Startup Britain
At the start of this week, I was able to join the Startup Britain tour of England and Wales at the Bristol leg of its journey. The initiative is a new campaign by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, launched on 28th March 2011. Designed to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK. Will it work? I don't know, but anything that has a chance of improving the economy of this country deserves support.
I was there to answer any questions that attendees might have had regarding freelancing. From the description above, one might be tempted to think that the whole initiative is aimed at getting as many people as possible to be freelancers as possible. Nothing could be further from the truth. Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes... and so do their business models! Most businesses begin with a good idea. This is fundamental to the success of that business, because if you start with a BAD idea (or even a mediocre one) then getting customers is going to be an uphill struggle.
But after the initial idea... what happens next? Regardless of whether the business is selling a product or a service, typically one or two people try to make it a success. Some businesses grow quite quickly, gaining turnover and staff as demand for their product/service increases. Startup Britain was there to give advice to businesses in exactly this position. Let's face it. Going from one employee to two is a doubling of the workforce. It is a major step.
However, some businesses stay as a single (or few) person enterprise. Their way of growing is to increase profit margins and turnover. Once again, there were people with me on the Startup Britain tour who could advise entrepreneurs how best to achieve this growth using their own, first-hand, experience.
And then there were the attendees that are still at the "idea stage". They haven't taken the step to turning that idea into a business, and wanted to get as much advice as possible before taking the plunge. Those that were considering the freelance model for their business were the ones that I wanted to help. But does that mean that I wanted them all to become freelancers? No.
Horses for Courses
Freelancing can be a difficult way of life. Certainly, there are advantages. The ability to pick and choose the projects that you work on, the escape from office politics, and the work-life balance are 3 of the most common reasons that freelancers give for their chosen way of working. There are others who cite the ability to get paid exactly what they’re worth, rather than conforming to an HR dictated salary policy. All of these things sound very attractive. Which begs the question, why isn’t everyone a freelancer, and why do many return to permanent employment?
There is no job security for a freelancer. It is not possible to “keep your head down” and “avoid the chop”. If a freelancer does not deliver, they will lose the work that they are doing or not get a renewal for future work. This is compounded by the difficulty in securing another contract with the spectre of a failure hanging over you. And while the freelancer is trying to find another piece of work, there is no way of paying the bills.
So, if you have decided that being a freelancer is for you, then talk to the PCG about what it really entails. However if you merely fancy a change from your current permanent job, then think this through carefully… again. Some employers are wary of taking freelancers back as salaried employees. Having jumped aboard the “freelance train” you must be prepared for the long journey. The PCG can help you with this, but when the chips are down you will have to rely on your own strength of character to see you through.