Something I’ve been struck by since going self-employed is the openness and generosity of the freelancing community. It’s jam-packed with knowledge, a sense of humour, camaraderie and support. I\u2019ve had a month that\u2019s been so full of great conversations and connections it\u2019s made me reflect on why it feels so different in the freelancing community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the wonderful conversations I\u2019ve had include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A really interesting bid came up which isn\u2019t my specialism, and at over \u00a350K I couldn\u2019t contemplate doing myself even if it was my specialism right now. But I shared it within a freelance network and offered to be a support role if anyone was interested in it. Now I\u2019ve connected up with two new freelance colleagues to chat about the work, how we could run it and whether it\u2019s a go-er. Whether or not the work comes off, it\u2019s another two people who understand your world and its so useful to keep building that network<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A charity I work with at the moment was after some work that wasn\u2019t my specialism and I offered to put a call out on some freelance networks I\u2019m part of. In the end I was able to put forward two great candidates, one of whom I\u2019d already worked with before. So not only did the charity benefit from getting a really experienced and safe pair of hands in to do the additional work, but I built another contact in an area that I don\u2019t want to move into which is great if other organisations want a similar recommendation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been keeping close tabs on a freelancer in one of my networks who\u2019s really active in a particular niche of event facilitation. It\u2019s really appealed as a possible progression route so when I spotted she\u2019d offered to chat with someone else about it, I thought I\u2019d punt for some of her time too. Not only did she agree, but we had a great 45 minute chat about her freelancing journey generally, how she got into the specialism, where it\u2019s taking her and all her tips for getting started. Unbelievably generous with her time, and knowledge, particularly given I\u2019m trying to move into a similar space to her<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the freelance networks I\u2019m part of regularly offers \u201cteam meetings\u201d \u2013 a weekly check-in to talk about how your weekend went, any challenges you\u2019ve got and building some accountability for the week ahead. When you work on your own so much as a freelancer, the space to have those conversations is really valuable. And to be in a virtual room with 5 or 6 others is another way to build that network, and make use of some solidarity in the tricky bits, get some solid advice on ways forward and generally enjoy the camaraderie<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I saw a call out for experiences of freelancing, and after I gave my thoughts in a message thread, I ended up having an hour long Zoom call to share experiences of our journeys so far, to help inform her work developing support for people going into freelancing. She\u2019s got some amazing ideas about building better support for freelances and it\u2019s exciting to be even a small part of that beginning<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was getting stuck with a particular aspect of one client\u2019s work and wondering how I could progress it. The freelancer \u201cteam meeting\u201d for people without a team gave me an opportunity to air it and someone rightly asked if I\u2019d asked the wider freelancer network for help. I hadn\u2019t and to be honest I was a bit defensive at first. But after a few days I thought about it some more and realised, that\u2019s exactly what I should do. I bit the bullet and asked if anyone had experience in the area because I\u2019d appreciate someone to bounce off of. And you know what? An amazing person came forward with oodles of experience, and generously gave me nearly an hour of their time to talk it through (without naming the organisation) and help coach me through to working out my new approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of my favourite ones was meeting up with a freelance colleague I met last year over a bid that we both liked the look of. We ended up working together to submit a collaborative bid, and found that we worked in similar areas, with a similar approach to work. We\u2019ve kept in contact with regular check-ins and we finally got to meet in person, for a catch up that covered a whole of topics. It\u2019s lovely to get advice from someone who\u2019s been through some of your challenges before, particularly when they have a similar outlook on life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working in charities before has meant I\u2019ve met some wonderful people. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to have a mentor at one point early on, and since then have been part of a few networks which have helped to share experiences, build collaboration and support that sense that you\u2019re not alone. One professional network stands out as being particularly generous in sharing information and expertise across organisations, as well as being on the end of an email\/phone if you need someone to ask\/debate with\/rant at\/collaborate with. But when you\u2019re talking to freelances, I realise there\u2019s something extra. Their time is so precious \u2013 it\u2019s time that they could (potentially should) be earning. The other aspect is how lots of us are technically in competition with each other, but it somehow never comes out. There\u2019s a huge generosity to sharing information and expertise, as if it\u2019s just accepted that there\u2019s room enough for everyone. Something I completely didn\u2019t expect and am incredibly grateful for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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