Being Freelance

Hosted by Steve Folland

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Episodes

369

Latest episode

Jul 2026

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EN-GB

About the show

Freelancing? Being boss of your own life and business can be tough and isolating. But it can also be totally rewarding. Pick up tips, advice and strategies on how to make it as a freelancer, an solopreneur, as the owner of your own independent business - by hearing other creative freelancers share their experience. Hosted by fellow freelancer Steve Folland. Serving the world's self-employed with episodes since 2015. Come join us in the Being Freelance Community - You're not alone being freelance. www.beingfreelance.com/community

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July 19, 2026Episode 36649 min

The Blogs Became Books... Became Clients - David Airey

David Airey is a freelance graphic designer based in Northern Ireland, self-employed since 2005. He's the author of several best-selling design books including Logo Design Love and Identity Designed - both of which started life as blogs, before turning into books... before turning into a steady stream of client work. In this episode, David talks with us about: Persuading his former employer to be his first freelance client Why his early "business blog" flopped, and how switching to writing about design (not just his own) changed everything Launching logodesignlove.com in 2008, and getting an out-of-the-blue email about a year later from a US publisher that led to his first book deal How that one book grew into four published titles, translated into multiple languages Niching down into logo and identity design after realising it was the part of the job he loved most The costly early lesson of doing design work before securing payment upfront - and how he gets paid now Why he's deliberately kept his business to just himself for 21 years How those same blogs, barely updated these days, still bring in client enquiries years later What makes a good client relationship, and why he pushes back on purely subjective feedback Why he doesn't set long-term goals and prefers to stay focused on the present Find David at: davidairey.com logodesignlove.com and identitydesigned.com 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 .

July 12, 2026Episode 3653 min

Freelancer BTS - Not rushing on

New full episode coming soon. But in this super short one - Steve Folland explains why he's not publishing a new interview this week. Too often we rush on from one thing to another. But by doing so we don't do justice to the thing we just finished. With the Being Freelance podcast, that can mean not promoting an episode with clips, socials and emails. That doesn't help the podcast, the guest OR the listener who could have benefited. Same in our freelancing businesses. If we don't reflect, get testimonials, build case studies, share... we don't help do justice to the project we just finished. We don't do justice to ourselves, to our client... AND we don't help potential new clients know what we're capable of, so weirdly, we're not helping them either. If you find yourself rushing; pause. Try and build in some buffer to big up your business. 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 .

July 5, 2026Episode 36446 min

Freelancing Through Every Tech Shift Since the 90s - Lisa Emmington

Lisa Emmington is a freelance instructional designer (or as her newly SEO'd website puts it, a training course designer) based near Milton Keynes. She's been freelance almost her entire career, starting out as an IT trainer back when Apple Macs were a mystery box on people's desks, and has reinvented her business every time the market has shifted underneath her - from face to face training, to early e-learning software, to mentoring individual course creators today in the face of AI. In this episode we talk about: How the desire to be freelance came before Lisa knew what she wanted to be freelancing in Spotting the shift from face to face training to e-learning, and moving with it What happened when she and her husband became a limited company for three years, and why it made her invisible in the market Rebuilding visibility from scratch with a social media VA and an SEO overhaul Why "instructional designer" doesn't bring in enquiries, but "training course designer" does Filtering and pacing leads using nothing more high tech than a paper diary The balance between promoting decades of expertise and the very real ageism facing freelancers in their 50s and 60s Her three income streams: templates, done with you mentoring, and done for you course creation Pensions, retirement planning, and why she's planning to keep freelancing well past 67 What 60 actually looks like now, versus what she expected it to look like So much great advice and things to think about in here around change in our careers - brought about by the inevitability of developing tech and age. --- 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 .

June 28, 2026Episode 36346 min

Chase the Happiness: Meaningful Freelancing - Filmmaker Zoe East

Zoe East has never had a proper job. A work experience placement at a big TV channel that felt old-fashioned and sexist put her off the traditional route before she'd even graduated, so she went freelance instead and never really looked back. That was over ten years ago. She started with whatever work came along. The niche found her gradually: charities doing meaningful work, heritage and culture projects, things that will matter just as much when someone watches them in ten years' time. This episode of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland covers: Getting started by networking and taking whatever came along Winning six months of free studio space in a creative co-working community, and why staying there for ten years shaped the career around it Building a niche in charity and heritage filmmaking - and why charity budgets are often better than people assume Putting "win an award" on a vision board in January, and winning by April The adventure filmmaking strand: films about running adventures across Iceland, Tajikistan and Patagonia, and getting into Kendal Mountain Festival and the London Mountain Film Festival Why cold outreach has never worked for her, but word of mouth has - and how sharing only the work she wants more of has quietly shaped her client list Dropping Instagram and going all-in on LinkedIn as the one social platform where her clients actually are Monthly goal-setting sessions with a freelancer friend: yearly goals, monthly focus, and the accountability that comes from having to report back The rate spreadsheet that makes quoting consistent and takes the stress out of pricing decisions Buying almost everything secondhand, having all her kit stolen as her biggest low point, and using a post-COVID grant to buy her first ever brand new camera Moving into the She Who Dares Wins studio with Michelle, and the documentary series and production company they're building together --- 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 .

June 21, 2026Episode 36250 min

The Recipe Is Always the Same: Reach Out, Follow Up - Émilie Chen

French creative Émilie Chen had what she calls her dream job: senior designer at The National Theatre in London, working on posters she'd dreamed about since university. Years later though, it had turned sour in the studio, her mental health took a hit, and she gave herself 8 months to start saving money and figure out her next Act. What got her there wasn't a clever strategy. It was people. Co-founding the London chapter of Ladies, Wine & Design gave her the confidence to start asking the freelancers she was meeting, how they'd done it. Someone she cold emailed, handed her a contact sheet of art directors across publishing. And the recipe, she says, never changed: reach out, follow up, and keep doing it even when nothing happens for months. This episode of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland covers: Co-founding the London chapter of Ladies, Wine & Design - starting with eight women in a theatre lobby - and how it built the confidence to ask near-strangers for advice, and to end up on speaking on stages (that got bigger and bigger over time) Pushing back on a client who wanted her to create pitch work for free - and how that one conversation led to every freelancer being offered a fee from then on Building a niche almost entirely from her old National Theatre colleagues, who took her name with them to new venues Waiting after a talk for the room to empty, then walking up to introduce herself Mailing a physical pack of postcards to The Guardian's creative directors and the years-later payoff Surviving lockdown eleven months into freelancing, when her entire theatre client base vanished overnight, and the online directories that kept her busy until theatres reopened The WhatsApp group of independent theatre poster designers who share contract terms, rates, and overflow work Why the hardest part of freelancing isn't finding clients - it's learning to be a good boss to yourself This episode is available to watch in video on Apple Podcasts , YouTube and Spotify . The generosity of others shines through in this conversation. And how Émilie herself is passing that kindness on. You can hear how important having a community around her has been for Émilie - you can have that kind of thing too - if you’re freelancing solo, come join us in the Being Freelance Community . You’re not alone being freelance. --- 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 .

June 14, 2026Episode 36148 min

Freelancing as an Unpaid Carer - Adrian Ashton

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 . --- LINKS FOR CARERS MENTIONED IPSE Carers UK Number 18, In The Corner Blog Citizens Advice - Carers Benefits & Financial Support for Carers (UK) --- 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 .

June 7, 2026Episode 36059 min

Her Niche Is Fishe - Becoming The Ocean Writer - Melissa Hobson

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 .

May 31, 2026Episode 35950 min

Becoming a Freelance Illustrator for Marvel, Disney and DC: Doaly

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 .

May 24, 2026Episode 35922 min

Business Name vs Your Own Name: Which is Better for Freelancers?

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 .

May 10, 2026Episode 35843 min

Becoming the go-to freelancer in your niche - Jessi Illustrates

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 .