The first ever Episode is here. In this weeks podcast, we talk about the equipment you use to freelance, twitter, magic whiteboards and more! A great starter to anyone who wants to freelance, and has no idea where to start.
Here’s all related links & a transcription. Feel free to comment. Let us know what you think 
Podcast for Freelancers - Episode 1 “Bows & arrows”
Podcast for Freelancers - Episode 1 Bows & Arrows [Sponsor spot here]. Shownotes & blog available at podcastforfreelancers.com.
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Good morrow, How art thou Squire? My title is’t Lord Knight Ben Gribbin of the Western Ridings of Yorkshire..
Apology for Shocking Knightly accent. Just lost any listeners.
Welcome to the the first ever episode of PFF, the podcast for all those who are making that venture into freelancing (or indeed who already have).
Each week we’ll talk non-stop freelance, have tips, interviews & general awesomeness to get you freelancing like the pro’s.
You might be asking, whats with the cute little knight & medieval theme on the site / podcast? Well, its all inspired by the origins of the word “Freelance”. For those who don’t know, he’s called Paul!
To be a freelance or Freelance’er in days of old was kind of like a mercenary - boba fett type charactor, with a lance (or weapon) for hire. AND, it was a great excuse to create a themed site, complete with little knights and castle tops Stay tuned for updates on that.
I’ve actually recorded this episode about 3 times now. The first 3 times were too roboty boring. This time im going for candid & fun
In case you dont know who I am, well, Im not a knight for a start. In fact, Im a freelance web designer from England. I also create logos, icons, blogs and more. My website can be found at bengribbin.com
An Appeal
I want to finally make an appeal. Its kind og a shameless plug, only there were no plugs in olden times. Still. I just wanted to let people know, that should they want to get involved with the blog or podcast, then by all means do so. You can write guest posts’, that will be featured on the site, and gain some exposure for yourself. You can also appear on the podcast either as a guest host or semi-regular pod panel person. Either way, if your interested, just shoot me an email hello@podcastforfreelancers.com.
If you have a freelancing question, you can mail me it by the same address, or if its in audio format, use the podcast question uploader on the podcast page.
Finally before we get going, I want to ask you all to follow Paul the Knight on Twitter. The link for that is: http://www.twitter.com/freelanceknight.
No more formalites, lets crack on. They say if something needs explaining, its likely obsuficating.
Main Article
Were jumping head long into our first feature, in our first show, for the first time. In this series, we are taking things chronologically, so we’ll start right at the beggining. That means, your at the point where you want to freelance, and you need to do further research into it.
Thats great. So we are going to plan things now right? Nope. Nada. No Entiendo… thats how others might * have grappled it.
But, I wanted to turn things upside down a little, and really push the boundaries, by talking about equipment (hence title “Bows & Arrows”) firstly. In this feature, we’re talking supplies, stationary & the other tools that help us freelance (no armor or horses needed).
I figured, if we are going to plan our business, we might as plan in comfort. You can integrate what we discuss today either into your planning, or if you freelance on the side, you can purchase some of these. This podcast directly ties in, with the first 2 posts on the blog, talkign about workspaces. You can check those out at podcastforfreelancers.com
Setting up as a freelancer:
Equipment
The basic stuff you need to get yourself going
Pens.I know this seems daft, and stupidly obvious, but they do say a pen is mightier than a sword and so its worth considering.
A good pen is comfortable to hold & use, for extended periods. It will allow you to write for good lengths of time without your wrist, fingers or hand in general aching. When picking a pen, its good to consider:
- The cost, including initial outlay for the pen, & subsequent ink refills. You might decide simply to use cheap bic pens or similar, thats ok, just remember, generally a cheaper pen is less comfortable and can cause writing fatigue.
- Comfort - Pick a pen that is comfortable to hold, and easy to write with.
- The look. If your meeting clients, a nice, modest pen is great. You might even decide to have branded pen’s - with your company details on will set a good impression.
You may also want to consider the fact that you could & likely will if your anything like me, lose your pen. I tend to buy cheap pens as I lose them, and people like to permently borrow them.
Cost: Total cost for your pen selection depends on your needs, & which pen you pick, and how many. Anywhere from 99p ($1) - £50 ($100).
Pencils - Similar to pens, you want something comfortable. If your a designer you might invest in an artists pencil selection pack, with different HB’s, but most people will be happy with some simple pencils, like my personal favourite - the classic yellow & Black pencils by staedeltar.
You’ll also want a good sharpener or even pick a mechanical pencil for a more pen like feel.
Cost:
Paper - Graph paper for designers. You might consider going paperless. But think about this. How easy is it to quickly type down everything a client wants changing to that section of copy? It doesnt even sound right. Its impractical. Paper is great. Its easy, fast & Cheap. Its not prone to crashing or power cuts. Its reliable. If you want to be green, just recycle it. Of course, paperless office’s have their place, but you need to make sure its going to work for you.
Cost depends on the quality, amount & type of paper.
Rulers - Designers
Need I say more?
Notepads are brilliant for jotting things down you need to remember, taking notes at client meetings and just general sketching. Moleskines are a favourite in the freelance circles, and available via the freelancer store at http://astore.amazon.co.uk/podcastforfreelancers-21
Scissors an office default! Scissors need to be kept somewhere handy for qucik ups parcel opening or cutting the phone line. [joke]
Stapler - again, brilliant for organization and worth their weight in gold.
Flower & plants - Vegatiation is a brilliant little pick me up. You can vent at a flower, and it will just sit and look pretty. Plants also purify the air around, you keeping your office smelling sweet and melodious. A cheap fix, and well worth it. Get a plant now!
Chair - When the famous adage “You get what you pay for” was coined, Im sure the coiner was talking about work chairs. Seriously. When you think about just how much time you’ll spend glued to this item, its important it works for you. Generally speaking, a £20 office chair is going to be less comfortable, than say a £100 one.
To sit on something for 8 hours or even longer (not forgetting breaks) its got to be just right. Only ever buy a chair when you can sit on it yourself. Go to the shop first, and just try sitting on them. Of course, you wont get the several hour dead leg effect, but you should be able to tell whether its comfy, or has any annoying lumps and ruts that are immediately obvious. If it feels as though its cutting into the back of your legs, stay away from this chair, it could affect blood flow. Also, dont forget you should take regular breaks anyway if your sat a computer so use this chance to stretch off, and regenerate.
The chair should have padding, but in the right place, its no good on the head rest if theres non on the bit you sit on. Try to avoid chairs with high and hard armrests. They will cause your elbows to ache from been ‘rested’ on them & will also cause your shoulders to scrunch up to, making more problems.
Also consider a mesh backed chair. These are great, as the back has no solid items, but rather a semi-squiggy mesh that moulds to the shape of your back offering great support. It also allows cool air through small holes, keeping you fresh so to speak. A great material, and its perfect for chairs.
There are several chairs out there tagged as ‘ergonomic’ i.e. they are designed with the human body & shape in mind. You may want to check those out. You defenitely want something a bit soft though. Hard chairs are great for short periods of time, but they create pressure and sore points after a while.
Pen Pot - The best invention ever? They keep your desk tidy, your pens in one place & close to hand. And they dont break the bank. Ofcouse they are called pen pots, but in mine I have pencils, rulers and even a knife (for letters)
Desk - You should think long and hard before just buying any random desk. Apart from your chair, you desk can have as a big an impact on your general self than your work. You should remember that a high desk will likely mean your limbs are placed at wierd angles. So try to keep them level. Dont forget chairs can adjust though If a desk has multi-levels like mine, you’ll find that using the mouse can cause stress in the shoulder from been at a different height to the rest of your body. Do think about those issues first!
Then, ponder over whether the desk will fit your workspace. Will it overpower the room? Will it look too big? Will it be big enough? Those type of questions! You do need a desk that is reasonably sized though, so you can actually work on it. As daft as it sounds, I have a fairly big desk, but little room to write, sketch or read a book on it - all the room is taken up my 3 computer moniters, 1 printer, 2 keyboards & 2 mice, plus a phone.
Think about storage too. How much storage space do you need vs how much will this desk give you? If you have more room, you will fill it, but to a certain extent you do need to have enough in the first place to put it all in.
Dont forget the price and quality. Is it a cheap desk? Theres nothing wrong with a cheaper option, but you will inevatibly lose out on the build quality and longegity of the item. Do you really want to have to replace the desk in a year or so because its fallen to bits or is splintering all over?
Finally, consider the look. Does it fit with the rest of your decorations? IS it out of style? Does it generally look good? A nice looking desk will invite you in, and make you feel as though you actually want to work on it.
Post it notes. I feel as though I live and die by these yellow little chunks of paper. They are great for staying organised. I use them to make little to do lists and jot down amendments and phone calls with my clients. I’ve seen people use them to plan websites, brochures and all kinds of cool things. Cheap, but brilliant. If your forgetful, you can even stick said post it note to your forehead… never forget the milk again!!!
Phone (mobile phone or land line). As we’ll talk about with computers, you have 2 main options here. Portable or non-portable.You might decide to simply use your exsisting mobile or land line at home, but its harder to ’switch-off’ at the end of the day, i.e. demanding clients ringing up when your favourite fiml is on at 9pm. Let the answer machine take it, and get back to them tommorow. They wouldnt be able to do that at an agency, so unless your USP (which we’ll talk about in a later podcast /blog post) is 24 hour support or you tell them you’ll answer calls at all time, just leave it. That one off issue or job might become an every night or week thing, and could start to interfere with your family’s sleep. If you can see this happening, make sure you set-up a dedicated line via your phone provider or use a mobile that can be switched off. You always have voicemail right?
Another argument in the landline or mobile debate is, what if you need to go out? A landline is exactly that, attached to the land and usually one place or building. Yes you can set-up call forwarding, but its usually difficult to do so when your just nipping to the shop for 3 minutes. Having a mobile is great. You can pick up your ‘office phone’ and take it round the world if you want to. Most mobiles now let you use the internet, and thus you can even get your emails out and about. In August this year, I was in Wales, checking my emails on a 3 mile long pier out towards sea. Brilliant! You dont need to miss anything anymore!
You could also consider using Skype. Its pretty cheap, and offers voicemail and all kinds of things. Check that out at skype.com.
Computers. This could the most important tool for any freelancer now a days. It doesn’t matter what you do now, computers are involved at least in some part in our lives. Even if its just for communicating with clients via email, or updating your website.
So how do you go about picking one? Well, fistly you need to pick between Mac, Linux and Windows…
And that was that. The main feature. Pretty long, pretty drawn out, but hopefully there were some ok suggestions in there.
Question Time
As we are brand new. We dont have an actual question this week. So we just made one up. Its from Mr Barry T Smith. Also made up. HEres what Barry has to say.
Im a very disorganised person and always struggle with managing all my “To Do’s” what methods and software (if any) would you recommend I used to keep on top of everything.
Barry, Barry, Barry. I can really sympathise with you on this. I also sway towards the side of disorganisation, I mean who doesn’t? (ok so I know a lot of people dont). Still, Its hard when theres so much stuff going on as a freelancer to keep tabs on everything.
PErsonally, I keep myself organsized using a mixture of techniques. Im not saying what I do is perfect, but it works for me. Basically, I have a few pads of post it notes, some paper, and some Magic Whiteboards or magic paper.
I typically write small tasks, which I plan to do quickly or in the short term on post it notes. Bigger task’s (like a whole column or full illustration or something) would be on more permenant paper. For long term stuff and graphs and things, I use magic whiteboards. A magic white board is this amazing paper like white board sheet, which you buy in rolls of 25 for around £30. They stick to any surface, and do not harm it. I use these as whiteboards, as they are much cheaper. Actually, I use magicpaper.co.uk, as this can last up to 5 years I am told. You can find out more about magic paper at magic paper.co.uk. Really great for saving money, and your not limited with any of these techniques as to how you use them. If you want to do a big bublle chart thingy, you can. Its not like clunky project management software thats compelx and difficult to use, even for just its sole purpose. You can draw on whiteboards, or doodle on a post it note. The old ones are the best right?
Having said that, I do occasionally use tadalist or rememberthemilk. Both of these websites are fairly lightweight apps for creating simple to dos and managing tasks. I like to use these when I cant carry reems of paper and whiteboards (basically anywhere the office is not) using a phone to access them via the internet.
Perhaps other freelancers could make a few suggestions for Barry?
Selected Products
Cool products to help freelancers with their work. My pick is less a product, more a web app, twitter.
Explain….
The End is Nigh
And that dear listener was episode 1. Thanks for hanging in right to the last seconds, I hope you’ll offer some feedback on what you thought was good / bad. Im always open to adding segments or taking them away. Just email hello@podcastforfreelancers.com.
Thats the address to use if you want to get in touch about been on the show, becoming a guest blog poster or regular columist. Great stuff.
Ok, so finally I just want to plug the freelanceknight twitter account at: freelanceknight, so if your on twitter, do come and follow us. Dont forget to check out the Paul the Knight T-shirts and the Freelance store. Right then folks, thats a wrap, I’ll see you next time on:
PODCAST FOR FREELANCERS. HAZAAAARRRR.
