Future of Freelancing

Freelancers are more than a short-term solution

| Getting a Job,News

Nothing was happening, I thought. There is no industry news, and all golden nuggets of advice had long been mined dry. Is this the beginning of a nasty case of writers block I wondered? I could no longer put pen to paper, or for that matter, fingers to keyboard. The future before me was a bleak barren landscape. Then over the ridge I spotted a galloping mass. “Is that..?” Yes it was! Office Cavalry had come to the rescue wielding another freelance survey!

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The Death of the Office?

| Working From Home

Who needs an office? Well, the Prime Minister I guess. Your accountant, perhaps. The CEO of a corporation with multiple divisions for sure. But if you’re an agile company producing web-content, applications or software do you really need to have all your troops all lined up ready for battle at 9am every morning five days a week?

Freelance Advisor has always tried to promote home working as a flexible, sustainable and more productive option for 21st century working and this week Seth Godin, Hive Logic and Chris Ashworth all made excellent points about the failings of the traditional office.

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What can I ask my parliamentary candidate about freelancing?

| News

With the General Election fast approaching, prospective parliamentary candidates will be out and about, doggedly canvassing on the streets in your neighbourhood.

The Professional Contractor’s Group (PCG) has produced a Guide to possible questions you can ask your candidate should they appear on your doorstep, with useful background information on some of the main issues facing freelancers.

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Freelance Manifesto: “Flexibility is the key to Britain’s economic success”

| News

As electioneering and policy pledges seem to have started in earnest the PCG, the representative body for freelancers, contractors and consultants in the UK, is marking the New Year by calling on Government and policy framers to take a fresh approach to freelancing at the start of a new decade.

Download the Freelancers Manifesto

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Freelance Podcast 20: Making a living without a job – Part 2

| Podcast

Joyfully Jobless! Part 2 of an interview with Barbara Winter, author of Making a Living Without a Job.

Freelance Podcast 20: Making a living without a job - part 2 [ 23:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Review: National Freelancers Day

| News

Monday marked the first ever National Freelancers Day with a series of events hosted by the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) up and down the country.

Freelance Advisor, Crunch and Freelancer Mortgages Made Easy hosted an event in Brighton with over 50 freelancers and it was a fantastic success.

National Freelancer Day videos are also now available to view online.

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Future of Freelancing: Views from the marketplace

| Events

Various commentators.

A number of people share their perspectives of the current state of the freelance market. Commentators include freelancers, managers of businesses from small to very large, as well as the freelance trade association PCG.

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Future of Freelancing: It’s about choice and balance

| Events

Michael van Swaaij

Skype and eBay’s experiences of striking the balance between a core internal team and expert help from outside, and why it is in everybody’s interest to let people choose how they want to work.

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Sir Tom Farmer: “The bigger you are the dumber you are!”

| Events

Sir Tom reflects on the role of freelancers in the success of the Kwik-Fit group and explains why for companies in the future “bigger” may in fact be “dummer”.

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Future of freelacing: Envisaging multiple future worlds

| Events

Continuing the PCG’s ‘Future of Freelancing’ video series for National Freelancers Day

Jon Andrews from PwC examines how business will be redefined by global forces, a look at three possible ‘worlds’ that could emerge by 2020: how these scenarios will affect the way we work and the way businesses compete.

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“The biggest change since the industrial revolution”

| Events

Shout it from the rooftops, it’s National Freelancers Day!

Today’s special webcast is now live – you can view it at any time before midnight tonight.

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National Freelancers Day celebrations

| Events

Widely reported as having more Freelancers per capita, Brighton and Hove Freelancers have rallied together to put on an event on National Freelancers Day.

Join us for Drinks and Networking – National Freelancers Day, 23rd November – 7:30pm at The Eagle pub (Brighton)

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Bank on freelancers say top business experts…they’re the way to UK prosperity

| News

“Bigger is dumber…..” according to Sir Tom Farmer, founder of Kwik-Fit. Along with several other business leaders, Sir Tom has come out in support of tapping into freelancers’ talents as the country strives to get back on its feet over the next decade and beyond. Via NationalFreelancersDay.org

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The future is bright, the future is freelancing

| News

As we approach ‘National Freelancers Day’ Freelance Advisor has created a new ‘Future of Freelancing’ section to focus on debate about the the biggest opportunities and threats to freelancing and contracting.

What does the recession mean to us? Do we get the help we deserve from the government? How important are we to the economy’s recovery? What is the role of technology in the future?

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Freelance Financials: A taxing future for contractors?

| Money

In conjunction with PCG, Wealth Matters have been running a number of Contractor Seminars this year. When it comes to investing they’ve found quite a few questions keep repeating themselves among the 250-strong contractors in the audience. Today Wealth Matters’ Director Paul Cleworth answers these questions for a wider contractor audience.

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Freelance news: The End of Self-Certification Mortgages

| Money,News

This week the FSA chief executive Hector Sants outlined a radical shake-up in the mortgage market. The new proposals by The Financial Services Authority (FSA) include a ban on all Self-Certification Mortgages.

This is potentially worrying news for Freelancers and Contractors as Self Certification Mortgages were designed for workers who have trouble proving their income in a conventional manner such as freelancers, contractors, self employed, and company directors but Ian Burrows at Freelancer Mortgages Made easy actually welcomes the news…

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Freelance Coach: Is now the right time to become a freelancer?

| Getting a Job

There is no right or wrong time to go freelance if you truly want to be a freelancer. The market is always presenting opportunities; it is just a matter of not being blind to those you are not familiar with and ensuring you understand your target market.

Daryl Close, our small business and entrepreneurial performance coach, discusses whether the economic downturn is a good time to go freelance.

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What can IT contractors and freelancers do to survive the current downturn?

| Money

Here are some ideas from James Leckie from Contract Eye. Although aimed primarily at IT contractors, many of the tips can be applied to freelancers in other industries. 1. Keep an eye on your cashflow The advice is the same for all small businesses in the current economic climate – make sure you preserve cash. IT contractors [...]

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Freelance Coach: Workforce trends and what this means for the future of freelancing

| Resources

The number of freelancers is steadily increasing across the UK and I have no doubt that freelancing is going to continue growing at a strong rate. If you work as a freelancer or are considering going freelance then you need to know where freelancing is heading. Unless you live on another planet it is impossible [...]

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Freelancer News: Downturn survival guide for businesses launched

| News

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has launched a guide to help businesses plan downturn survival strategies. The “Eight ways to survive the downturn” guide, which can be downloaded at www.icaew.com, aims to provide businesses with practical help and topics to help them through the credit crunch. The guide includes information [...]

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Five tips for surviving as a freelancer during a recession

| Money

Continuing our series on how an economic crisis might affect freelancers and contractors, Freelance Advisor and Web Marketing Consultant Leif Kendall gives us five freelancing tips for surviving in a recession. Before I tell you how to literally work your way through a recession, or a credit crunch, or whatever we’re experiencing, I would like [...]

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