Being Freelance cover art

Being Freelance

Being Freelance

Written by: Steve Folland
Listen for free

About this listen

 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 thoughts on how to make it as a freelancer, an entrepreneur, as the owner of your own business, by hearing other freelancers share their experience. Hosted by Steve Folland. Come join us in the Being Freelance Community - You're not alone being freelance. Not anymore. www.beingfreelance.com/community© 2024 Steve Folland Careers Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales Personal Success
Episodes
  • Cold Outreach: What Actually Works for Freelancers

    Cold Outreach: What Actually Works for Freelancers
    Jan 31 2026
    Cold outreach can often get a freelance business started. But in this episode I propose even those of us years down the line don't give it the cold shoulder.When you need to bring in clients, maybe a period of cold outreach, or even a consistent long term pattern of it, could be exactly what warms our business back up again.Cold emails. Cold calls. Reaching out to people who didn’t ask to hear from you. It can feel awkward, uncomfortable, and very easy to put off.But again and again on the Being Freelance podcast, freelancers have shared how proactive outreach - in many different forms - played a huge role in getting their business started, or getting it moving again when things felt quiet.This episode is a little different from the usual Being Freelance format. Rather than a single guest interview, it’s a reflection on conversations with freelancers who’ve taken a deliberate approach to outreach.You’ll hear how copywriter Adri Kopp refined her cold email process, worked out who she should actually be reaching out to, and set herself daily outreach targets - discovering that volume and timing mattered just as much as personalisation.You’ll hear how fintech copywriter André Spiteri approached cold outreach as a simple, repeatable habit, deliberately avoiding emotional attachment to individual emails so he could keep momentum going.Designer and illustrator Iancu Barbarasa shares how sending hundreds of emails wasn’t about asking for work, but about starting conversations - conversations that later led to some of the biggest projects of his career.The episode also explores outreach beyond email. Sustainability copywriter Raymond Manzor talks about cold calling, sending physical letters with samples, and following up by phone. Standing out simply because hardly anyone else was doing it. Whilst visual storyteller Ashwin Chacko shares how self-publishing a book and proactively sharing it opened doors to workshops, conversations, and paid work.Alongside the tactics, there’s plenty of honesty about rejection. Most people won’t reply. Some will say no. A few might tell you to get lost. And that’s all part of the process. The freelancers featured here talk candidly about learning not to take it personally, separating their identity from their work, and trusting that being in the right place at the right time often comes from showing up consistently.What comes through most clearly is this:Cold outreach doesn’t have to be spammy, pushy, or salesy.And while outreach often becomes more selective as a business grows, it never completely goes away.So even if your work mostly comes through referrals, word of mouth, or SEO, this episode is a gentle nudge to ask:Is there still a place for cold outreach in your freelance business?Featuring insights from these brilliant freelance guests, whose full episodes you should absolutely check out:Copywriter Adri KoppFintech Copywriter André SpiteriDesigner & Illustrator Iancu BarbarasaSustainability Copywriter Raymond ManzorVisual Storyteller Ashwin ChackoConservation Illustrator Stefán Yngvi Pétursson JOIN THE COMMUNITYYou're not alone being freelance. Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).beingfreelance.com/community NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!The Being Freelance course is made for you!Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership. FREELANCER MERCHGet Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shopLike VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelanceYouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • How Katie Chappell Built (and Unbuilt) a Scalable Freelance Illustration Business

    How Katie Chappell Built (and Unbuilt) a Scalable Freelance Illustration Business
    Jan 25 2026

    Katie Chappell is a freelance live illustrator based in the UK - and her story takes some unexpected turns.

    After being sacked from a graphic design job, Katie slowly built a freelance illustration career through side jobs, teaching guitar, working in retail, and even becoming a nanny abroad. A 100-day drawing project helped her find confidence, momentum, and visibility - and eventually led her into live illustration and graphic recording.

    Things really took off during the pandemic, when Katie adapted quickly to online events and found herself booked solid. At one point, she scaled the business into an agency-style setup with salaried staff and 24 illustrators on the books.

    On paper, it looked amazing.

    In reality, it nearly broke her.

    In this episode, Katie talks honestly about scaling up, scaling back, pricing, niching, marketing, work-life balance, and the moment she realised something had to change.

    We also get into the practical stuff: working with a virtual assistant, setting clear prices, and why “make work, share work” is still the foundation of her marketing.

    Katie is part of The Good Ship Illustration - an education and community space for illustrators, that she founded with two of her friends. If you enjoy Katie on here, do check out The Good Ship Illustration podcast!

    JOIN THE COMMUNITY
    You're not alone being freelance.
    Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
    beingfreelance.com/community

    NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

    The Being Freelance course is made for you!
    Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

    FREELANCER MERCH
    Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

    Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
    Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
    YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • How These Freelancers Work ON Their Business All Year

    How These Freelancers Work ON Their Business All Year
    Jan 18 2026

    As freelancers, it’s easy to spend most of our time in the business - delivering client work, meeting deadlines, keeping things ticking over. But if we never step back, time has a habit of running away from us. We can be swept along on a current of what people ask us to do, not thinking about if it's where we want to be heading.

    This episode is a little different from the usual Being Freelance podcast format. Instead of a single guest interview, it’s a reflection on conversations with freelancers who consistently make time to work on their business - not just once a year, but regularly.

    You’ll hear how different people approach this in their own way:

    Some take themselves off on solo business retreats - sometimes to a hotel, sometimes just to a different room in the house — with no client work allowed. Others hold quarterly CEO retreats, stepping away from day-to-day delivery to review what’s working, what isn’t, and what they want more (or less) of.

    One even does a 'Weather Report', seeing what's on the horizon for their work, personal life, creativity, and the wider world - treating their business like something that moves in seasons.

    What they all have in common is this:
    They don’t leave their freelance business to chance.

    Regular reviews help remove mental load, bring clarity, and often make client work feel more enjoyable - because you’re no longer carrying half-finished thoughts about marketing, pricing, direction, or next steps in the back of your mind.

    You’ll also hear a very practical reminder: if you want thinking time, you usually have to put it in the diary first. Two or three hours, a half day, once a month or once a quarter - it all counts.

    This episode isn’t about grand five-year plans or fancy frameworks. It’s about creating space to ask better questions:

    Is this still working?

    Am I enjoying this?

    Is this profitable?

    Is this taking me where I want to go?

    Because freelancing doesn’t have to be something that just happens to you. With a little regular reflection, you get to design it - deliberately.

    Featuring the insights of these fantastic freelance guests, whose full episodes you should totally check out.
    Follow these links for their podcast conversations.
    - Writer Rebecca Rosenberg
    - Designer Brennan Gilbert
    - Writer & Editor Melanie Padgett Powers
    - Voiceover Emma Clarke
    - Market Research Consultant Katie Tucker

    JOIN THE COMMUNITY
    You're not alone being freelance.
    Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
    beingfreelance.com/community

    NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

    The Being Freelance course is made for you!
    Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

    FREELANCER MERCH
    Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

    Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
    Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
    YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
No reviews yet