Choose the work you want, when you want, earn lots of money and leave office politics far behind. But becoming a freelance consultant is not as easy as it might seem. And freelancing within the voluntary sector has its own challenges.
Over the past year I have been self-employed as a PR consultant within the public and voluntary sectors, following 20 years working for organisations in-house in broad communications-based roles. There have been highs and lows. After about three months of knocking on doors I hit lucky with two part-time freelance contracts - one for a charity and one for a professional membership body. But one of the hazards of consultancy is that "temporary" means you have no security. It also means that for every day you spend actually earning money you need to spend three days selling yourself, looking for new business, preparing new pitches, doing routine admin work or chasing payments. Then there's no sick pay or holiday pay. To compensate you need to charge daily rates that take account of slack periods.
Here's a rough calculation. Divide the salary you expect by 10 and that's your daily rate. But in the current climate, most organisations hiring freelancers can only afford to pay the equivalent of a pro rata full-time salary. Former colleagues of mine have experienced having their daily rate halved at a moment's notice. While £200 a day might seem just about adequate for an experienced freelancer, that's what I was charging 20 years ago. The pre-recession gravy train has certainly got shunted into the sidings.
Being a freelancer also means that you have to constantly sell yourself – not easy if you've been in a full-time job where the organisation is the only thing you have to promote. You also have to judge whether it's right to follow up a proposal with a phone call. This is how it goes. "Oh yeah. Do remember seeing that. Can you resend it? We'll get back to you. Call me in a couple of weeks." That's if they actually open your email. You can never really ease up on having to promote yourself and maintaining your profile, but judging how not to sound over-pushy or desperate is tricky.
But far from being all doom and gloom there are some benefits of being a freelancer. When I get a nice piece of work there's this real adrenalin boost that makes me want to run around the block and punch the air. Then there are pluses of being in charge of your own time. If you want to take a day off you don't need to ask permission. If you want a lie-in that's fine – you can make up the time later. But don't be fooled into thinking it's easy, especially in the current economic climate. You need discipline, nerve and a financial cushion to see you through the fallow periods.
My assessment is it will get a lot tougher for freelancers in the voluntary sector, although the squeeze could generate new opportunities. According to a survey of sector leaders by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations 55% of organisations are planning to make staff redundant in the next three months. More charities may seek to fill vacant roles with freelancers or outsource HR, IT and communications. But it is certain that more highly experienced people would be chasing these opportunities – something I have experienced.
There appears to be a continuing need for communications professionals, but the emphasis is on people with skills in social media and digital marketing that can demonstrate a direct impact on fundraising.
So here are my five tips. First you have to network like crazy – use online services like LinkedIn (but make sure your profile is squeaky clean) and go to events to make yourself visible. Second, do your research. Find out what kind of organisations are hiring and what they're looking for. Anything that helps charities demonstrate their impact is topical at the moment. Third, team up with other freelancers, particularly people with complementary skills that you can draw on when you need to. If you are a sole practitioner you need to convey the impression that you are bigger than you really are. Fourth, talk to people who have freelance experience. It's cheaper than paying for advice and most people are willing to share their knowledge. And fifth, hold your nerve. Times are tough at the moment, but if you put down solid foundations for a successful freelance career, update your skills and plan ahead you'll be in a good position when the upturn happens.
Anne Nicholls runs her own PR consultancy specialising in education and small charities.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional.To join the Voluntary Sector Network, click here
