working as a freelancer advice

[Palulu]

Hello,

The end of the project where I am working at the moment is close to an end and I have decided that enough is enough.
I have been working in a male environment for the last 20 years. The boasting, the lack of humbleness, the aggressive competition, cliques, gossips, politics, bullying...no career progression for those who do not show those traits. The complete disrespect for women.
I cannot take anymore of it.

Can anybody advise on how to become a freelancer?. Having worked as an employee for large companies all my life, I have no idea where to start. I have some savings and my husband works at the moment, so money should not be an issue.

Thank you for you help.

What do you do - what skills would you be offering and is there a market for freelancers in that industry?

It is actually very easy to become a freelancer, all I did was ask around friends and acquaintances to see if they knew anyone who needed their business accounts doing. That was a few years ago now, so you could probably make more use of social media than I did.

Carefully check your contract with your current employer though - some have clauses in about approaching clients etc after you have left.

You can register as self-employed on the HMRC website. There is also loads of info on there about how to do your books and file your tax return.

I started as a freelancer and then went staff. I did a lot of contacting people with my CV, LinkedIn, my own website, industry events with my business card etc. Some organizations advertised short-contracts. Networking with other freelancers was invaluable as those who have a lot of work may be in a position to recommend someone for contracts they can't take on. Joining professional bodies which may have directories can be useful.

Thank you for your replies.
It is a kind of technical role, I work with construction software. Do you think Linkedin could be a good starting point?
I know the following does not apply to many freelancers, but for those who use an expensive software to work, does the client provide with the software license? This is one of my concerns (apart from how to get clients).

Our workplace uses expensive software but the freelancers who work for us have to pay for their own licences, I'm afraid. If they aren't prepared/able to pay for it, we can't hire them sadly. This might not apply to all workplaces.