Have faith in yourself to be independent and self-successful

An interview with James Nesbitt

I’m thrilled to share this interview with James Nesbitt, one of the earliest paid subscribers to Happy Freelancing and a longtime supporter of the newsletter. Now entering retirement, James reflects on the path he took to build a sustainable freelance business after a career in corporate communications.

In this interview, he shares what helped him succeed, how he found clients, and the practical steps he took to make freelancing work for him.

Photo courtesy: James Nesbitt

Tell us a bit about your freelance career.

In a sense, freelancing was the cherry on top of my communications career. I started in corporate communications a bit later in life than many peers (I was mid-30s), enjoyed it for about 18 years. Then, two things made me embark on freelancing

1. I wasn’t going to get a manager’s role at the organization I last worked at and

2. I started a relationship with someone who also worked independently (not in communications) and I thought, “Yeah, I could do that.”

How did your idea of success evolve over the course of your freelance career? Or, if it stayed consistent, what did success mean to you from the beginning?

This might seem obvious, but success meant securing some contracts–initially writing and editing work–to lay down as a foundation for my freelance portfolio. I’m eternally grateful for the support of friends and peers within my network who said things like, “Hey, so-and-so is looking for this…” or “I’ve got too much on my plate right now, can you ghostwrite some blogs for me?”

Never dismiss the power of networking; build relationships with colleagues you respect and be open to new things.

How has freelancing changed since you first started? And how did you adapt as the industry—and client expectations—evolved over time?

I freelanced for a relatively short period, 2018-2025, so it wasn’t so much that freelancing changed for me, but the world changed (does it ever stop?) and that created challenges. One of my first contracts was with a European B2B marketing company. It started out well, but the work dwindled and while they didn’t state it implicitly, it seems they wanted to expand into the UK and Brexit threw a spanner into that work. And then of course, COVID-19 was a curveball no one saw coming: I lost a client and other work dried up for a while. I used this slow period to pursue writing fiction, which is what I’m concentrating on now.

Were there aspects of freelancing that surprised you (either by being harder or easier than you anticipated)?

Overall, I’d say getting up and running was easier than I thought it might be, but as mentioned earlier, I had communications experience with a varied portfolio of work I could point to and a super network of peers to tap into for “how-to” questions. The latter was particularly important when I was setting up my sole proprietor business.

Were there any moments you thought about stopping freelance work (besides retirement)? 

No.

How did you stay motivated during slow seasons or tough stretches?

I used the early “quiet days” to network; don’t be afraid to make lunch and cocktail plans with anyone you trust and admire with whom you can brainstorm about finding clients. I had many enjoyable meals and drinks and got lots of good ideas and leads!

When COVID-19 tanked everyone’s business, I kept on a schedule by writing my first screenplay, a suspense/whodunit. Now that I’m retired, I’ve just finished screenplay number three. Getting your name and product known in movieland is a challenging labyrinth to conquer, but writing this type of fiction is really satisfying for me.

What–if anything–were some of the challenges you struggled with most when freelancing? (for example, networking? pricing yourself?) How did you address your challenges?

I’d say pricing is the nemesis I had the hardest time with - Heidi, you write so succinctly about fairly pricing one’s work in your blog. But there are essential elements:

• have faith in what you can offer

• be reasonable in your fee structure

• stick (politely of course) to your guns

The annoyance for me wasn’t those who hadn’t worked closely with freelancers but those in the communications world, often people you know, who want to nickel and dime you.

If you were to give your younger self advice based on what you know looking back on your career, what would it be?

In terms of freelancing, start early! Easy for me to say, because I only had to support myself and I gained tons of experience and satisfaction everywhere I worked. But in hindsight, I could have started freelancing maybe five or so years before I did. There’s something to be said about avoiding office politics and dysfunctional workplace dynamics, the downsides of being an employee. Have faith in yourself to be independent and self-successful.

Were there any habits or routines that helped you keep a healthy work/life balance? What made those especially effective for you?

Know yourself: be realistic about your abilities and capitalize on them. At the same time, recognize what you don’t do so well, but don’t beat yourself up. I’m pretty organized and like to get started on assignments ASAP. I’m not as enthused about tracking things like billable hours or recording income-tax-related things. But I got these things done well before deadlines. Make time for breaks too.

There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re a prisoner of your home. Get out of the house!

James’ advice for starting a business

1. Take advantage of government programs

The province where I live (British Columbia) has comprehensive information programs on the first steps for setting up a small business (most jurisdictions offer this). I went to one or two “get started” sessions that had wise advice on ensuring you understand the importance of registering with the right authorities (i.e., the federal government for tax purposes and your local government for a business license). Additionally, these sessions covered the importance of using an accountant if you aren’t a numbers person: they can often recommend beneficial tax deductions and tax payment schedules.

2. Talk to your network

I also got invaluable advice from friends. For instance, one shared a great spreadsheet on tracking client hours that was simple enough for a data-phobic person like me!

As for sourcing clients, I’d say I found eighty percent of my clients via my communications network and word of mouth. For example: someone I knew closely moved to another province and came across a freelance job opportunity with a European company that wanted a Canadian writer because we have a sense of both English and American spelling.

The digital age is a boon for freelancers: it doesn’t matter where you live; you and your clients can be across the world from one another.

Closer to home, another great network source was people I’d met and volunteered with at the local International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Two people I knew via this connection hired me for a great multi-year contract.

3. Build your portfolio

Additionally, keep a portfolio of your work: samples of the work you’ve done in the past are a key component of demonstrating your skill set.

Portfolios can be conversation points. They also show you understand issues such as change management, strategic communications and the positive impact first-person stories have on expressing important information. You might have in your portfolio, “To explain the benefits of Company X’s new benefits program, I wrote a series of employee profiles showing the tangible advantages of available broader options, for instance, a single father who was able to add a child to his dental plan and a soon-to-retire woman who would continue to receive optical care once she was no longer working.”

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My deepest thanks to James for sharing his fantastic insights. James, I hope you keep us posted on your screenwriting progress. I’d love to hear that a movie written by you has been made!

Heidi