Venture Freelance was born to help creative folk like you quit the 9-5

If you are looking for ways to ditch the 9-5, if you no longer want to work for someone else and make them the money, whether you want to travel while still generating an income or you just want to have a bit more choice with how you spend your time, Venture Freelance is the place for you.

If you are already freelancing and have been struggling with any aspect of it, are looking for ways to streamline your business, we can help.

What is Venture Freelance?

Above everything else, Venture Freelance was created to inspire and empower other creatives to escape the 9 to 5 and build successful freelance careers, it is a place for aspiring or existing freelancers to find valuable information and resources that help you on your journey to building a successful freelance career.

I’m Lee and I have been working in the creative industries for the last 15 years as a graphic and web designer. My first 5 years in the industry were spent working for other people in creative agencies before I made the decision to ‘go freelance’ and I have been working for myself on a self-employed basis ever since.

I now have a lot more freedom to work where and when I want and I also earn a lot more money than I ever did while employed. 

How did I get here?

When I first made the decision to leave my job and become a freelancer, I didn’t really plan it properly, in fact, I didn’t plan anything at all.

Deep down I’d always knew that I wanted to work for myself and live life on my own terms and I absolutely HATED working for someone else, so I eventually made my decision and the day finally came that I handed in my notice and quit my job.

It was a daunting time, I’d now fully committed myself to freelancing but I didn’t REALLY know how I was going to make it happen.

As you can imagine, leaving my job to go freelance with around £3,000 in savings and no experience of actually running a business wasn’t the cleverest of ideas and I struggled at first.

I didn’t have anyone that I could turn to for advice, I didn’t know where to get clients from and I certainly knew absolutely nothing about tax and accounting and it took me many many mistakes and around 5 years to really start to figure it all out properly.

So I have been there.

I have struggled to find clients, I have struggled to wrap my head around tax accounts, I have had to manage my finances very carefully, I have had to learn as I go and I have made a LOT of mistakes along the way.

I have however figured out the best ways of getting clients, managing projects (and clients!), I have figured out the best way to structure payments so that your cash flow doesn’t run dry and lots more. I’ve learnt a lot. 

I’d love to help you on your journey by sharing mine. I want to share the things I had to overcome and the huge lessons I’ve learnt since becoming a freelancer so that it makes your life that little bit easier.

What can you expect to get out of Venture Freelance?

Think of Venture Freelance as a shortcut, a place for you to leverage my experience and accelerate you and your business forward. You don’t have to make all of the mistakes that I made and it will move you towards your goals quicker. Think of Venture Freelance as a virtual mentor.

So welcome aboard fellow freelancer, it’s great to have you here!