Being Freelance

Adrian’s been a successful freelancer for 21 years. But in the past 7, his definition of framing success has changed.
For the last seven years, Adrian has also been an unpaid carer for three immediate family members. He talks honestly about what that's meant for his business - the travel he's had to give up, the networking events he can't get to, the inquiries he's had to turn away, and why he deliberately caps how much work he takes on (and how much money he can make).
But he also talks about the bigger picture. Seven years ago, he went looking for support and found nothing. Half a million freelancers were in the same boat - and nobody was talking about it. So he stepped up and opened up.
In this episode of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland, we cover:
Why Adrian chose to make his caring role a "first date disclosure" with every new client - and how it's actually strengthened client relationships
Planning marketing around your worst week, not your best
The theory of constraints - and why having less can unlock more creativity and enjoyment
His annual impact report: a 20-year habit that's never won him work directly, but keeps him accountable, sane, and focused
The impending crisis for the UK as the numbers of freelancers with unpaid caring responsibilities increases
How we can make a difference and a change
The impact freelancers have in the world - yep, you included
This episode is available to watch in video on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify.
Adrian is a member of the Being Freelance Community - come join us, you’re not alone being freelance.
Find Adrian at adrianashton.co.uk
And his Impact Reports are available too.

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LINKS FOR CARERS MENTIONED
IPSE
Carers UK
Number 18, In The Corner Blog
Citizens Advice - Carers
Benefits & Financial Support for Carers (UK)
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EPISODE SPONSORED BY ECAMM
For years people have asked how Being Freelance live shows look so good. Well, this is the secret.

Ecamm is a video studio for your Mac. 
Give anything you do with video, a pro look in real time.
Presentations, screen shares, webinars, video calls, demos. Plus livestream/record in landscape & vertical at the same time, perfectly designed for both formats.
Try Ecamm for free. 
Use code BEINGFREELANCE to save 15% on your first payment.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.

Melissa  spent over a decade in PR & Comms. She was good at it but she was drawn to the ocean.
So she started pitching dive magazines on the side, moved to Mozambique to volunteer with a marine conservation charity, and when the pandemic sent her home, decided to go all-in as a freelancer rather than look for another job.
Still it was PR work she was picking up but frustrated by. 
“I just want to write about fish” she told her mastermind friends in the Being Freelance Community.
They encouraged her. And she went for it.
Three years ago Melissa became The Ocean Writer. Now her work appears in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, and a growing list of major publications around the world. Editors come to her when something pees in the ocean.
This episode of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland we take a deep diver into the life of The Ocean Writer:
Pitching editors constantly - and dealing with rejection
Turning down work that doesn't fit the niche - even when it's hard - and why that's what made the niche work
Using LinkedIn actively and how it keeps sending opportunities anyway
How Ocean Writer branded clothing sparks recognition and conversations
Building financial resilience - even six weeks off sick this year didn't derail her
Hiring a VA to handle the bitty stuff so she can focus on writing
Stop getting in your own way - why you should pitch sooner than you think you're ready
--
EPISODE SPONSOR
This episode of the Being Freelance podcast is supported by Ecamm.

For years people have asked how Being Freelance live shows look so good. Well, this is the secret.

Ecamm is a video studio for your Mac. 
Give anything you do with video, a pro look in real time.
Presentations, screen shares, webinars, video calls, demos. Plus livestream/record in landscape & vertical at the same time, perfectly designed for both formats.
Visit beingfreelance.com/ecamm to try Ecamm for free and use the code BEINGFREELANCE on that link to save 15% on your first payment.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.

How does a creative side project turn into a decade long freelancing business working with the biggest names in pop culture, like Disney, Pixar, Marvel, DC Comics, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros and Sony Pictures?
All good super-heroes have an origin story. And this interview tells the series of events that took Doaly from working for a company in Birmingham, England, to the front page of comic covers seen all over the world. Signing at Comic-con events. It's quite the transformation.
Tarlochan Doal, AKA Doaly, spent 15 years as a full time in-house web and UX designer. Illustration was the side hustle he did to scratch a creative itch, designing movie posters for films he loved.
Then one Saturday morning, Doaly woke to an email from a movie studio. And his whole script changed.
This episode of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland covers:
- Why he filled his portfolio with the work he wanted to be hired for, and how design blogs and social media got it in front of the right people
- The passion projects that catapulted his career — including a Wonder Woman piece that sold 1,500 posters in a weekend and let him quit his day job
- Using UX contracting to bridge the financial gap in his first year of full-time freelancing
- Building a garden office to separate work from home - because when you love what you do, you'll work all day and night if you let yourself
- How a random 45-minute conversation at a New York convention led to his first Marvel Comics cover
- Multiple income streams across movies, comics, book covers and advertising - so no single client base can sink you
- The weekly phone calls with a fellow designer that serve as his informal co-mentoring
It's one hell of a story. And you might think - well, I'm not trying to work with Marvel, how will this freelancer's story relate to me? But there's so much relatable freelance advice and business tips to be drawn from his experiences.

--
EPISODE SPONSOR
This episode of the Being Freelance podcast is supported by Ecamm.

For years people have asked how Being Freelance live shows look so good. Well, this is the secret.

Ecamm is a video studio for your Mac. 
Give anything you do with video, a pro look in real time.
Presentations, screen shares, webinars, video calls, demos. Plus livestream/record in landscape & vertical at the same time, perfectly designed for both formats.
Visit beingfreelance.com/ecamm to try Ecamm for free and use the code BEINGFREELANCE on that link to save 15% on your first payment.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.

It's a question Steve Folland gets asked a lot: as a freelancer, is it better to have a company name or use your own?

In this compilation episode, Steve digs deep into 11 years of the Being Freelance podcast archive - pulling together voices from guests including brand copywriter Mark Grainger, branding expert Bhavini Lakhani, copywriter Graeme Piper, illustrator Dan Bailey, social media consultant Alison Battisby, marketing agency founder Ross Simmonds, and more - to try and get to the bottom of it once and for all.

Why some freelancers hide behind a business name - and why that's not necessarily a bad thing

How a company name can shift your mindset and make you feel like a proper business

The practical reasons to avoid trading under your own name: spelling, pronunciation, searchability, and standing out in a scrollable world

When a business name helps you work with bigger clients, organisations, and even government

Why your business name should be future-proof - what happens when you pivot away from the service it describes?

The case for using your own name, and why Ross Simmonds says don't underestimate the power of your personal brand

Why in an age of AI, being a visible human is more valuable than ever

How some freelancers make the best of both worlds - with names like Jessi Illustrates, By Hollie Arnett, and Letters By Julia

Of course, there's no single right answer - but Steve rounds things up with his own take on when each approach makes sense.

HEAR THE FULL EPISODES

You can hear the full freelance stories of these guests by checking out their original episodes. 

Simply try these links to open in your podcast app:

- Rebecca Shipham

- Mark Grainger

- Bhavini Lakhani

- Graeme Piper

- Joel Klettke

- Col Skinner

- Dan Bailey
- Alison Battisby
- Mary Cameron

- Louisa Heinrich

- Hollie Arnett

- Ross Simmonds

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance. 
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.

Jessica Hartshorn was trained as an illustrator, but unable to get work as one she went in another direction. Jessica spent the next 16 years working in museums and galleries. But the itch to illustrate never went away.

So she set up a secret Instagram account and started painting again without telling a soul.

Seven years on, she's a successful illustrator, freelancing with museums, galleries, heritage sites and parks across the UK. And her 16 years behind the scenes at the museum? Turned out to be her biggest selling point.

Hear Jessica, AKA Jessi Illustrates, chat with Steve Folland in the episode of the Being Freelance podcast which covers:

Going from a secret Instagram to an being known as the go-to specialist

How 16 years working inside museums became her unique selling point as a freelance illustrator

COVID as an unexpected turning point: when museums couldn't open

Why she goes to museum conferences and networking events (and is often the only illustrator in the room)

Using a printed pricing list not just to give costs, but to give inspiration as to what she could be hired for

Investing £500 a year in her business - and what that's bought over the years, from a videographer to a badge-making machine

Working with a creative mentor to cut out the work that looked good but wasn't worth the time

Co-mentoring with Jo (a graphic designer from the BF community)

Saying no with a standard copy-paste email - and why taking the emotion out of it makes all the difference

Jessica is part of the Being Freelance Community — come and hang out with Steve, Jessica and plenty of friendly freelancers who get what it's like!

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance. 
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community
 
NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!
The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.
 
FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop
Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

Being Freelance is hosted and created by freelance podcast editor Steve Folland.