“The main risk to freelancers is not protecting yourself”

Creative Career Conundrums is a weekly advice column from If You Could Jobs. Each week their selected panel of professionals from the creative industry answers your burning career questions to help you navigate the creative journey.

This week’s question:

“Hello, I'm a fresh graduate from community college. I want to freelance but I heard of scams people have fallen victims for such as getting their work stolen or receiving no payments. I have never freelance before and I want to know how to protect myself from scams like this that can risk my livelihood.

What scams are most common and how should a freelancer avoid them? Thank you!”

Katie Cadwell, co-founder of branding studio Lucky Dip and The NDA Podcast:

The main risk to freelancers is not protecting yourself. You need to think of being freelance like having a business. Adding some separation between you and the work you do for clients/studios will set you off on the right foot.

So set up all your admin before you get started. Here are a few things to do first.

Create a contract

Every time you agree to work with someone, you’re entering an agreement with them. A contract gives both parties some protection, and something to reference if you encounter any issues. It becomes your safety net. It should include things like the work you’re agreeing to deliver, the timeframe you’ve agreed, the price being paid, payment terms. It can also outline who owns the work after it’s completed, and what happens if the project gets cancelled. There are lots of really reasonably priced templates you can buy, Contract Killer is a great starting point.

Set up a business account

This will be super important when it comes to keeping your business money separate. It makes it easier to set tax aside and sort out your return at the end of the year.

Get yourself some insurance

Just in case you run into any issues like damaged studio property or copyright problems, having insurance means you can relax and focus on doing the work. With Jack is specifically for creative freelancers and has a few different levels of policy to choose from. Don’t wait to think about insurance after you need it.

Find your community

Freelancing can be a little isolating. Especially when you encounter issues without the support of a team to help resolve them. There are so many brilliant groups you can join to ask all your questions, or just a place to share what you’re working on. Creative Boom recently started The Studio, which is a great space to chat with other creatives. Being Freelance also has a community you could join.

If you visit one resource for all things freelance, Matthew Knight runs a programme called Freelancing Support, which has a whole range of guides when it comes to common issues freelancers face (and what to do if they happen to you).

Taking the time to set up all your protection before you get started means you don’t need to worry about all the horror stories you’ve heard, because you’ll be the type of freelancer that’s prepared for everything – so you can just enjoy all the good parts!

In answering your creative career conundrums we realise that some issues need expert support, so we’ve collated a list of additional resources that can support you across things that might arise at work.

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