Nicola Balkind

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Freelance Finance

By Nicola Balkind

Freelancing & Finances

Let me tell you a story about freelancing and finances…

Last week I returned home from my holiday to find that one of my long-term contracts was being terminated without notice.

Usually, when setting up a new agreement, I specify one month notice from either party. However in this case I had signed the client’s standard contract. I hadn’t anticipated that it’d be terminated early – but when you are a contractor there’s always risk involved.

Fortunately, I’d already been offered a few pieces of work to get me through the end of the year, but I was also prepared in other ways.

Although it’s never fun to lose work, it’s important to plan for the best and be prepared for the worst. With that in mind, here’s my brief guide to freelance finance.

 

How to be financially prepared

1. Forecast your income

My contracts can run for anything from one week to a year, so I track my clients and number of contracted days as I go.

On my wall I have a calendar for the year. Under each month I list my client names alongside the number of days or fee for that month. At a glance I can see how many days are spoken for and how much I’m due to earn.

I also keep a spreadsheet with invoices due, sent, and paid where I can track my income, all of which keeps me right when it’s time to file taxes, too.

 

2. Know your essential costs and income

My basics are rent, bills, travel allowance and food. You may have others, like childcare or a car or a mortgage.

These basic costs amount to an average of £1000 per month. To account for tax and savings (see next point), I need to bring in at least £1400 per month to cover it. (I also work on the assumption that I can and aim to make a little more than that to cover things like clothing, cleaning supplies and maybe even some social engagements.)

Here’s a simple formula: work out your essential costs, divide by your day rate and you’ll have the minimum number of days’ work you need to live. Voilà!

 

3. Set money aside

I have a rule for getting paid: don’t even look at what’s come in before detracting the basics.

For me the basics are:

  • 20% for business savings (these cover taxes and National Insurance);
  • 10% for expenses (this will depend on your overhead);
  • 10-20% for personal savings (depending on how much is coming in).

After those are spoken for, anything over and above your basic costs can go towards the finer things in life.

 

4. Limit stress: have a float

Most sources suggest saving enough to cover your basic expenses for at least 3 months before going freelance.

I have a couple of personal savings accounts: one for fun stuff like holidays and treats, and another as a nest egg / rainy day fund which acts as my float. Having a float is vital for any unexpected expenses: loss of business, illness, a broken computer – you name it.

Let’s be real. When you freelance, you probably won’t have a reliable income. Payments will be late, contracts will break, or other life hazards might get in the way. Unless your business covers sick pay and leave, you’re probably not going to be earning while you’re sick or taking a break. Have a float, save, and plan for those instances and cover yourself for those things large and small.

Knowing you have a float can make setbacks (like the one I’ve just experienced) so much easier to deal with. It can still be a blow to the ego, but I know that financially, I’m fine and I have time to find a new opportunity.

 

5. Don’t kid yourself

Now a general point: have a good relationship with your money.

The worst thing you can do is to be dishonest with yourself about your finances. Even if you think you aren’t “good with money,” you need it to live. You must be good with money to freelance successfully.

 

6. Avoid the time = money trap

Time is money. It’s a cliché for a reason. When freelancing, time often does have a direct correlation with money – but please don’t let it control you. I see a lot of freelancers give up opportunities to work on their business, or just to relax, because they are too busy working in their business.

Know how much you want to make, how much time and effort it takes to make it, and how far you can reasonably stretch it. Save for rainy days and factor in holidays, research days, professional events and any other time-costs you encounter. You’ll be saner for it.

 

Your Turn

Did I miss anything? What are your best tips for dealing with freelance finances?

Do feel free to share them in a comment below, tweet me, or shoot me an email and we’ll chat.

 

I’m available!

As you may have guessed from the story above, I have some availability through 2016. Want to work with me? Get in touch!

Filed Under: Microbusiness Tagged With: finance, freelance, freelancing, how to organise money while freelancing

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Testimonials

Nicola is an experienced creative copywriter, with a great ability to produce quality pieces quickly and at short-notice. She has a great knowledge of social platforms and ability to apply this knowledge. Nicola is an absolute pleasure to work with and brings her creativity and personality to everything she does.
Kaye SymingtonMint Digital & Stickygram
Nicola’s contributions to our projects for Channel 4 were invaluable: her huge knowledge of social media developments and online trends, together with her editorial flair and excellent writing skills made her invaluable in roles that encompassed community management, social media marketing, content strategy and product development. Her dedication, creativity, forward-thinking and attention to detail made her a major factor in the success of these projects. It was a pleasure to work with her, and I hope to work with her again!
Laura GraceMint Digital
Nicola has worked with Purplefeather on various social media and copywriting campaigns. She is creative, reliable and professional and can be completely trusted with the voice of your brand – rare qualities indeed!
Andrea GardnerPurplefeather
Nicola and I worked together across several projects in the Yomgeo community management team. Nicola is great to work with, her attitude towards projects is always amazing and she is incredibly efficient, Her work is always of the highest quality, and I’ve learned a lot from working with her.
Catherine CarriganYomego
Nicola has been my number one go-to for freelance community management. She is incredibly efficient, she is clear with costs, time estimates and invoicing and completely reliable. She is a breath of fresh air in an industry which is plagued by self-promoting “gurus”: her range of skills and experience is broad and authentic. I really appreciate the way Nicola is uncomplicated to work with: she asks quick, straightforward questions about what’s required then sits down and gets the job done without fuss. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Nicola and would certainly work with her again.
Annie MacfarlaneTOMS Europe
Nicola has been nothing but helpful, insightful, and an amazing force to impact our team. She exudes exceptional talent, and throughout working together I’ve been able to see first-hand her strength in organising and leading a team, attention to detail, and ability communicate with her peers and clients effectively. It has been a real pleasure to work with Nicola, and I can’t wait to continue working alongside and learning from her.
Jessica Yamamoto, Yelp
We’ve employed Nicola’s services several times at Yomego and every time she has been absolutely fantastic in both outputs and attitude. Supporting our community management team, Nicola has added invaluable expertise in creating customer focused strategies for our clients and helping to draft truly compelling content plans. I have absolutely no hesitations in recommending Nicola’s services for anyone that places important on ensuring outputs are consistently exemplary.
Sam Macleod
Nicola is crazy talented, knowledgeable and efficient when it comes to Social Media and Copywriting. I had the pleasure to work with Nicola on several online marketing projects over the course of almost two years. Not only is she a fountain of knowledge regarding latest trends and best practices for both Social Media and online writing – she is also able to put abstract ideas into action. Any team looking to improve their online presence would be lucky to get their hands on Nicola.
Eva MartinSERPS Invaders
Nicola was an important member of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Marketing Department and was key in the communication delivery of the Festival. In such a dynamic and demanding environment, Nicola delivered great content and was dependable throughout, an invaluable asset to the Festival.
Ross PerthEdinburgh International Film Festival
Nicola helped transform EIFF’s web vision at a time of change. She is assured and confident with her tactics in an ever-evolving industry and, more importantly, generates great content with results. Allied to Nicola’s strategic savvy, it’s a winning combination.
Colan MehaffeyEdinburgh International Film Festival

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