It’s September. And some of us have that “back to school” feeling. Not the kind where you’re excited about new stationery or trying out your latest uniform (I hope I’m not alone there). But the kind that fills you with dread, knowing you have a job to go to that you hate. If you’re feeling blue today, and you’ve been pondering the idea of going freelance for some time, then grab a few of the following recommended books to start planning your escape:
1. Stop Thinking Like a Freelancer: The Evolution of a $1m Web Designer by Liam Veitch
Freelancing is difficult. It’s tough to plan for growth (in client volume and revenue) when current income is too unstable to even consider anything beyond the here and now. This book dives deep on making freelancing more stable, beating "treading water" cycles, repelling “bad apple” clients, multiplying online exposure and follows the journey of Liam, with honest, clear advice and guidance from laptop and rented desk to $1m web agency.
Priced at £9.99 | Buy the book
2. Brilliant Freelancer: Discover the Power of Your Own Success by Leif Kendall
Whether you’re new to freelancing or a seasoned freelance operative, Brilliant Freelancer is packed full of ideas and case studies to help you build a happy, productive and profitable freelance life quickly and easily. From building your client portfolio right through to staying motivated and surviving the tougher times, Brilliant Freelancer gives you everything you need to take charge of your career and start moving in the direction you want to go.
Priced at £14.99 | Buy the book
3. I Can Start Your Business: Everything You Need to Know to Run Your Limited Company or Self Employment – for Locums, Contractors, Freelancers and Small Business by Russell Smith
Thinking of starting a business but don't know anything about business finances, tax or accounts? This book will tell you everything you need to know in an easy to understand way by an accountant who grew his practice from no clients when he started to over 400 clients all over the UK. Covering such topics as: Whether you should be a limited company or self employed? What part of business finances do you really need to understand and which parts can you ignore. Whether you become VAT registered. When your tax is due and how much it will be. Setting up bank accounts. Getting paid by your customers. Managing your cash flow. Getting your pricing right. It's an essential read.
Priced at £3.99 | Buy the book
4. Grow Your Sales, Do What You Love: Mindful Selling for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers
Do you dream of being your own boss, quitting the rat race, generating a stable income doing what you love but have no idea how to steadily attract customers? If you serve other businesses - whether it be as a startup, entrepreneur or freelancer - you have to make sales and win customers. Otherwise you’ll have to dust off your CV and put off your dream of independence. Perhaps no one taught you selling techniques. Perhaps you’re shy or introverted. Perhaps the idea of selling makes you sick to your stomach. Or maybe you’ve been doing the selling thing but keep losing sales and have no idea what is going wrong. This concise book will guide you through how to overcome your self-doubt so you can effectively sell, giving you practical tools and strategies to sell mindfully and without being typically salesy.
Priced at £4.98 | Buy the book
5. This Year Will Be Different: The Insightful Guide to Becoming a Freelancer by Monika Kanokova
This Year Will Be Different is a book for and about entrepreneurial women; a practical guide for anyone who wants to start their own business or become a freelancer. It’s filled with tips, tricks, stories and interviews with women who are now making money as bloggers, designers, consultants, photographers and many more great professions within the creative industries.
Priced at £12.80 | Buy the book
6. The Human Freelancer: A Guide to Happy and Honest Self-Employment for Conscious Newcomers by Chris Kenworthy
Self-help business books perpetuate the myth that success is relentless growth and more of everything means progress. They preach about bookkeeping and market research: things you might need to do of course, but let's face it they're boring. The Human Freelancer is your antidote; stuffed with emotional support for vulnerable newbies to self-employment like you. Whether you're freelance, part-time, a contractor or tradesperson - buy this book if you're sensitive, brave and want to do the right thing on a happy journey of fulfilment and self-improvement.
Priced at £5.69 | Buy the book
7. Starting Up on Your Own: How to Succeed as an Independent Consultant or Freelance by Mike Johnson
Are you thinking of starting up on your own and working for yourself? Do you need to know the nuts and bolts of setting up; marketing yourself and prospecting for new business; keeping things running on a day-to-day basis? Have you already made the leap and want to get more work, new clients, higher fees? This practical, no-nonsense book pulls no punches and gives you all the guidance you need to set yourself up and get work in the first place, plus all the know-how you need to survive, prosper and expand once you’re up and running.
Priced at £22.53 | Buy the book
8. Be a Free Range Human: Escape the 9-5, Create a Life You Love and Still Pay the Bills by Marianne Cantwell
Trapped in a job that's just not you? Always dreaming of your next holiday and counting down to the weekend? Imagine getting paid to do something that brings you alive, without ever having to walk into an office again. It's all possible with this smart guide that breaks you out of the career-cage and puts you in control of your life. Be a Free Range Human is a breezy, energising and straight-talking guide to creating an amazing lifestyle and a great income, doing what you love (on your own terms).
Priced at £13.48 | Buy the book
9. How to Start a Business Without Any Money by Rachel Bridge
Do you dream of starting your own business but don’t have any money? What if you could set up a venture with nothing but a good business idea and the determination to make it work? It’s an appealing idea, particularly in the current economic climate where no one has cash to spare and austerity rules the day. As the former Enterprise Editor for the Sunday Times, Rachel has interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. Join her on her journey as she starts up her very own enterprise, entrepreneurthings.com, and covers all the ups and downs she encounters, while giving examples along the way of how real-life entrepreneurs have coped with the same problems that beset everyone in business at some point.
Priced at £9.99 | Buy the book
10. Escape – The Definitive Guide to Escaping the Rat Race, Starting a Business and Becoming a FreedomPreneur by Amanda C. Watts
It's time for you to create a life of freedom, running a business that you love. It's time for you to become a niche celebrity and learn how anyone, with any background, can turn their talents into products and profits. Whether you have had it with your day job, are struggling to grow your business, or are juggling a hobby business with young children, this book is your escape to freedom.
Priced at £12.99 | Buy the book