Age doesn't matter.

Until it does.

Until you get the feeling people won't hire you anymore because you're too old.

For Mary, she was 58. From New Zealand, but having spent 30 years in Australia in 'normal' full time jobs.

Faced with ageism, she realised maybe it wasn't just that the interview panels didn't want her. Maybe she didn't want them anymore either. Maybe it was time for a change. To reinvent herself.

Someone suggested being a freelance copywriter. She didn't know what that was. But here are.

10 years later. 'The Wrinkly Writer'. Owning, literally as a business owner, her age. Turning it to her advantage.

Mary now lives in France. We chat about
- building long-term client relationships
- turning age to her advantage when business mentor Kate Toon suggested her new working name
- continuous learning and passing on to the next generation as a mentor
- her relocation to France, working as a freelancer in a different country with many clients overseas
- achieving work life balance, prioritising her physical and mental health across the day and week

It's such a fun conversation. Full of the joy of life and work life.

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

James Barnard shares his journey of becoming a freelancer and the strategies he uses to find clients and grow his business.

He emphasises the importance of niche specialisation. When James focussed on logo design it made it much easier to attract clients.

Steve and James discuss pricing strategies in attracting the right clients. When to first discuss budget. And how James uses forms and a CRM to help him filter who will be a good fit for his freelance business.

James also discusses the role of social media in lead generation. We hear how he creates valuable content for designers and clients on Instagram and TikTok.

On top of that, he shares his experience of hiring an assistant, not for admin like emails, scheduling and accounts, but for the 'grunt work' of design freelancing, and a copywriter to up his email game.

Steve and James pick over the time and energy given to content creation, experiments with creating digital products like courses and working with brands like Adobe as a content creator/online business and design influencer.

From a work life balance side of things, James discusses his move from the UK to Australia and how freelancing allows him to be there for his young family.

Getting on camera has made a huge difference to James' freelance business and life. Not just through the connections and opportunities that have come via social media, but through the confidence it's given him in dealing with clients.

There is a LOT going on his conversation. Enjoy!

EPISODE SPONSORED BY RIVERSIDE
Record high quality video & audio with Riverside.

Plus let AI help you out by creating social media ready clips, matched to your brand.

You can even stream to the likes of LinkedIn and YouTube… and then repurpose that recording with AI summaries and video clips ready to go in before you’ve made a cup of tea to celebrate.

See how recording with Riverside can help your freelance business.

It’s free to get started, but use code BEINGFREELANCE to save 15% on a paid plan.

Use this link to help support the podcast or go to beingfreelance.com/riverside

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

Dan went freelance twice. First for creative freedom. Secondly to free him up for his family.

Starting out as a designer for McDonald's but wanted a more varied diet of projects. With a lot of time freelancing in agencies, Dan learnt to stand out, be indispensable and build relationships to expand his chance of finding work. He also flexed himself creatively with illustration side projects (after college tutors said he’d never make a living from drawing!)

Adding a unique flair to his freelancer personal brand as 'Rubber Penguin’. Using a business name helped him be remembered and found - useful if you have a common name (Shout out to all the Dan Baileys of the world!). It also let him focus on adding character to his freelancing design work through illustration.

When you're a freelancer, you're a business. And whilst Dan's time in agencies helped him with dealing with freelance clients professionally, he still struggled to have confidence in his value, his pricing - what he could charge for projects. Getting to know other freelancers and becoming co-mentors with them gave him a chance to discuss pricing strategies, finally getting that piece of the freelance puzzle in place.

For all the talk of fast food, this is a slow burner of a career. Dan has gradually built his reputation within the industry. As a freelancer he's now getting the kind of work he wants to be doing at a price he deserves. Being able to to work around his family in a way that in-house demands would never allow.

Happy Meal? No. Happy Freelancer? Yes.

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