This National Freelancer Day, we welcomed Juliet Tzabar, MD of Plug-in Media and Alan Owen, previously Technical Director of Plug-in Media, now freelance Developer, to chat about all things freelance.
Catch up on the event below & read their top tips for freelancers.
Thanks so much to Plus Accounting for sponsoring this series of events.
Juliet Tzabar
Juliet's career in media spans over 25 years. Following an early career in the art department of television dramas, Juliet moved into digital media in 2000, where she specialised in delivering interactive projects with a broadcast tie-in and a focus on the children and families audience.
Juliet joined Plug-in Media in 2007 and as CEO has led the company’s growth and success, establishing it as one of the UK’s leading digital production companies, working across animation and games, and the winner of multiple awards, including 5 BAFTAs. In 2011, Juliet was also shortlisted for the Women in Technology Entrepreneur of the Year award.
5 Top Tips from Juliet:
- Be clear about what’s in and out of scope in your work
- Take time to understand the culture of an organisation
- Pitch in, help others, be generous with your time
- Don’t be afraid to bring new ideas & ways of working
- Loyalty works both ways
Alan Owen
Alan has worked in the digital media industry for 17 years, as a Technical Director and a freelancer.
Alan is a highly technical/visual creative and experienced all-rounder in digital media product development, he typically works for agencies, offering rich-interactive, game (and sometimes web) development services using modern web technologies (Javascript and HTML5).
5 Top Tips from Alan:
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Respond promptly (and politely!) to every introspective enquiry - particularly new contacts; they have their own networks…
- Share your professional advice freely if asked for it; knowledge is a currency that buys respect and trust (foundation to a good buyer/supplier relationship)
- Never stop learning - consider offering to review and advise on a brief (for free) even if you can’t action it (but always respect NDAs); consider it ‘practice’ for the next lead that ‘fits’. It might open your eyes to new sections of industry fitting your skills, which you hadn’t considered!
- Track your leads, track your contacts, track the rhythm; ‘feel’ the industry pulse, know your ‘environment’ - this feeds confidence in being independent, and works against the ‘fear’ of insecurity that comes about from not having permanent employment
- Finances: Self Assessment isn’t complicated, but decent record-keeping is - come up with a solution that works for you (may take a few self-assessment rounds!)