Introducing our new editor

As well as being Freelancing Matters’ new editor, David Prosser is new to freelancing as well, so we asked him how he came to join the rest of us.

“I was business editor at The Independent, where I spent seven years. Prior to that I was personal finance editor at the Daily Express and I also worked for many years for a number of financial magazines.

“An opportunity to go freelance came up as part of an office restructuring and I was keen to change my lifestyle. I’d grown tired of working very long hours away from home and rarely seeing my children during the week. Working freelance doesn’t necessarily mean fewer hours, but it’s certainly more flexible – I can fit work in around family life. It was also important that I’d worked for long enough to build up a network of contacts prepared to give me work.”

So how is it going and where is he getting the work from?

“About half of it comes from the network I mentioned above, but the other half is from new sources. It’s word of mouth, personal recommendation – and I also pitch to potential clients.”

David mostly works from home now, which is a big switch from the days of going in to an office every day. How is he adapting to this change in lifestyle?

“I certainly don’t find it hard to keep focused, but I do find that you’re never quite off duty. I don’t switch off completely – so if I have a spare few minutes, I find myself checking emails or updating work. And, of course, there is also the worry that the phone won’t ring and that you’ll run out of work.

“Another thing to mention is the responsibility of being self-employed in terms of administration and personal finance – worrying about tax and pensions, for example.

What does he think is the best thing about being freelance?

Introducing the “See above – the flexibility I now have in terms of work/life balance – not necessarily working any less hard than before but when I want to.”