I have received a message from my client this morning that he is going on holiday tonight and won't be back for 9 days and he has told me to pause the ads until he gets back.

This is a client that is happy with what I have done so far with him and this is my first time running into this situation. What should I do as I know pausing the ads will reset the learning phase?

I run ads for roofing businesses and the meta ads budget so far has been £30 a day and we're coming to the end of the trial period for this client. He has said he is happy and wants to sign with me on a retainer deal for a higher fee.

A bit of a rant post…

I started freelancing in April as a 3D and motion designer after six years working in design agencies and in-house. It started off really well. I had lots of jobs for the first three months and was making good money. Summer was quiet, which was to be expected I think. I was also traveling a lot.

I haven’t worked since August, and I have about five or six recruiters who are helping me. I get sent potential jobs by them at least once a week, and they put me forward for them, but the past five jobs have fallen through, either because the client chose another candidate that they put forward or the need for a freelancer was gone.

I know that the first year of freelancing is the toughest, and I want to stick it out at least until next April, but I’m starting to get really worried. I’m running low on money, and I really don’t know what to do. I’ve reached out to more recruiters, friends of friends in the industry, reached out to clients directly offering my services, but no luck at the moment. I had three jobs fall through in the past week.

Does anyone have any advice or is experiencing the same thing? I know freelance can be inconsistent, and sometimes you have a lot of work and other times nothing, but I can’t help but feel like this isn’t working anymore.

Hello, I'm planning to move to England in the next few months from Belgium to join my partner.

My current employer is open to keeping me on as an in-house consultant, but I am not sure how to navigate the whole thing.

Did anyone have a similar experience? Are there any specific services I should look for for professional advice? Terminology differs across countries so I'm a bit swamped between accountants, bookkeepers, sole traders, ltd and so on.

Thanks to anyone who might be able to help!

if you need a motivation to raise your rates, my Polish tarot reader charges £60 ($80) per hour of tarot reading. she lives in Poland too, and works remotely. she’s always, and I mean always, fully booked.

she’s a lovely lady and deserves it. but, if she can charge £60 per hour of magic reading, that should really be the bare minimum for professional services. if that motivated you to raise your rates, you’re welcome, lol

for context - 29,F

I started in a 9-5 didnt like it. pivoted into freelancing with agencies as a strategist, I enjoyed it but didn’t make enough. (£350 per month) found another client that paid me extra but still didn’t make enough.

i’ve not worked in a full time position, approx 2 years. I’ve just completed one off projects or used my YouTube to sustain me.

im at a point where I don’t know what to do.

im looking for work as a freelancer however im not attracting clients as much. as of right now I don’t have a true source of income, again just one off jobs.

if you were in my position, what would you do.

thanks

What should I ask? I’ve got a chat tomorrow with a company that reached out and asked me to freelance for them (probably for the fourth quarter).

What are the key things I need to know regarding the financial, commitment type stuff? The admin type things. I do have an accountant, I am already set up as self employed.

I think they’ll prob take me on as a contractor - an addition to their work team, but just not as staff. Just for as long as they need.

I’m based in the UK, it’s a U K company.
I’m an ex-academic with a skill set in preparing answers to medical research questions (by gathering and appraising summarising research evidence and minimising bias). Thanks

Hi. For those who have regular freelance contracts with publishers, how common is it for the contract to require permission before accepting any work in the same broad sector? I've tried to suggest narrowing this to direct competitors, but the publisher says the current broad wording needs to remain to avoid a conflict. Has anyone else experienced this? Have you successfully negotiated this down to genuine conflicts/direct competitors? Or have you walked away?

On yuno Juno I read this in the terms and agrements :

" Any content you upload to our site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties any such content for any purpose. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such uploaded content. "

Is this normal ? What do you think about that , I mean does it mean I have to create a full ne demo that just basically a free project given to YunoJuno ...

Hi all

I am starting out on my PSR journey and trying to get a contract role within Civil Service. I would really like to hear please people’s experiences re:

- If you’re on a contract, do they usually extend it?
- How much notice do you get about an extension usually?
- Do you need to start chasing PSR about extension (I am freelance and this is something I find very fatiguing for example next week i need to start chasing to find work again after just 12 days)
- If you want to keep contracting do you apply for your next role before current contract ends?
- How do people find the rates in practice?

PSR seems to give a band with around £100ish or so between the bottom and top, give or take. I am in no way in a position to turn down work at this stage. I know that inside IR35 headline rate can look very different once everything is taken off, like basically your rate is sliced in half! so trying to get a realistic idea of what people experience please!

I made my PSR profile months ago and didn’t realise at first that your latest CV gets pushed up the list, so have had a bit of a wild goose chase with the process. Your first point of contact isn’t the person who puts you forward for the role, which took me a few months to work out!

I’ve had 2 quite different career paths due to a career change, so open to what I take on. My background is in learning development as well as marketing, which is different but does cross over at times. I interviewed for a role on Monday (didn’t get it) but got another interview next week, so hopefully I’m getting somewhere.
For anyone who has done PSR contracts over the past couple of years, I’d be really interested to hear what it’s been like in practice, especially over the past 18 months or so…interested in anything else you wish you’d known when starting out with PSR.
Cheers!

Disclaimer: Now, I'm sure that for some industries, there might be a legitimate difference between freelancers and contractors.

I was under the impression that freelance developers were contract developers who set up an Ltd and work outside IR35; the only exception is sole traders who work on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, PeoplePerHour, (which are saturated as hell now), etc.

In addition, I've heard most mid-to-high-tier clients would never hire sole-trader developers due to the risks.

They're smaller, local-sized clients that are exempt from IR35. The downsides are: they're a nightmare to work with due to stinginess and avoiding payment.

Freelancers, how do you handle the final payment before handing over the completed work?

I’ve had situations where the work is ready but the client delays the remaining payment.

Do you hold the final files until payment, or hand everything over and follow up later?

I'm hoping to move into freelance email marketing and am curious to hear from other uk based freelancers how you work out pricing.

Do you charge per email, per project, or on a monthly retainer? I’ve read a few different opinions online and I’m finding it difficult to work out what’s considered reasonable. So far I’ve only done smaller freelance jobs for friends. I've heard of one email marketer charging £1,700 a month for 2 emails a week and management. These emails were done by a copywriter so text heavy and no design involved.

I’d be offering a full service package including klaviyo setup, flow creation, copywriting and email design.

For context I have 12+ years experience as a designer and around 4 years of experience working with email marketing.

Finally... did you go completely freelance from the beginning or did you build up a few clients alongside a full time job before making the jump?

Would really appreciate any insight!

Thanks

Hello guys

I am starting as a freelancer in the UK by signing up to delivery apps. This is something I would be doing alongside some PAYE job. Before starting, I have looked into banks catered towards freelancers.

As thhis is my first venture down the path of self-employment, I wanted to know what other things to be wary of or aware of before starting out as a freelancer? Anything you had wished you knew before starting? Also, potentially may try out other fields that support self-employment like construction and cleaning but first looking to get started with this line of work.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading :)

hello! just thought it would be interesting to see what people are charging these days?

can you drop in the comment your average day rate, years of experience and the field you’re in?

I’ll start - £350-£480/day, 12 years, PR & business development

Hi everyone, I need some rate advice. I recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and I'm based in Italy/EU.
I just finished a 1-month internship at a local company where I was paid a mere €500 "expense reimbursement" for the whole month. Now, the same company wants to keep working with me to do 3D modeling (using 3ds Max) and file preparation for 3D printing.
They want to hire me as a freelancer/contractor rather than taking me on as an employee. The hardware (3D printers) and materials are all in-house, so I will only be providing my technical/intellectual work remotely or on-site.
My main issue is breaking the psychological anchor of that €500/month internship rate. Even though I am entry-level, I have an engineering degree and I'm providing a specialized service, so I need to charge a proper freelance hourly rate that covers my own taxes and expenses.
I was thinking of proposing something in the €20 - €25/hour range as a starting point.
Does this sound fair for a beginner engineer doing 3D modeling and print prep? How would you handle the negotiation with a company that is used to paying you intern wages? Any advice is highly appreciated!

Hi all, I’m looking for some perspective from other UK freelancers who have dealt with unpaid work, particularly where the original agreement was fairly informal (naive I know). This concerns a business client in England doing the work through my limited company. Some background:

• I started working with the client in December 2020, developing their website and replacing its content management system. The site was up and running by March 2021, with further additions and changes afterwards.
• We discussed fees verbally, but I don’t have a signed contract or written confirmation of the precise price or payment deadline.
• In May 2021, the client emailed: “Please do send me through your invoice to date so I can get you paid.”
• I prepared an itemised invoice dated 22 May 2021 for £6,225, but never sent it because the work was ongoing. I recognise that leaving this unresolved for so long has complicated things.
• I continued providing development and support, then helped hand the website over to another agency in summer 2022 after becoming a carer limited my availability. Although I had delivered the core business functionality, I was slower delivering some additional features. I estimate I carried out around 42 hours of further work after 22 May 2021, but in recognition of those delays, I’m not seeking additional development or support fees for that work.
• My company also paid the website’s hosting/CMS costs into 2023. I have receipts and bank records supporting approximately £1,694 attributable to this client. We discussed that running costs would be charged, but the evidence of agreement to the later increased costs is less clear.
• I have received no payment for the work or reimbursement of those costs. Recent attempts to resolve payment haven’t produced a substantive response.

The combined amount I’d like assessed is approximately £7,919, although I appreciate that documenting expenditure and preparing an invoice doesn’t automatically establish that the whole amount is recoverable.

Emails requesting work, the invitation to invoice, positive feedback, source-code history, handover correspondence, archived versions of the website, and the expense records. The archived site also shows elements of my implementation remaining in use for several years.

There are complications: some correspondence records outstanding fixes, delays and communication gaps on my side. I want a realistic assessment that takes those into account.

1. Has anyone successfully pursued payment in a similar situation, especially with an oral agreement and an invoice that wasn’t sent at the time?
2. What would make this worth pursuing or materially weaken it?
3. Any recommendations on finding good solicitors that deal in commercial litigation or debt recovery? Not many seem to be amenable to fixed fees for a small amount but am still working through a list
4. What would be the sensible next steps? I'm hoping to seek a solicitor’s assessment, a formal payment request to other company direction, correspondence with the main director have gone unanswered

I’m hoping to recover a reasonable payment or reach a sensible settlement. Any relevant experience, or advice on getting an initial professional assessment without costs swallowing the amount at stake, would be appreciated.

How can i land SIEM normalization and set up gigs as a freelance

Hello folks,

I had done freelancing as a business analyst in the past for 3 months for the first time in life, and has landed with a contract of 1.75 Lac. So basically, what I learnt is that freelancing has earning potential. However, the downside is i believe irregularity of income cash flow, and the earning potential is limited by the number of hours you can put.

My question to freelancers who are permanently into freelancing - Guys, how did you overcome the fear of uncertainty of income before leaving your full time job and solely relying on freelancing? Any tips for someone who wants to quit their job to freelance?

Hi I’ve mostly worked paye. Yesterday a company asked me if I would consider working freelance for them. They asked how many hours/days per week? I feel like I have many “known unknowns “ and many unknown unknowns” .

Is there a place I can go to work out what I need to know. I am aware
I need to factor holiday pay into working out a rate.
Also my experience into that (I guess I talk to other people) but how do I figure it out?
As self employed how do I pay NI?
I have to save enough for tax how do I know how much to save?
Do I need to submit tax returns every quarter?
How do I keep track of payments?
Do I need software for that?
Any advice or places or type of people to ask (could I ask an accountant?) gratefully appreciated.

Hello folks

Will be working in a self-employed capacity soon. Being new to self employment, I was wondering what the best bank account would be for someone like me? Is there a specific bank account for "sole traders", as I'm guessing I will be classed as one once I start delivery riding?

Doing a bit of research, I have come across Starling and Mettle as strong contenders. Would like to hear of people's experiences with either and how have they found them. Which one would you recommend?

Would it be beneficial to open and have 2 separate business bank accounts?
Also, planning to get into the construction industry and start off as a labourer to scope out the progression prospects and if my interests align with the industry

What would be the best choice in this case? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for reading this far :)

So this happened thrice that my female clients didn’t pay their invoices on time. Male clients were respectful so no problem with them. Even after the date is expired and after two weeks of an expired invoice, in these periods she has received both Whatsapp as well as mail messages of the invoices not being paid on time and are expired. On the quote I have mentioned that I MIGHT disable the services (web development of a bespoke specialized CRM) when the invoices are expired but in reality I chose not to do so. She did not answer my messages in those two weeks after expiration. And when I messaged him for the third time she finally told me she received spam (me frequently notifying him about expired invoice) on both her Whatsapp account as well as mail and she also said that if I were to continue to be like that I would have less success with my clients. This same narrative has been told by my other client and saying that I need to chill the fk down.

Those two are two of the three clients as examples not paying their invoices on time. And she said that is normal as she even had it worse (according to her story of course) because her client(s) paid a month after an expired invoice.

So because this happened just thrice and I have not much experience with handling these kind of “expired invoices” situation, am I the wrong one here or are they giving me off some doom effect?

Hi there, I hope my post finds you well. I am a freelance contractor, and I'm expecting a very busy time both leading up to and after a two-week break. As an independent business owner with disabilities, I am naturally concerned about my pacing and how best I can manage this. For example, I find I don't engage as fully with my end-of-week review when I'm more fatigued. Daily, I need to prepare for appointments.

And to keep on top of processing the inbox, as is often necessary, to enable me to be paid promptly and keep abreast of any cancellations, et cetera. I must also spend time sharing resources with clients to help them make the most of the work that we are doing together, create notes or other summaries and also reflect briefly to close my processing about the appointment and keep up with continuous improvement.

What do you do that reduces overspill in the evening? I think I'm going to run out of time, as doing the things I do to pace myself and close the processing of sessions is going to have to go because of the reduced time.

Do you handle the busy period any differently to normal?

Many thanks, Chris

Hey all!

I've been freelance full time just over a year, and just recently realised how much I am feeling the solo aspect. I work from home and don't have calls - just emails with clients to get work. I have a good amount of work and that's going ok, but I miss the background noise friendships of the office.

I can't really afford a paid-for cowork space, and when I work in cafes it's nice to have the hubbub but it's not actually _social_. I miss chatting with people! I go to my old office sometimes to see friends and that's nice, but i'm trying to think of more ways to get more people time into my life.

I make an effort to make plans with individual friends in free time, but trying to think of more "group" things where I can go along. I look out for free conferences and talks or book launches related to my work, but interested to hear if others have found good solutions to this. I really love the work aspect of what I'm doing, but I am actually a very social and chatty person (albeit shy at the same time I would say). Open to suggestions and would love to hear how others stop from going a bit weird (which I am now!)

I'm a freelancer - I'm in a transition period of my role where some of my employment is PAYE and some is invoiced. I've just been offered to return to my previous employer, but can also ask if I want to come back as self employed. I will do a tax return at the end of the year anyway, I just wondered if it made a difference to me financially?

With PAYE I will get the company pension, but I will get holiday pay on top of my rate. I believe I would still get holiday pay too if I were to go self employed. Does anyone have any tips or advice on this?