Undertake freelance work
Overview
This standard is about a professional operating as a freelancer, whereby you are your business and your skills are your service. You must be aware of your obligations regarding legislation, accounts, tax and insurance responsibilities as well as manage what may be a fluctuating cash flow during economy changes and/or changes in circumstances. It is advisable users of this standard can implement first aid emergency response in accordance with legislation requirements and generate a lone working policy for your personal safety and welfare and that of the individual.
You might do this if you are:
currently operating as a freelancer or
planning to operate as a freelancer in the future
Undertaking freelance work involves:
marketing yourself as a freelancer
negotiating freelance contracts
carrying out freelance work to meet contracts
managing your finances and work administration
using the services of an agent
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1. maintain your responsibilities for health and safety in accordance with legislative requirements, to include:
1.1 carry out risk assessment(s) to generate a lone working policy
2. identify and use appropriate strategies and tools to enhance your professional reputation and promote yourself to potential customers
3. create a personal ‘brand’
4. make, follow up and maintain contacts with potential customers
5. make, follow up and maintain appropriate networks to support you and your work, to include:
5.1 digital networking platforms
6. assess the value of your services and estimate fees to consider:
6.1 competition
6.2 market
6.3 economy
7. negotiate and agree fees, timescales, outcomes and completion criteria that meet your own and the customers’ requirements
8. calculate realistic schedules of work allowing time for contingencies and minor changes
9. plan, organise and maintain your work schedules to promote a work and life balance, to include:
9.1 provide services to meet legislative requirements and regulatory guidelines
9.2 adapting ways of working to meet environmental working conditions in accordance with legislative requirements
9.3 maintain customer satisfaction
9.4 implementing time management strategies
9.5 calculating and achieving income objectives
10. prepare and update your financial records and accounts for audit and accountability, to include:
10.1 legislative and regulatory requirements
11. maintain professional standards of behaviour and work within your specialism in accordance with the service objectives and environmental conditions
12. use the variety of social media platforms to promote your ‘brand’
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
Advice and information
- where to find the relevant sources of advice and information on:
1.1 self-employment or employment legislative requirements and rights
1.2 the insurance relevant to your business
1.3 Value Added Tax regulations
1.4 business legislation
1.5 local authority licensing regulations for yourself and working environments
Marketing and networking
2. the strategies and tools used to promote your services and business and their effects
3. how to identify and choose suitable strategies and tools to achieve your business objectives
4. the importance of maintaining a positive reputation for yourself and how it impacts the success of your business
5. the importance to engage in, and document continuous professional development to include, up-to-date information policies, procedures and best practice guidance. to include:
5.1 how this impacts the reputation and success of your business
6. how networking effectively can increase your customer contacts and promote work opportunities
Planning
7. the importance to maintain a work and life balance
8. the reasons for forecasting and planning business income objectives, to include:
8.1 the time duration to complete the work
8.2 resources required
9. how to implement time management strategies and how this will benefit your wellbeing and business
10. the common environmental working conditions and how to adapt your ways of working in accordance with legislative requirements
11. the importance of maintaining customer satisfaction and how it impacts the success of your business
12. how to carry out contingency planning, scheduling and future planning to maintain a viable and stable business
Finances
13. how to keep accounts manually and digitally
14. how to budget for resources and overheads if required
15. how to forecast and calculate business income objectives, to include:
15.1 business development costs
15.2 business promotion
15.3 resources
15.4 expenses
Negotiating contracts
16. how to negotiate and agree contracts in accordance with relevant employer legislation, income forecasts, time available and expected outcomes
17. how to communicate, agree and construct contractual requirements, to include:
17.1 expected outcomes
17.2 expected completion date
17.3 agreed fees and payment terms
18. the relevance and understanding of using an agent to find work and promote your 'brand'
Working with the customer
19. how to maintain professional standards of behaviour, to include:
19.1 quality standards of yourself and work
19.2 effective time management
19.3 sustainability
19.4 customer relations
20. how to adapt ways of working to meet environmental working conditions in accordance with legislative requirements and organisational policies and procedures
21. the importance to carry out services in accordance with contractual obligations, to include:
21.1 providing further estimate of fees should an unforeseeable problem occur
Scope/range
Strategies and tools
- social media platforms (instagram, linkedin, facebook, twitter)
- blogs and websites
- media advertising (tv, radio, news, podcasts)
- literature (business cards, price lists, posters)
- curriculum vitae
- biography