# Being Freelance Freelancing? Being boss of your own life and business can be tough and isolating. But it can also be totally rewarding. Pick up tips, advice and strategies on how to make it as a freelancer, an solopreneur, as the owner of your own independent business - by hearing other creative freelancers share their experience. Hosted by fellow freelancer Steve Folland. Serving the world's self-employed with episodes since 2015. Come join us in the Being Freelance Community - You're not alone being… Page: Feed: --- ## The Blogs Became Books... Became Clients - David Airey _2026-07-19_ David Airey is a freelance graphic designer based in Northern Ireland, self-employed since 2005. He's the author of several best-selling design books including Logo Design Love and Identity Designed - both of which started life as blogs, before turning into books... before turning into a steady stream of client work. In this episode, David talks with us about: Persuading his former employer to be… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19512261-the-blogs-became-books-became-clients-david-airey.mp3) ## Freelancer BTS - Not rushing on _2026-07-12_ New full episode coming soon. But in this super short one - Steve Folland explains why he's not publishing a new interview this week. Too often we rush on from one thing to another. But by doing so we don't do justice to the thing we just finished. With the Being Freelance podcast, that can mean not promoting an episode with clips, socials and emails. That doesn't help the podcast, the guest OR… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19481264-freelancer-bts-not-rushing-on.mp3) ## Freelancing Through Every Tech Shift Since the 90s - Lisa Emmington _2026-07-05_ Lisa Emmington is a freelance instructional designer (or as her newly SEO'd website puts it, a training course designer) based near Milton Keynes. She's been freelance almost her entire career, starting out as an IT trainer back when Apple Macs were a mystery box on people's desks, and has reinvented her business every time the market has shifted underneath her - from face to face training, to… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19445012-freelancing-through-every-tech-shift-since-the-90s-lisa-emmington.mp3) ## Chase the Happiness: Meaningful Freelancing - Filmmaker Zoe East _2026-06-28_ Zoe East has never had a proper job. A work experience placement at a big TV channel that felt old-fashioned and sexist put her off the traditional route before she'd even graduated, so she went freelance instead and never really looked back. That was over ten years ago. She started with whatever work came along. The niche found her gradually: charities doing meaningful work, heritage and culture… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19411498-chase-the-happiness-meaningful-freelancing-filmmaker-zoe-east.mp3) ## The Recipe Is Always the Same: Reach Out, Follow Up - Émilie Chen _2026-06-21_ French creative Émilie Chen had what she calls her dream job: senior designer at The National Theatre in London, working on posters she'd dreamed about since university. Years later though, it had turned sour in the studio, her mental health took a hit, and she gave herself 8 months to start saving money and figure out her next Act. What got her there wasn't a clever strategy. It was people.… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19366033-the-recipe-is-always-the-same-reach-out-follow-up-emilie-chen.mp3) ## Freelancing as an Unpaid Carer - Adrian Ashton _2026-06-14_ Adrian’s been a successful freelancer for 21 years. But in the past 7, his definition of framing success has changed. For the last seven years, Adrian has also been an unpaid carer for three immediate family members. He talks honestly about what that's meant for his business - the travel he's had to give up, the networking events he can't get to, the inquiries he's had to turn away, and why he… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19341637-freelancing-as-an-unpaid-carer-adrian-ashton.mp3) ## [Her Niche Is Fishe - Becoming The Ocean Writer - Melissa Hobson](https://www.beingfreelance.com/season-25/the-ocean-writer-melissa-hobson) _2026-06-07_ Melissa spent over a decade in PR & Comms. She was good at it but she was drawn to the ocean. So she started pitching dive magazines on the side, moved to Mozambique to volunteer with a marine conservation charity, and when the pandemic sent her home, decided to go all-in as a freelancer rather than look for another job. Still it was PR work she was picking up but frustrated by. “I just want to… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19302285-her-niche-is-fishe-becoming-the-ocean-writer-melissa-hobson.mp3) ## [Becoming a Freelance Illustrator for Marvel, Disney and DC: Doaly](https://www.beingfreelance.com/season-25/illustrator-designer-doaly) _2026-05-31_ How does a creative side project turn into a decade long freelancing business working with the biggest names in pop culture, like Disney, Pixar, Marvel, DC Comics, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros and Sony Pictures? All good super-heroes have an origin story. And this interview tells the series of events that took Doaly from working for a company in Birmingham, England, to the front page of comic covers… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19264615-becoming-a-freelance-illustrator-for-marvel-disney-and-dc-doaly.mp3) ## Business Name vs Your Own Name: Which is Better for Freelancers? _2026-05-24_ It's a question Steve Folland gets asked a lot: as a freelancer, is it better to have a company name or use your own? In this compilation episode, Steve digs deep into 11 years of the Being Freelance podcast archive - pulling together voices from guests including brand copywriter Mark Grainger, branding expert Bhavini Lakhani, copywriter Graeme Piper, illustrator Dan Bailey, social media… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19264581-business-name-vs-your-own-name-which-is-better-for-freelancers.mp3) ## [Web Coding With AI, Live (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/DgjZYB9CB3bP) _2026-05-24 · **Sponsored**_ Collaborative screen sharing with simultaneous remote control, open source. ## Becoming the go-to freelancer in your niche - Jessi Illustrates _2026-05-10_ Jessica Hartshorn was trained as an illustrator, but unable to get work as one she went in another direction. Jessica spent the next 16 years working in museums and galleries. But the itch to illustrate never went away. So she set up a secret Instagram account and started painting again without telling a soul. Seven years on, she's a successful illustrator, freelancing with museums, galleries,… [Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2621564/episodes/19264582-becoming-the-go-to-freelancer-in-your-niche-jessi-illustrates.mp3)