Interview: Michael Rose – The Freelance Advisor
The Freelance Advisor is one of the most in-depth freelance resources online and is designed to help freelancers and contractors in every field with detailed setup advice and ongoing help that even the most experienced freelancers and contractors will find useful.
The fact that all the contributors to the site are all freelancers and contractors with years of work in the marketplace under their belt means it’s one freelance resource you should most definitely be subscribed to!
It’s been on my radar for some time (even more so now with The Freelance Feed regularly featuring it), and I wanted to feature on this blog for those in my audience who may not have heard of it before.
I had the chance to talk with Michael Rose recently who is one of the main contributors. In this interview we discuss his background, the foundation of Freelance Advisor, freelancing in general and UK Freelance Conferences.
Can you tell us about yourself and your involvement with Freelance Advisor?
I’m a Web Editor living in Brighton. I fell in love with the web over ten years ago when I was at University and used Mosaic (one of the first graphical browsers) for the first time. With a degree in journalism and a love of all things hyperlinked, a career in “Web journalism” seemed obvious. Since then I’ve worked for AOL, Netscape, BT.com and FT.com and also some really small startups and I saw a few crumble and fail along the way (no names!).
Of course with the advent of blogging “Web Editor” doesn’t seem to mean much these days so I guess you could call me a “Site Manager” too. Basically I’m a rubbish designer and my code is even worse but I’ve always been able to get projects off the ground and bring a journalistic, end-user-focused eye.
I joined Freelance Advisor right at the beginning when it was a small blog with only a few posts. The founder, Darren Fell, asked for help on a local new media mailing list and jumped at the chance.
Why was Freelance Advisor setup and what do you hope to accomplish with it?
FA was setup to help everyone who freelances for a living. That includes contractors and consultants too but, like the PCG, we see ‘Freelance’ as the simplest umbrella terms for everyone who works for themselves from B&B owners to high-powered consultants and entrepreneurs. We hope to become the place to visit to have your questions answered whether it’s a query about tax, legal advice or just a recommendation for a good home-office chair – we hope to cover every aspect of freelancing, working from home and working on short-term contracts.
If we’ve not got a blog or podcast covering a topic then we’re certainly going to have someone in our community with a view or opinion – our forums are full of really interesting and helpful folk and they love sinking their teeth into difficult questions about tax or contract law.
What makes Freelance Advisor different to other sites focused around freelancing?
I think we’re unique in that we’re a community site and it’s been built exclusively by freelancers for freelancers with blogposts, designs and code all created by people passionate about the project. We’ve got blogs and jobs listings (who doesn’t?!) but we’ve also got a great series of podcasts, an events feed which anyone can add their events to, an awesome employment service called Workline which helps people get advice about the contract or job they’re currently in, plus the forum (a new addition this year) which is growing really quickly.
What topics do you discuss on the podcast and how do you choose your guests?
Our next podcast is with author Barbara Winter, author of “Making a Living Without a Job”. I think I spotted a tweet of hers (probably re-tweeted by someone else) and I thought the book would be interesting to FA readers. I sent here a message and we took it from there. It’s a great two-part interview, really inspiring.
We also have a lot of setup advice, accountancy advice (the podcast is sponsored by Crunch.co.uk) and there is always lots of discussion about marketing yourself, getting inspired and getting out there.
Are there any freelance specific events that you would recommend to UK freelancers?
National Freelancers Day has just gone… so… National Freelancers Day 2010!
I’d also encourage people to think local when it comes to events. Freelancing can be a lonely business and local, social, evening events are a great way to get out of the house, meet people of a similar mindset and find work.
In Brighton we are blessed with a thriving community with five co-working spaces, most of which have evening workshops and events, plus there is a huge Brighton New Media mailing list and ‘The Farm’ and ‘Writeclub’ meetups are great for getting connected and involved. It’s a very techie scene (lots of developer and designers) but we also have lots of small businesses, artists and entrepreneurs and local events are the best way to tap into that. BarCamps are also excellent! I’ve done three now and they’re quite addictive.
Your Introduction to Freelancing e-book is excellent and has been very successful, do you have any plans to follow up with any further books or premium resources?
Yes, the “Go Freelance guide” is one of our most popular posts and still gets hundred of downloads a month after a year of being out there. We’re planning on a ‘Go Freelance 2010′ update in January and several smaller ‘bite-sized’ guides throughout the year.
UPDATE: This is now available to download via The Freelance Advisor website.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into freelancing but doesn’t know where or how to start?
Well, again the ‘Go Freelance’ guide is a good starting point as it covers everything from ’should I?’ to ‘how do I?’.
I think if anyone is considering it seriously then they should just go for it… most people don’t even want to think about life without a steady pay-cheque, so if you’re even considering it you are well on the way.
I’ve known a lot of people who have agonised about the decision for months before taking the plunge and none of them have since regretted it… so… what are you waiting for?
What three articles from Freelance Advisor would you recommend for my readers as an introduction to the site?
- Go Freelance: Guide to starting out in freelancing
- Freelancing FUBARs: 8 common mistakes
- Podcast #9: Finding your perfect pricing point
I’d like to say a huge thanks to Michael for taking the time to take part in the interview and for his continuing work with the extremely helpful Freelance Advisor.
Related posts:
- Introducing The Freelance Feed Resource
- Ask Grace #2: Attracting Quality Freelance Clients
- My In-Depth Interview On The Webm.ag
Grace Smith is owner of the small but perfectly formed web design studio Postscript5, in Northern Ireland. To keep up to date with the latest designalicious content, then please consider subscribing.
Would you also recommend this site to freelancers outside the UK?