Before our session…
To make sure we can get the most value from our time together during our “How To Freelance” workshop, I’ve prepared some resources that should be useful to get everyone up to speed with what we’re going to be talking about, discussing and working through in the workshop.
Stuff to read
This overview of Portfolio Working is one of the key texts we’re going to be referring to, thinking about & discussing in the “How To Freelance” session.
IMPORTANT: Get familiar with this BEFORE our session (ie read it / have a look / make some notes), so that you’re up to speed on where we’re starting our conversation for “How To Freelance”.
It covers key areas like:
- What are the benefits & downsides of ‘portfolio working’?
- Thinking about personal autonomy & exploitation
- Creating your own safety nets & managing ‘portfolio working’
Inspired by, and built on the foundations of, a Checklist Of Care published by artist Shelia Ghelani, this self-care checklist offers an easy way to reflect on how best to choose the work you do as a precarious worker.
Make time to download it and use it to reflect on your current freelance work BEFORE our session.
Stuff to revisit
In Susan Jones‘ talk for CAMP, she described some key conditions that artists need to sustain their practice. I would suggest that these factors are also important for freelancers more generally too. You can read about these ideas in her article From myths to motility: doing better by artists – available here http://www.padwickjonesarts.co.uk/doing-better-by-artists-from-myths-to-motility
CAMP Members (only) can watch a video of her talk via https://camp-plymouth.org/members-area/susan-jones (email info@camp-plymouth.org if you don’t already have the password).
We’re also going to be talking about how we can better address our own needs (through re-thinking self-interest and individualist tendencies). During this conversation, we’ll be referring to structural problems that face freelancers, rooted in capitalism and exploitation, ideas of extracting value and generating surplus, and inequality. This may well be stuff you’re already thinking about, but if not, take a closer look at the diagram above for some of the key points…
Looking forward to seeing you in our workshop to discuss all of this further!
OPTIONAL: More related things…
Resources for freelancers, collectives & arts organisers
https://tinyurl.com/VASW-freelance-resources
Lots of useful links / info I have compiled about:
- Fees, payments & trade unions
- Precarious work
- Saving, ‘doing the maths’, living on a budget, getting good at cooking & using a 30-day list for non-essential purchases
- Collective organising & developing projects
Rosalie Schweiker – Please agree to our terms and conditions – https://tinyurl.com/Rosalie-Ts-and-Cs
Rosalie Schweiker’s art practice – http://www.rosalieschweiker.info
Ellie Harrison
- Environmental Policy – https://tinyurl.com/y7n4w9ms
- Values & approach to life and art-making – https://tinyurl.com/y77tlkds
- Guidelines for rethinking our lives – https://tinyurl.com/y7axgmu8
Ellie Harrison’s art practice – https://www.ellieharrison.com
Here’s all of the slides & resources from a beginners-style workshop I run called “Being Really Good At Being Self Employed”. These give a good basic overview of:
- Definitions of self-employment
- How to do your HMRC tax return & expenses
- How to write an invoice
- Example contract
- How to price your work & time
- Understanding “Portfolio Working”
- Time management for freelancers
You’ll find these resources especially useful if you are new to freelancing / self-employment.
You might not need to read them if you have been self-employed for a while but might pick up some extra tips (especially around working out day rates / pricing / contracts / what to include in your self-employed expenses for your tax return).
If you find these resources useful, let me know via Instagram – @RachelDobbs1. All of the resources I produce are available to download for FREE, but if you’d like to contribute to my future projects, say thank you or just do something nice for a fellow creative practitioner, feel free to donate by clicking the button below…