A Freelancer's Request For Help!
by James Birtwhistle

Drawing inspiration from Katie Dee and her new forum thread asking for advice on how to kick off her freelancing career (read here) we've dedicated this newsletter to helping the community! Starting out freelancing can be an incredibly daunting process but there are ways you can reduce the risk of failure before you kick things off. Mostly common sense, but if there's one oxymoron to beat them all, its 'common sense' (although 'fun run' is a very close second).

Perseverance. To successfully freelance you need to have complete determination to succeed, especially in the early days. Unless you're really lucky or well connected the gap between jumping and winning those first contracts is going to really test your nerve.

Commercial Acumen. I know it's a fairly dull thing to say, but if you're invoicing clients, charging your time and balancing your books, you need a modicum of numerical fluency. You can reduce this risk by using some outsourced agents to manage things like NI contributions and PAYE but you've got to be able to handle the basics.

Networking and Promotion. If you're reading this then you're already connected to the UK's largest dedicated freelance service for PR and Marketing professionals. Use the network and forums to get the inside track on clients and opportunities. And if there's anything else Network Freelance could be offering to help in this respect then get in touch feedback@networkfreelance.co.uk and we'll get on it.

Fall Back Funds. Whilst the sun does always rise every day, it doesn't always shine on you, and for those wet weather moments you're going to need to have a little something tucked away to get you through. It's a feast and famine lifestyle (which is why we can balance beaches and boardrooms so well!) but you need to know this. If you want bullet proof personal finances then you should have become an MP...

But what do you think? There's no where else online where thousands of PR and Marketing freelancers can provide such a large potential to support each other, so let us know what you think. "Top tips", "learning from experience" and "if I only knew then what I know now" comments all welcome!!! Help Katie Dee with her request for tips on starting out by adding to her forum post - get involved

Services and Tools to make life easier…
Three things of potential interest this month; Syncplicity, PacificB2E and Spotify

Syncplicity
If you use a laptop and a desktop then like me you may find you end up with numerous versions of the same document. Going from office to office can be a real nightmare for keeping tabs on your documents. Fear not - Syncplicity is here. I have no vested interest in the business and I can say having used it for a month now it's changed the way I work. Amazing stuff. Basic accounts are free (that's the one I've got and it's plenty big enough) and Syncplicity uploads all of your documents to a central server and then allows them to by simultaneously synchronised whenever they're amended on multiple local machines. I've been using a laptop, a desktop in someone’s office and my home PC and now I only have one set of files on all three. It's amazing. And totally free for their 2Gb, 2 computer offering. (http://www.syncplicity.com).

PacificB2E
We get numerous offers to promote services to our members and we try to limit these to just ones of genuine interest, which brings us on to the exciting topic of umbrella companies and Ltd Company accounting! The chances are that you use one of these services and at Network Freelance we have negotiated what we hope are some attractive fees for you from PacificB2E. PacificB2E is a young and dynamic chartered accountancy firm who take a proactive approach to reducing your tax bill and saving you money.

• Direct access to your own Qualified and PCG Accredited accountant.
• Fully HMRC compliant..
• Financial security and no off shoring. .
• If we know how to save you money, we won’t wait to be asked, we’ll tell you..
• A company small enough to give every client individual attention..

Pacific Umbrella Offer
If you want to be paid monthly, you can now save £240 by getting three months free (and if you prefer weekly payments there's still £200 to be saved). Professional Indemnity insurance is included as standard.

PacificB2E Ltd Company Accounting
And when we last asked around 40% of freelancers used their own Ltd Company to provide their services and we've negotiated fee's down for you. You can receive PacificB2E’s PCG Accredited Accounting Service from just £65 per month. Company formation and IR35 advice is also available at reduced prices.

To qualify for these exclusive prices for Network Freelance users – simply quote “NETFRE”. You can register your details at http://www.pacificb2e.com/

Spotify
Another fun one to make those long hours pass so easily. Has anyone out there tied Spotify yet? We have and now it’s a firm favourite. It's like the worlds biggest iPod where you can listen to pretty much any track you can think of for free (you may see a free-related theme here with favourites of ours!!). As their own website says, "simple to download and install, in no time at all you’ll enjoy having all the music in the world at your fingertips, instant access to whatever song you want with no restrictions, and the ability to create and share playlists with friends". We say - genius. www.spotify.com

Latest Projects & Contracts
The following contracts/projects have been posted on Network Freelance within the last few weeks:
Freelance Medical PR, Work from home
PR Account Director, Consumer, Bristol
Launch Books Online, Work from home
Start-up accommodation website, London
Freelance Copywriting - Scientific, Work from home
View all...

Latest Industry News
Avoid trawling the Web for all the latest industry news by visiting our aggregated news feeds page. We currently source stories from Profile Extra, Marketing Week, E-consultancy - Online PR to name but a few.
Truth-telling hacks defeat the flacks
IDS renews EBLEX backing of UKTV Food channel
Reputational risk
Scott Flanders appointed chief executive of Playboy

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