Elaine Chadwick shares her experiences of working as a Freelance Copywriter:

Being a freelancer is fantastic in that you are solely in charge of your time – but (and it’s quite a big one) you have to be REALLY strict with yourself! Being at home all day, it would be very easy to do a million things other than work so I try and treat my day as if I have normal office hours.

That means getting up stupidly early to go the gym! I need to get done by 8am to make sure I can be at my desk and start working by 9am. I always aim to keep the same hours as my clients – just because I could have a lie in if I choose to doesn’t mean they can so I don’t want to be responsible for keeping people waiting.

It does also mean that I find I’m working at the weekends quite often – but I don’t mind that as when I’m writing it’s nice to know that I don’t have to think about any emails or phone calls I might be receiving so I can get a lot done in one sitting!

I’ve learnt that there will always be quieter periods during the year and these have historically been school summer holidays and Christmas time, however Covid had changed that slightly and the quiet times are less predictable than they used to be – in fact the last summer holidays were one of my busiest periods in 2022. As anyone who works for themselves knows, it’s hard not to worry during the quiet periods but having done this for 14 years now, I’m getting better at remembering that it’s swings and roundabouts, and there will be times that I’ll be so busy that I wish I had less work!

And because there are the quieter times, when I have a lot of clients wanting things at once I’m not worried about working ‘after hours’, it’s the price you pay for going freelance and choosing not to have any employees.

Do you ever give yourself time off for holidays?

One of the main advantages of being a freelancer is that I can travel more than I would be able to if I was restricted to a certain amount of holiday days. As long as I have my laptop with me, I can work from anywhere. When visiting a friend in Australia there are times when I have to reply to emails in the middle of the night, but again, that’s a small price to pay for the freedom that being a freelancer affords you. So while I choose not to tell clients I’m taking time off as I wouldn’t want them to go elsewhere, it doesn’t stop me from going on holiday, I just need to make sure that being away doesn’t mean I miss any deadlines or communication.

What tips would you give to anyone thinking of freelancing?

Make lists! Sometimes there are multiple jobs to juggle, big and small, and to your client theirs is THE most important. So make sure you write a list in priority order and tick it off. Apart from anything else it’s very satisfying to see how much you’ve got through at the end of the day!

Depending on the industry you’re in, try and keep to the same working hours as your clients – that way you’ll avoid any delays in responding to requests and they’ll trust that they can get hold of you when they need to.

Professionally… some days suck! 

I’ve found having good relationships with other freelancers is very helpful. They’ll be experiencing the same sort of frustrations as you are and so it’s nice to take advice sometimes, or simply use them to rant to when clients are being difficult! It’s also great to have a sounding board if you’re unsure about an aspect of a project. It’s important to remember that just because you have your own business doesn’t mean you’re an expert in, for example, accounts so having people to talk to about the jobs you hate doing can make them easier (although I will always hate accounts!) .

One final note though, do make the most of the benefits of being a freelancer! As long as you are dealing with your clients efficiently, you can work from anywhere… enjoy the freedom! Going freelance often feels like a risk so reward yourself for taking the leap by recognising that YOU are YOUR OWN BOSS… the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages!