping
Without a system for recording your invoices, it’s easy to forget that someone hasn’t paid you. 
You will need every penny, so make sure nothing can ever go unpaid. Accounts software can be 
very cheap – but even a simple spreadsheet can ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Payment Terms
You can decide whichever payment terms you like. Whether or not your clients accept them is 
another matter. Some companies insist on payment after 30 days, regardless of what you want. 
So you may have to be flexible, or change your terms depending on the client.
Freelancers often demand shorter payment windows because they have to protect their 
cash flow.
The death of many a business – cash flow, or the lack thereof. This is one 
of the biggest things that you’ll need to monitor as a freelancer. You may 
be busy working, you may be invoicing vast sums for awesome work with 
fantastic clients, but if cash isn’t flowing into your bank account you could 
soon end up cashless and desperate. 
Avoiding Problems
Discuss your payment terms with clients before you work with them. Tell them when you will 
expect to be paid, and ask them to confirm that your terms are acceptable. It may feel awkward 
to discuss payment terms, but your clients will respect you for having the foresight to ask before 
it becomes a problem.
If you suspect a client might be troublesome, ask for payment in advance. Or ask for a 50% 
deposit. How you work is entirely up to you. 
Contracts
The best way to avoid disputes with clients is to have a written contract which details every 
aspect of your working relationship. With a contract there is less room for ambiguity and any 
disputes that arise will be easier to settle. 
Debt Chasing
If invoices go unpaid, don’t be shy about chasing your clients for payment. A polite enquiry will 
often be enough to jog someone’s memory. 
* See: Not Getting Paid for the Work You’ve Done
Cash Flow
Freelancers are effectively small businesses. And like any small business, they need a lot 
of effort to keep them running. In this section we’re going to look at a few factors that may 
influence how happily you operate as a freelancer. 
Tracking your time – tools
If you’re charging people for your time, it’s sensible to keep track of the time you spend on 
projects. Various tools are available online, such as:
•	 Slim Timer - http://slimtimer.com/
•	 Bubble Timer - http://bubbletimer.com/
Getting Things Done
For freelancers, getting things done is crucial. If you don’t finish a job, you probably can’t raise 
the invoice. And as we’ve already noted, your cash-flow is something you need to watch closely. 
To-Do Lists
Sounds obvious, but to-do lists are worth returning to if you’re struggling to get things done. Try 
a nice web application, such as:
•	 http://www.todobedobedo.com/
•	 http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
•	 http://www.tadalist.com/
Time-Boxing
Once you’ve created your to-do list, you need to think about what you’re going to do and when. 
Schedule tasks in a diary (whether online or the paper kind). If you can resist the distractions 
of home or the internet, try working in 5 or 10 minute time-bursts. Set a kitchen timer and do 
nothing but work for a set period of time. 
And sometimes it helps to reduce distractions:
•	 Switch off telephones
•	 Turn off Google Chat/Skype/Twitter applications
•	 Turn off your email
•	 Turn off the Internet completely
Happy Freelancing 
- ideas for Ongoing Success
Most freelancers are unusually happy people – ask anyone who has escaped 
the tyranny of the middle manager, the 9 to 5, the cubicle, the commute and 
the soggy sandwich, and they’ll tell you that freelancing is working that you 
can look forward to.
But, as much as you might enjoy your work as a freelancer, 
and as much as your work and life may blend into one 
pleasurable mix, it’s going to be important for you to retain 
some separation of work and life. 
Time to Relax
It’s worth setting boundaries between your work and home 
lives – to make sure that both aspects of your life get a chance 
to breathe. If you don’t have rough working hours, you may be 
tempted to work later and later. Also, if you don’t plan holidays 
in advance, you may never take them. 
Health and Fitness
If you ever find yourself all in a muddle, your head spinning full of ideas, schemes and 
advertising jingles, unable to concentrate, unable to sleep, unable to get things done – you may 
need exercise. 
Exercise resets the body’s stress clock – allowing you to release whatever stress you’ve been 
keeping inside. Whichever exercise you prefer, try to get out of breath (providing your health 
allows). 
Life Vs WorkBack-up your data. 
Imagine your computer died right now. What would you lose? How much of your data would be 
lost? How much of it is stored elsewhere? How would you explain to your clients that you hadn’t 
taken back-ups?
Getting into a good backup habit now might save you a major frustration in years to come.
Where did I leave that file?
As well as external hard drives, you may want to consider:
•	 http://www.getdropbox.com/
•	 http://www.humyo.com/
Online storage means you can access your data from any PC – perfect protection against fire 
and theft.
There are also a range of ‘portable apps’ which you can carry with you on an externalo drive, 
applications like OpenOffice, the Firefox web browser and Thunderbird email client are all freely 
available and can be used on any computer.
Consider using online applications like Google Documents and Dropbox, that way you know 
you’ll have a secure off-site backup, easy access from anywhere in the world and the ability to 
collaborate on documents with anyone at anytime.
IT – Preventing Nightmares
Freelancing the Night Away
So – you’ve made the leap. Things are going well, but 
everything isn’t quite the fantasy you had in mind. Let’s look at 
some of the ongoing challenges you face as a freelancer.
Loneliness
Cut loose from the corporate mothership, you no longer have the watercooler to gather round, 
or the over-the-cubicle-partition gossip sessions, or the inter-company emails about toilets that 
won’t flush and biscuits gone AWOL… a blessing? Well, yes and no. 
You may be saved from predictable tedium, but you’re also missing out on some valuable 
socialising. Save yourself from loneliness by:
•	 Finding local freelance organisations. If one doesn’t exist near you, create it. (See 
Brighton’s Farm as a model)
•	 Networking with abandon. Don’t just make contacts; make friends!
•	 Coworking.
Bored
Before you get bored, try varying your work setting. Try working from a different part of your 
house, or get mobile! Leave the house and work wherever you can. If one particular task is 
boring you, try leaving it alone for a while. Get up and go for a walk. Go see a film. Stop being 
bored. Life is too short.
Broke
Poverty can strike for a number of reasons:
•	 Not finding work
•	 Not getting paid for work done
If you’re just not getting enough work in, it may be because you’re not doing enough marketing. 
Not Finding Work
One option is to find temporary work or a part-time job while you build up your client base. Find 
a reliable source of steady income, and increase your marketing efforts:
•	 Cold calling
•	 Networking
•	 Web-marketing (SEO)
•	 Social Media marketing (Twitter, Facebook etc)
It’s important to remember that you may need time to establish a client base. Be prepared for 
this to take months. Be patient, and try to have fall-back options in case of emergency.
Not Getting Paid for the Work You’ve Done
If your clients are delaying payments, get more organised. 
1. One week before invoices are due, call the client to politely remind them that the invoice 
is nearly due for paying. Ask them if the invoice is okay, and if they are happy to pay you 
on time. 
2. One day before invoices are due, call your client and politely ask if the payment will be 
made on time. 
3. If invoices remain unpaid after the due date, send a statement or a payment reminder. 
Try calling your client and politely explaining how important prompt payment is to you and 
your survival.
4. If your clients continue to give excuses, try employing a company like Thomas Higgins & 
Co (http://www.thomashiggins.com/) to send a letter to your client (for a very small fee). 
5. If a formal letter is not sufficient to extract payment, companies like Thomas Higgins & 
Co can escalate the case to court action. If you are worried about losing a customer, 
consider the value of a customer that doesn’t pay you. 
Generally, if you have lots of problems with late payment, try asking for a 50% deposit at the 
start of a project. If you can, ask for 100% up front.
Consider your invoicing process – is there anything you’re doing wrong? Never give clients an 
excuse to not pay. Make sure you follow clients’ invoicing terms and conditions, and include 
Purchase Order numbers if they’re required. 
Guaranteed Payment
Another good option is to use a service that guarantees payment. We recommend 
People4Business people4business.com/ who guarantee payment for all contracts gained 
through their site.
If you find yourself struggling to do essential tasks, try changing:
•	 Your location
•	 The task
•	 The way you work. E.g. race against a clock, or work with a partner, or listen to a new 
kind of music while you work.
If you really can’t bring yourself to get things done, and knowing that if you don’t work, invoice 
and bring in cash you will quickly lose:
•	 Your social life
•	 Your partner 
•	 Your home
•	 Your pet(s)
isn’t enough to drive you onwards, it’s probably time to ask yourself: am I in the right job?
Freelancing isn’t for everyone, and if you can’t motivate yourself, you may need a manager and 
a corporate structure to keep you in line. 
So, What’s it Going to Be Then?
We’ve covered a lot of ground, and considered many of the aspects that will affect your life if 
you go freelance, but has it been enough to help you make a decision?
You should only go freelance after careful consideration. It’s not an easy way to make a living, 
and there are no guarantees that you’ll make money. If you decide to go freelance, plan an 
escape route – an alternative way to make money – just in case it doesn’t work out. 
Freelancing is a hugely rewarding way to work – but it only rewards those who work hard. And 
to be a successful freelancer you will need to work hard at many things beyond the thing people 
pay you for. You’re going to become the marketing, sales, accounts, management and admin 
departments. 
The rewards of freelancing are rich and varied. Freelancing is a bit like leaving home – it’s a 
time to stand up as an independent person, responsible for your own life, taking charge of your 
destiny and creating your own future. Whatever you choose, good luck!
Where’s My Motivation?
Free Freelance Advice
We really hope you’ve found this guide useful.
The content was put together by a talented freelancer - one of the major 
contributors to the Freelance Advisor website - and is typical of the kind 
of advice we continue to publish online every week.
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