Thinking Of Going Freelance This Year? Read This First

We speak to independent creatives on how to launch a career of self-employment without losing your money… or your mind

- Emily Gosling

New year, new you – right? The benefits of ditching your agency job or brand in-house designer 9 to 5 for freelance life appear to be many: it’s the freedom to work when you want, for whom and wherever you like. More and more creatives are going freelance out of choice, rather than being made redundant, for instance. A 99Designs survey showed that only five per cent do so out of necessity, with many reaping the benefits of a nomadic lifestyle. Indeed, 43 per cent of freelancers have lived and worked abroad.

“One of the best things about freelance life for me is being in control of everything: time management, choosing my clients and the people I surround myself with,” says Berlinbased illustrator Chau Luong. “The biggest downside is being your own boss, and not having a steady salary. You need to be highly self-motivated; it can get hard at times.”

That fear of the unknown can be crippling, so we spoke to a number of freelance creatives working across the world and in various disciplines about how they manage. We looked at everything from getting paid on time to the more nebulous nuances of keeping well in a job that can sometimes feel lonely and frequently precarious.

IS IT THE RIGHT TIME?

A few things must be in place before taking the plunge. Are you showing your abilities online to their best, to secure the work you want? Can you afford to give up a regular salary, and have you worked out how you might tackle other important aspects to a full-time job, such as parental leave and pension schemes? It’s vital to have a financial “safety net” in place to survive those first few tricky months, where a drop in income could occur.