Wednesday 1st July marked a significant milestone for me: one year of self employment.

When I embarked on this journey a year ago, I wasn’t 100% confident I’d make it this far. I didn’t have as much savings as I had planned to have, I wasn’t sure where clients were going to come from, and it was quite clear a recession was just round the corner.

So hear I am, one year older, wiser and slightly fatter. What can I tell you about my experiences?

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I suppose I should start this article with the caveat that I have only been self employed on a full time basis for about four months. I am not a financial expert or advisor – heck, I don’t even know what they really do in the city. I certainly don’t have a glass ball or any other means of seeing into the future. But I have an opinion.

If the media is to be believed (and I’m not doubting them) we are in the midst of a global economic crisis possibly more serious than that of the great economic depression of the 1930s.

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I find it difficult to comprehend that just over two months ago I was enduring sleepless nights trying to decide whether the time had come to cut my ties and take the plunge into the unknown as a self-employed person.

Ten weeks on and my life truly has changed beyond recognition – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. So, what can I tell you about being a freelancer? What’s it really like?

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Many of you that have followed me for a while will know that I’ve always combined my freelance work with full-time employment. It’s always been the plan to go it alone as a full time freelancer once I was satisfied that I was ready to take the plunge.

This state of readiness has always been a safe distance away – when I’d saved X amount of money; once I’d got X number of years industry experience under my belt. When I took on the role at Inbox this mythical moment in the future was safely put back another year… or two, or three…

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This is the second in a two part article. In the first part I looked at the perceived value of design and creative services by small businesses and tried to paint a picture of why it might make sense for a small business to consider using a cheap, untrained, non-professional designer.

In this second part I look more closely at bigger business and why getting in to bed with one of the big boys could not only be financially rewarding, but also help you avoid the feast or famine scenario many freelancers experience.

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This is the first in a two-part article examining the perceived value of design and creative services by small businesses, and what options there are for the frustrated freelancer trying to earn an honest wage.

Hi, I’d like a new website please

Exciting news, someone has asked you to quote for a project! You, being the conscientious professional that you are, spend an afternoon writing a detailed proposal and quote for the work involved. You then receive a response from your potential client explaining that your quote was considerably more expensive than they expected.

It turns out that their neighbour’s daughter’s 17 year old boyfriend (who is apparently quite good at Photoshop) has offered to do it for a fraction of your price. I’m afraid your potential client can’t afford to pay you any more than £150 for a brand new website, logo design and business cards.

Yes. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it? It’s a story I’m sure all freelance web and graphic designers have experienced.

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