Aged 58 Mary found herself staring ageism in the face. Full time work wasn’t coming her way. And she realised perhaps she didn’t want it to. Maybe it was time for a change. With age comes experience. A stack of it in writing, even if she didn’t know what a copywriter was. Loads of it in managing projects. Dealing with people. Giving and taking feedback… Aged 68 Mary finds herself staring at the face of The Wrinkly Writer. Owning that age with pride. 10 years of successfully freelancing...

Going viral on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok transformed Jame's freelancing career, bringing in a flood of clients and opportunities. But how did he get to this point? We hear his journey from generic graphic design freelancer to niche logo specialist. From making a difference to his clients, to making a name for himself for designers around the world in the content he creates.

Dan is an experienced designer and illustrator. He went freelance twice. First for creative freedom. Secondly to free him up for his family. Starting out as a designer for McDonald's, he wanted a more varied diet of projects. With a lot of time freelancing in agencies, Dan learnt to stand out, be indispensable and build relationships to expand his chance of finding work. He also flexed himself creatively with illustration side projects (after college tutors said he’d never make a living...

From big cat zookeeper to taming words as a freelance copywriter, Adri's freelancing story starts a little differently. Burnout led to her quitting the zoo before even securing a paying client. A persistence in cold emailing, dealing with rejections that would have made many give up has led to warm relationships and a niche in emails themselves.

This time we're off to India to chat to self taught Logo & Brand Identity Designer Blesson Varghese. We cover the importance of networking, 'silent' mentors, balancing work and life, and the challenges faced by freelancers in a society that doesn't yet fully value creative professions. Additionally, Blesson shares insights on his approach to handling clients and projects, and his continual quest for learning in his field

A twinge in Erin’s back didn’t go away. The pain and operations, all could have left her housebound, watching daytime TV. Instead she propelled herself into an online business world she hadn’t known existed. From an awful trauma, freelancing has given Erin the flexibility to do something she really loves.

Early success on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork led to Andréa expanding her services and horizons. Using video and podcasts she built trust. She also built an agency. Dealing with the challenges of managing a team, working around family, and staying focussed in a world of shiny objects. Podcasts, YouTube, a Membership, courses, retreat… as Andréa points out: it can be summed up quickly, but it happened slowly…

Rebecca first shared her freelancing story on the Being Freelance podcast in October 2015. Now it's time to cacth up. What happened in the next 8 years?! Through the challenges and rewards of working directly with clients, Rebecca’s strategies for attracting and maintaining clients and how she got through a pandemic that closed down her industry overnight.

In 2014 Eddie started the Very Good Copy blog to educate himself. But he wasn’t the only one loving it. As it grew in popularity, people started reaching out, offering him work. He turned them down. Until in 2020, an opportunity came along that was too good to refuse. Freelance it was then. Hear Eddie on: building his newsletter audience, creating courses, the danger to work/life balance when you get a ‘high’ from creating, and the importance of not just growing for growth’s sake.

From starting as a PR freelancer to accidentally heading a small agency, working with her husband and then transitioning back into solo freelancing, Lucy shares the challenges she's faced along the way. As the creator of ‘Hype Yourself’, we hear how showing up daily even in her darkest days has built Lucy’s reputation. But maybe she wouldn’t quite do it all the same again. This episode is practical, fun, candid. And very much worth the hype.

Study, determination, and a knack for design were going to take Robert out of his poor upbringing in South Africa. But the death of his brother, drew him back again. To help young people see a brighter future for themselves, he needed time. To have time, he needed to go freelance. Then came COVID. Faced with the daunting reality of having to survive without savings or a backup plan, Robert took to creating content and from that a whole lot more: a business, a community, a future for his family.

Hannah wondered how the people she met whilst travelling could afford to travel non-stop. It turned out, they were freelancers. And so began a journey into a new way of working, living, and looking for her niche along the way. Meet ‘Hannah from Shiny Happy Digital Design’. Happy when working. Happy when on holiday. Happy to put her prices on her site thanks very much.

Joel was originally on the podcast in November 2015. Now it’s time to catch up on the intervening 8 years. As he’s gone from a single solo copywriter to being a married father… and founder of a company. A freelancing side project grew into a company with seven figure revenue. But is the grass greener? Could he have done it alone? From freelance to founder -Did being his own boss set him up to be a good boss of many?

Sam was drawn to freelancing when the bar he pulled pints for, asked him to design a poster. The writing was on the wall. Well, it wouldn’t have been a great poster otherwise. Sam became known as a designer/illustrator for bars, pubs and clubs. And then covid hit. Overnight, all those places shut…

For a long time Kayleigh didn’t even see what she had as a 'business'. She was trading time and skills for money. But a few years ago she embraced outside help. She polished her brand and found her niche. With this new confidence and focus, her rate quadrupled. As did her satisfaction in being freelance.

8 years after Franky first shared her story on the podcast, it’s time to catch up. Franky shares how she had to dramatically reshape her life and business around a chronic illness, diagnosed less than a year after we last spoke. Franky’s business has evolved around her family, her interests and her health.

In this special bonus episode of the Being Freelance podcast we take a selection of the regular Live Q&As that we host in the Being Freelance Community and let you soak up the wisdom once more. You can catch full video replays of all of our Live Q&As in the community. In this episode, we've got: - Freelance content marketing and SEO strategist Beth Gladstone - Tom Garfield who creates websites alongside his wife Ellie, as ‘Brand New Notebook’ - Conversion copywriter Prerna Malik of...

When Liz left uni, she was adamant she didn’t want to be a freelancer. And yet here we are, via starting a stationery business and a family. A 9 year gradual process which has resulted in her switching from treating her freelancing like a hobby, to firmly treating it like a business. Starting a podcast. Working with Adobe. Diversifying her income and having fun along the way.This is Episode 300 of the Being Freelance podcast - recorded live in the Being Freelance Community - join us!

This is actually the fourth time Jackson’s been freelance. He’s not just quit jobs, he even once quit his own company.But whereas the other times he was a ‘regular’ graphic designer, this time he’s spent a decade as a specialist: a lettering artist and calligrapher. Posting to social media gained him an audience and commissions from around the world to his home in Brazil. He’s since launched online courses, prints, fonts and NFT collections, building his reputation so he can work when he...

Anna had built a career across corporate and government comms in Melbourne. But if she wanted to move her family out of the city and that meant first meant transforming the way she worked. Anna set out to prove she could match her past income, now as a freelance copywriter. The seeds she planted in the city are now bearing fruit. From a farm in rural Victoria she’s reaping the rewards - a business that feels good and that runs around her kids. Today she’s questioning the external pressures...

Alex trained as a musician. Self taught as a motion designer, he’s always been constantly trying to learn and improve. Finding an internship in LA working on big Hollywood movies, he kept at it. Swapping socialising for learning, upskilling and sharing his self initiated projects on Instagram - he made a name for himself and studios started coming to him. Now, post-pandemic, he’s trying to rebalance work-life. 4 day weeks are in. Snowboarding weekends are the norm. But it’s a slippery...

Spring 2020. A pandemic lockdown. Doesn’t sound like the ideal time to build a business, but Ayo had 20 years of marketing experience as her foundations. And a love of marketing that she’d put to good use on herself. Specialising in the ‘built environment’ - think construction, engineers, architects - Ayo launched a podcast that raised her profile and brought her clients. Repurposing content across socials and her newsletters, Ayo put the same plans, systems & processes she uses with...

Brazilian creative Victoria was working in advertising in London when in 2013 she fancied a change. A change of pace, country and language, and to help her do that she figured she’d go freelance in Spain. After 3 years she took a job in an agency. Four years on she felt ready to freelance again. A pandemic and motherhood making the flexibility of working from home even more appealing. Second time around Victoria felt much more prepared. In her positioning, her processes, her dealings with...

From working in shops on Oxford Street as a teenager, now her photos can be seen in those windows instead. Marcelle did lots of work for free early on but it built a network, a portfolio and a reputation that has since served her well. Whilst her training as a graphic designer has kept her working at times when she didn’t have a camera in her hand. A self professed workaholic, her thirty year plan finds her sitting in a beach far away from the streets of London.