How did you first get into freelancing, and what motivated you to choose this path?
Before getting into freelancing officially I had a play around with a few side projects (affiliate sites, paid WordPress plugins) so I was encouraged to try things. After a bit of time I had a bit of a sliding doors moment with my previous job – it was either buy a flat in Manchester or go freelance. After seeing a flat I wasn’t that keen on and a conversation with my family they said “If not now, when?”. I’d been talking about working for myself for a long time so they said go for it. Although not really the closest family it was the kick of the backside I needed.
I then spent that evening preparing my dream sheet. A dream sheet is an excel spreadsheet that is talked about in “The Four Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris and you price up all you need to survive, have the same standard of living as you do and to live your dreams. Usually the amount for survival (food, rent etc) is less than you think, so although the “dream” timeline has not happened (yet!) The survival timeline gave me the motivation to make the jump.
Can you describe a typical day in your life as a freelancer?
I wake up and spend the first half an hour of the day keeping on top of admin and my accounts. I tend to work better in the morning and after breakfast I do my deep work – any sort of coding or heavy lifting I aim to do before lunch which I tend to take at about 1ish. As my afternoon tends to be quieter or less focussed I try and put my calls in the afternoon – so any sort of new business quoting, calls with clients or work or learning time I try to do in the afternoon. I’ve recently introduced Friday afternoons as “me” time as well – where I focus on the business, a side project, or myself.
How do you manage your finances as a freelancer, especially during lean periods?
I’m a limited company so I subscribe to the mantra of paying myself little and often. I have built up my finances so I have enough to cover my wage for a year if things are really lean. I have a fixed salary and variable dividends.
What tools or resources have been indispensable in your freelancing career?
A notebook! I like using the Productivity Planner which has note days as well as plans for my day. I use a mixture of Toggl for time tracking, a Pomodoro timer and also Xero for finance management.
How do you maintain a work-life balance, especially when working from home?
Have a hobby where I don’t look at screens! After lockdown I picked up a cricket bat and joined my local village cricket team. Having a few hours where I know I’m doing something else than work and gives my mind something to focus on and a completely different crowd it can be decent. That helps me from not thinking about work and allows my work to be productive.
It also helps having an office room in my house. On Friday evening the door closes and I enjoy the rest of the house…with that said I also have my gaming PC in it so it does open a few times outside of work.
What advice would you give to someone who’s considering freelancing as a career?
“If not now, when?” was what I was told to take the jump, so I’ll pass it on. If you wait for a perfect time you will never get it. When I began it was unusual to be a freelance WordPress developer, but then it became more common. Alas when there was a downturn in the tech industry I was thankful for having a three year head start on people – because there are a lot of talented developers out there freelancing!
Have a bit of a plan, of course, and a few months of your bills covered. But one day is no day.
How do you solicit feedback or testimonials from your clients?
I tend to ask for a Linkedin recommendation and a testimonial a week or two after the project is finished. Usually at that point we’ve ironed out a few launch bugs that tend to exist so the client is usually happy. Dropping them an email asking for a testimonial two weeks later usually helps.
How do you handle dry spells or slow business periods?
Side projects! I’ve got a few that I’ve got on and a side project spreadsheet Trello board. I tend for every side project to have at least one thing I do differently, be it a new programming language or a different way to structure a project. This helps my development as often what I learn for myself I can apply to clients.
What’s the story behind your freelance brand or business name?
My registered business name (Winwar Media) was fine but completely un-Googleable. Google autocorrects it to WinRAR – the file compression tool, so I needed a more brandable name. Which led to Dwi’n Rhys. Which is Welsh for “I am Rhys”…or so I thought.
I launched my business in Frankfurt Airport before jumping on a plane to head home. Landed home and had a message from a Welsh speaking friend of mine saying it was incorrect. I thought it meant “I am Rhys”. But it doesn’t. It means “I am a Rhys” (so something like “Dwi’n ysmugu” means “I am a smoker”). I mean, it still works well – I prefer it to “Rhys ydw i” – but yeah my business name is a mistranslation! It’s a story that I like sharing but has been a bit awkward when I have worked with Welsh language speaking companies.
Have there been any unexpected perks or benefits to your freelance lifestyle?
Having the ability to support things you love. I don’t believe in the phrase “you make your own luck”, but I prefer “you make other people’s luck”. One such case was post COVID I had the opportunity to sponsor my hometown football team Colwyn Bay FC. I’ve got an advertising board up and the mighty seagulls have had a couple of good seasons, meaning my little freelance business gets on national TV in Wales a fair few times.
