Naturally to be a successful freelancer, you need to be able to secure the work. I’ve been trialling a few different ways to find opportunities (more on that later) and something I’ve noticed is the huge disparity in how organisations are marketing, and outlining, their opportunities. From vague one-liners to 5+ pages of…
Tag: Start-Up
Juggling Priorities
A critical factor of success in many roles is how well you can manage your time. Like loads of people I’ve experienced huge shifts in working patterns over the last few years, from going part time with condensed hours around the kids, to sliding scales of homeworking through the pandemic. Going freelance has…
First 90 days (foundation)
This week marked my first 90 days as a consultant. I’m counting it as foundation setting, however, rather than actual because 90% of it was while working my notice in employment and running some freelance work alongside. As the first 90 days are generally considered a key transition period into any new role,…
The Freelancer Club
A curiosity I’ve had since I first thought about becoming a freelancer was how many others were doing it and just how big the freelance community is. Before making the leap myself I was aware of some friends with their own businesses, either with actual companies or as sole-traders, but I wasn’t sure…
What’s In A Name?
Every business needs an identity, and it doesn’t get more fundamental than a name. A name could tell you everything, or nothing – it can be descriptive, cryptic, creative or fun, but every business needs a name. So when you start out creating your very own business – what on earth do you…
Committee of One
Freelancer, consultant, founder, director, sole trader, entrepreneur, self-employed, business owner – apparently, I’ve gained a whole load of new titles recently. But all of it boils down to the fact that I’m creating a business out of myself. So, what’s the verdict so far on being a team of one? Cooking on gas…
Someone Call IT
Having worked in the charity sector for over 12 years, I’ve got experience in a fair few areas now. From training and advocacy to projects and volunteer management, there’s some good strings on my metaphorical bow already I reckon. But it turns out I’m now adding IT-helpdesk and engineer into the mix, and…
Lessons in Facilitation
With my first freelance-d facilitation work under my belt, it’s worth celebrating the successes and being honest about the improvements needed. So, in no particular order, here’s what I learnt from that first event: 1. There’s never a final version See my earlier blog “navigating event design” for some more of the background…
Which Way to Go
One of the main reasons starting out as a freelancer is so terrifying is because of the huge (occasionally for me all-consuming) fear of whether you’ll have enough, or even any, work to keep the money coming in. You’ve purposefully waved goodbye to a regular, known, paycheck (maybe this definitely is early-onset midlife…
Navigating Event Design
This week delivered me a few steep learning curves as I tentatively begin trying out the world of freelance, and one of the most interesting was navigating the delivery of a final product when there’s a range of stakeholders involved. So what was the event? My second ever client contracted me to facilitate…