The Ultimate Guide to Freelancing

[Magnus]

9. Admin, ROI, Tax, Pensions and other tedious stuff


All the dull but necessary stuff that is handled by others, like HR, in regular businesses, falls down to you if you are freelance/small business/side hustle.

It it is important to keep on top of this because the last thing you need is a back tax bill or something like that. It differs a lot between countries, as to how you set up as this sort of business. So I am not going to offer any advice as it might not be relevant to your location.

If you are just dabbling in this, it might not be that important, e.g. you are only doing it for a bit of spending money, but if it is intended to be a major part or all of your livelihood then I would advise making sure you are keeping records, putting some money aside into a separate bank account for tax, etc.

My main business, writing, doesn't have any major overheads. I rarely travel to interview people nowadays, it's always over zoom. I have a subscription to Grammarly, need to keep my computers up to date, but essentially I have few overheads.

This isn't the same if you are selling on eBay or have a trade like a plumber. You need to know what your ROI is on jobs for both. There's the cost and time of postage and packing for eBay. Plumbers have the capital outlay of tools, and the consumables of piping, brazing materials, all sorts of stuff. If you haven't accounted for this and taken into consideration the 60% rule, (I mentioned the 60% rule...I hope you were listening!) then you will be underpricing your work.

If you have to upskill and do training courses, these will probably cost money: they will certainly cost time, and you need to budget for that.

So, when planning what you do, admin will need to be a part of it. You may like to programme a particular day or time to do this every week. That way you will be on top of it, and any remedial action can be taken swiftly.

It is really easy to put it on the back burner and think “I'll do it when I have a spare moment”, and get on with the – apparently more important, and certainly more interesting – aspects of the job.

I'd really advise against this attitude: this is another downside of freelancing, but you have to be on top of this, because there might be unexpected bills or commitments, and you need to be able to deal with them.

You probably need to put some of your profits away for tax, and other contingencies.

For example, do you have a reserve of cash if a vital piece of equipment breaks down? (Say a vehicle, or in my case a laptop – I had a disc meltdown when a newish laptop was only 13 months old = out of warranty and had to pay £350 = $440, €400, to repair it in a hurry, as I had deadlines to meet).

Finally, it is often useful to check out what business support activities are in your locality, e.g. Local Authorities, Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, etc. Sometimes they offer free services to new and existing businesses, and also it is good to network and perhaps find new clients that way.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Finally, it is often useful to check out what business support activities are in your locality, e.g. Local Authorities, Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, etc. Sometimes they offer free services to new and existing businesses, and also it is good to network and perhaps find new clients that way.

In the US, SCORE provides free help to people in business. I’ve used them 3 times, once when setting up my business, when making a major growth step and when retiring.

They pair you up with a retired business executive.

 

[Magnus]

I just took a look at the Score Home page. Seems to have a lot of possibilities for entrepreneurs/small businesses and freelances in the USA. Thanks to @WhitewaterWoman for the info.

 

[Magnus]

5.A. The Main Freelance Marketplaces - Addendum

I've had a look at the other freelance marketplaces on the list from Techradar I posted. I stick with my recommendation of Upwork. Some of the others have awful reviews on www.Trustpilot.com.

Aquent, TopTal (if you are eligible) seem OK. 99Designs is only for designers, so I can't assess it as that's not my skillset.

 

[Magnus]

10. Creative Work and Intellectual Property (IP)


This is a complex subject. I'm only going to cover it in a simplified manner.

Essentially in most Western jurisdictions, you acquire the “copyright” in anything you create. You don't have to register it anywhere. Every post in this forum, your tweets, the xmas card you wrote to your mum and dad – with a hand-drawn smiley on it – those are all your copyright.

This includes artwork you made, writing, photographs you took, videos, music, you created, and computer code that you wrote. Most “creative work” is effectively copyright the moment you have made it. It doesn't even need a © Magnus 2023 to protect it, although it is wise to put that on work you have created somewhere.


Snap Back to Reality

How much does this matter in real world? Zip, zilch, nada. For example, if I write the text on a website for a shop selling shutters and blinds (which I actually have done), is this text copyright to me? Yes, even though the client paid for it.

Can I do anything else with it? No. Even if I got another commission from a different shutters and blinds website, I'd have to write different text, particularly because of Google SEO and Copyscape plagiarism-checking.

Strictly speaking I should have licenced the text to the website owner. I usually don't bother because it is extra time and not worth explaining to the client. Only if the client aggressively wants to own the copyright does this become an issue.

Legally speaking you have to write a document where you assign to copyright to the new owner. This only might matter if you are a freelance computer developer and wrote some code for an application: who owns the code, as it is your creative work? Normally the person who commissioned you to write the code would ensure you signed a document so that they own the code they hired you to produce. If they don't do that, then they are probably one of the idiotic difficult clients I mentioned in Chapter 8. Creating the work does give you leverage: you might add a rider to the contract that the client only owns the IP rights when they have paid the agreed fee in full. That is a stick to hold over the kind of cheapskates who quibble over something small to avoid paying part of your fee. Believe me, they exist!

In 95% of cases it's not worth the bother. In my journalistic work, I am usually identified as the “author” (the European term for creator, this includes visual arts, etc). So it is my copyright anyway. Normally, after a period of time, discussed with the commissioner, you can reuse the material, but again it is often not worth doing.


Even if someone steals your copyrighted work, what can you do about it?

Zero, zilch, nada. The costs of getting a legal case against the baneful person/business outweighs the possible return by hundreds of times.

You can send them an unpleasant email however, that might vent a few of your feelings.

There is an exception: if you are a professional artist or photographer or musician and someone who should have paid AND HAS THE MONEY TO DO SO, steals the work. It is possible to squeeze a payment out of them, particularly if you are represented by an agency or have subscribed to one of the copyright protection services, who chase this up for you. This won't be the case most of the time. I know some photographers who do hassle “copyright infringers” but it takes a lot of time and most people don't have the stomach for it.



An Aside: NDAs

Quite a few clients will ask you to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Theoretically this is to prevent you from disclosing or selling any confidential information that they have given you.

In actual fact, NDAs are totally worthless. Useless and stupid. I've never heard of anyone being taken to court over them* and you can be sure that your average freelance marketplace client couldn't possibly pay a lawyer to take any action.

So you can sign them, keep a copy and that's that. A complete waste of everyone's time.


* I mean at the ordinary freelancer/small business level I've been working in. There are copyright disputes but they are usually big issues. The little ones rarely progress to court.

 

[Magnus]

11. Communicating with Clients and Buyers

This can generally be placed under the rubric of Freelancer Survival Skills.

Firstly, you need to find the client or buyer, then you need to convince them to purchase your product or services. If you are selling to a consumer, it's your presentation of the product that matters, then a simple, “Your item is in the mail” will probably suffice. However if you are selling services, particularly intangible ones like coaching, you need to ensure that the client is happy at all times.

This is often a matter of good communication: if I find I am taking longer to complete a piece of writing than I thought, which is quite often these days, as there are few hard deadlines, which used to be the norm in the world of print media: there was a “Press Day” when everything was sent off to the printers and it had to be finished by then.

Although there are still deadlines, they are not usually so inflexible: if I haven't completed some text, a short day delay usually doesn't matter, as long as I tell the client why. For example, some material I need might not have arrived, or my research threw up some facts that needed checking.

I have been on the buyer side, for example commissioning websites, artwork, and research. It's always a little concerning when the freelance takes your money, then you don't hear from them for a week or two. A cheery two line email along the lines of, “All is well, the work will be with you on time.” is a good idea – to keep the client onside.

If you have worked with someone before, it is advisable to keep in touch a bit, without obviously asking for a job (unless you are desperate). Send them a link to a post in LinkedIn, or mention you are being interviewed...anything to keep you in the forefront of their mind (this comes under the 60% Rule of time-sucks that are inevitable in freelance life).

I know it is hard for ASD people to be sociable and charming to clients but it is part of being a successful freelance. If the mask fits, wear it!

 

[Magnus]

12. What Openings are there for an Aspie Who Would Like to Try Freelancing?

I would suggest that some sort of computer or web development/programming/coding are booming industries. The crypto world in particular is expanding and needs people who can design and implement software.

It seems clear that this would be playing to the strengths of many aspies. I suspect that quite a few of the programmers I have met over the years are on the spectrum.

If you are going to sell things, e.g. on eBay or Etsy or directly from a website or via a shop or stall, then I strongly suggest that you chose something that you like and know a lot about. Otherwise I think you won't find the drive to overcome the challenges if you are just doing it for the money.


What I wouldn't advise trying:

Freelance Photography. Before the change from film to digital, you could make a decent living in many of the different sectors of visual imaging. Some people were earning a pretty good whack.

That has all changed: with the advent of smartphones and the many microstock sites such as Shutterstock and Dreamstime, which pay photographers a teensy, tiny amount per picture, it is very hard – though not impossible – to make a living. Many of the bread-and-butter gigs have disappeared: there are few high street portrait photography studios remaining; local newspapers no longer have staff photographers; business conferences rarely hire a freelance snapper to cover the event: just let someone loose with their smartphone.


A Myriad of Opportunities in the Digital Globe

But there really are a myriad of opportunities out there. As I mentioned in Chapter 4, you couldn't find a smaller, weirder market than selling custom-made LARPing weapons, yet my friend Simon is successful at it.

It is important to find a niche, preferably with few competitors, and develop your business and reputation. If you are using the freelance marketplaces to sell your skill(s), you could probably build up a good reputation and get work regularly in 3-6 months if you are quite focused.

Freelancing is not for everyone: it is very insecure, but in my view has distinct advantages for the non-NT and others who aren't able to pursue a conventional career. I love doing it: pretty much every day brings satisfaction, which far outweighs the hassles and problems I confront from time to time. People can't fire me because of my age, looks, or general weird behaviour.

I have ploughed my own furrow and in many ways this has been the correct decision for me.

 

[Luca]

Just wanted to add that @Magnus has given me some great ideas for how to run my business, and I am very thankful!

Some of the advice he gave me was setting up a "loyalty card" program, like some stores and restaurants have.
Like this:

And also reviewing products from other companies that you have used in your own business (like how I have been reviewing dog care supplies I've gotten on Etsy, etc.)

Hope this is helpful to someone else as well!