Hello Fellow Freelancer,

It is time for the most awaited news - The Freelance Business Month's registration is now open!!!

In the coming days we will start announcing our programme and speakers. The line-up is the most massive this year, so don't delay - grab you ticket today. If you have ever attended our events in the past, you don't need to register - your FBM ticket will be automatically activated on our event platform.

The event is free to attend, but we suggest a donation ticket option. We thank you in advance for helping us to build the biggest event for freelancers, if choose to support this initiative.

I was recently approached by a company which wanted to hire me for an event management role. The international organisation never worked with freelancers before and had no clue how to hire freelancers. We had 3 interviews: with the top management, with the HR person and with the line manager, and they were ready to switch gears and have the first freelancer (me) joining their team until we reach the financial compensation negotiations. This is when I had to pull off.

The proposal was basically this: net salary (!!) of their employee divided by number of days I'd be involved, which would constitute a 1/10 of the earnings that I would normally make. Clearly, no freelancer would agree to this. And certainly, the company had no clue how to calculate the total cost of a freelancer for the company. For that reason we wrote this blog, where, together with Charipickers we explained how to calculate the costs of a freelancer and what is the costs difference between hiring an employee and an independent professional. Save this if you ever have to explain the benefit of hiring a freelancer.

Further on, with our other partner in hiring contingency workers - CXC Global - we created a check-list for companies hiring freelancers in Belgium. Were you aware of these when you apply for a freelance job in Belgium?

Below, I also want to share some interesting resources I came across this month. Scroll down for more:

• Ever had that awkward moment when you are out of questions to keep the conversation going? That won't happen again. Cyriel Kortleven shared 42 questions you can ask your partner.

• Swamped with work? Manuel Pistner, an expert in scaling freelance business, has shared a comprehensive delegation starter pack.

• Freelancers friendly destinations? That exist too! Below you can get a link to Open Assembly podcast about this topic.

• Tired of endless freelancer survey? Me too!! But here is one from Linkus you really need to check - the questions will make you LOL for sure.

I have also picked some of my favourite videos with guest experts we had at our events. One of them is Martyn Baker, (ex-Microsoft and Twitter, now Founder of Gardn.co) explaining how to use storytelling in your marketing to win big clients. You will surely like it!

Enjoy the read!

And, btw, you can always hit reply and let me know what you think or suggest topics for next newsletter.

Regards,
Elina

Registration is open for the Freelance Business Month!

Each October we run the biggest event for freelancers and the freelance ecosystem - the Freelance Business Month.

What makes it unique?

First of all, the fact that it is the only event that is designed to get together all the freelance ecosystem players: from freelancers and those who are hiring them, to anyone who offers product or services for freelancers.

The event last entire month and consists of 5 different programmes to address each of the ecosystem players interests and needs.

♦ The Future of Freelance
♦ Starting Freelancing
♦ Growing Freelancing
♦ Freelance Ecosystem and European Freelance Week
♦ The Future of Work

The event takes place on the FBC event platform where attendees can not only attend the sessions and participate in the discussions, but suggest their own topics, connect with each other, run online meetings and introductory video calls. Freelance ecosystem providers can join the online exhibition hall and have their company shine for 31 days straight.

Freelance Business Month is sponsored by The Indie List and MBO Partners, as well as our community partners Linkus, Betoobe, Charipickers, Topcoder and CXC Global.

Should you be interested to partner with us for this event, please send request to info@freelancebusiness.eu

Ever heard that freelancers are too expensive?

Read this article to know how to answer this question. Understanding how much money you, as a freelancer, save for a company will help your negotiations.

Ian de Swart from Charipickers also explains how companies modernising their HR strategy to utilise freelancers and the contingent workforce can be the key for success in their business.

Hiring freelancers in Belgium: a simple compliance guide

Did you know that there is a compliance check list that most companies have to go through when hiring freelancers? Hiring freelancers, as fixed employees, may pose some risks for the companies, which they would like to avoid.

We have partnered with CXC Global to provide you with this information.

BTW, did you know that we also have the Doing Freelance Business in Belgium Guide? Our plan is to update it this year, so stay tuned!

Freelancing friendly destinations

Listed to Open Assembly's inspirational and informative podcast How The Future Works: Freelancing Friendly Destinations with Barry and Eleanor Matthews.

In this episode, Eleanor and Barry discuss why and how governments want to attract and develop freelance talent. They are joined by Dr. Rochelle Haynes, founder and CEO of Crowd Potential and an accomplished academic, speaker, author and lecturer on gig working, HR and the implications of an increasingly mobile, digital, and global population.

6 September: Social media for business: how to avoid wasting your budget on Marc Zuckerberg & friends

Once I forgot to stop the Google ads campaign. My website really liked it (I am sure Google too), but my wallet didn't.

Our friends at Linkus is putting a great event on 6 September to talk exactly about that - how not to get broke with running social media paid campaigns. I'll be there, will you?

Small marketing, big sales for freelance entrepreneurs with Martyn Baker

Your marketing strategy is the roadmap that connects your brand and product to your customers, so you need to make sure it is as straight as possible. If yours looks more like a mountain trail than a highway, this session is for you.

Martyn Baker (ex-Microsoft and Twitter) is focused on helping businesses tell their stories, go to market and win new customers. Today, he is a Managing partner of Gardn - a company that focuses on building single narratives to talk to investors, employees and customers.

In this session, he will teach us how to be smart about our marketing strategy so that it brings tangible sales results without burning budgets... whether it is for your freelance business or for your customers.

The delegation master pack by Manuel Pistner

Do you want to learn how to delegate better?

Manuel Pistner has put together a comprehensive delegation starter pack, which is made to help you get started with delegating digital work to employees, virtual assistants, virtual teams and global freelancers.

Want to get to know your partners in business and in life better? Why not ask them a random question from Cyriel Kortleven's list and see what they have to say?

It's a fun and unorthodox way to get to know the people that matter - try it, and connect with Cyriel Kortleven on LinkedIn for more business inspiration.

Missed our previous editions? Here they are.

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