Why the ‘F’ word is giving freelance a bad name

Bryony Simpson
Nov 5 · 6 min read

‘Freelance’. A catch-all word to describe pretty much anyone who works for themselves selling their skills to companies on a flexible basis. From kids’ swimming teachers to Uber drivers to user experience designers. Technically they can all be freelance. And, as this group of workers has grown to represent 14% of the entire UK workforce[1]‘freelance’ is a word that is fast becoming embedded in our language and culture.

But the more frequently it’s used and the broader the term becomes, the more vague it’s meaning is. We’ve been grappling with our own terminology. We started out referring to everyone in the Engineers for Pioneers network as ‘specialists’. And, in some ways, it was a great way to capture the focused depth of skill that many in our network have. But not all are specialists. Some are proudly generalist — great at helping businesses navigate, say, the entire marketing minefield. The ‘s’ word didn’t go far enough. So we reverted to ‘freelance’. At least that was something everyone understood, right? Wrong.

I posted a question on LinkedIn the other day — what does the word ‘freelance’ mean to you? And I was snowballed with comments from all sides. It attracted an incredible amount of debate — proof that, as an idea, it is becoming so open that people are bringing their own interpretations to the table, based on their own experiences.

Not surprisingly, to those freelancing it was the most clear. It means a lot more f-words: freedom, flexibility, financial benefit. But conversely, for businesses, unpicking their view on the benefits that this group of people can bring to them becames a little more sticky. We undercovered some preconceptions that, rightly or wrongly, seem to be giving the idea of scalable support a bad name.

“They’re hard to manage”

Co-ordinating projects with teams of freelancers can be seen as a challenge: you’re working with people who don’t know the business, they take time to get up to speed and they’re not always on hand to get things done when you need them to. And then there’s the risk they’ll walk away from the business with sensitive information. Why would you bother?

Now let’s not forget, the upside of working with people who team up with lots of different companies for a living is that they are, by their nature, self starters. Any freelancer worth her or his salt will be self motivated — taking the initiative to get to know you, the task and the team before you’ve even thought about any kind of ‘on-boarding’. They may not always be there at their desk, but if your business has urgent needs to warrant someone being 100% responsive, then maybe it makes sense to get them in for 5 days a week for a set period of time. But also, don’t forget, the smaller you are as a business, the more likely it is that someone would be able to fit your needs in around their other commitments, still responding to you in good time when you need them to. And as for walking off with sensitive information, that’s a no brainer. Why would someone who is building their reputation on happy clients, want to rip you off? You’ve just got to trust your team. Regardless of how and when they work for you.

“They’re expensive”

If you’re employing a freelancer like an employee five days a week for a year then, sure, it’s not the most economical way of creating a team (and, for the record, HMRC doesn’t like it either) But if you’re small and growing, then bringing someone experienced on board for a few days a week or a small team for a short period of time might be just what you need at those points of gear change. For when you need more support but can’t yet justify a full time hire or stretch to the cost of an agency. It’s the most risk free, economically viable way of getting access to good people at the point you need them most. You maintain control and flexibility, only paying for what you get, without having to factor in down-time or worrying about what happens if it doesn’t work out.

But let’s do the maths, say you could really do with the support of a Head of Marketing. But, for the stage you’re at, you only really need them to help set the strategy and guide your junior team for a 2–3 days a week. To take someone on full time, you’re looking at an average salary of £52,500 in London. Add on National Insurance, Workplace pension contributions and factor in the days lost to statutory holiday and bank holidays and you’re effectively paying £5,450 per month. Take a freelancer at an average of £475 per day for 10 days spread across the month and you’re spending just £4750 (minus all the admin) for as long or short a time as you need them.

So, let’s think about it differently. It’s not an expensive solution, it’s a scalable solution. Plug in talent, when you need it, that can grow with your business.

“They don’t fit into our culture”

Why not? When we bring on temporary support, I like to think of it like extending our work family. I’m always committed to finding someone who believes in what we’re building as whole-heartedly as we do. I don’t think you should see temporary support as just a resource to get things done, but rather like a cousin you don’t see all the time, but you still have a bond with and who shares a bit of your DNA. Why wouldn’t you consider someone on a temporary basis the same way as someone who was permanent? Interview them, ask them the same questions that you would for a full time member of the team, get to know them as people. It may take a bit more time upfront, but it pays its way. They’ll be more aligned with your business, they’ll get up to speed more quickly and, if they believe in what you’re building as much as you do, then they’re more likely to go that extra mile. Find the person who fits and you won’t just find a great resource, you’ll be extending your family.

“They don’t have business sense”

A common grumble is that freelancers are great at what they do, but you can’t rely on them to think beyond their role and what is needed for the business. Be that thinking about the commercials or dealing with clients or suppliers. But consider this, freelancers are business owners. And to be a great freelancer you must be skilled at running your own ship — nurturing new clients, keeping your accounts tight, knowing what to charge. So, perhaps stop looking for technicians and start looking for entrepreneurs. And you’re more likely to find people who will treat your business as they would do their own.

Freelance is a term that was invented simply to describe a way of working. To be precise coined by Sir Walter Scott in the 1800s in his book Ivanhoe,a ‘free-lance’ was a medieval mercenary warrior whose lance was not sworn to any lord’s services. Who’d have thought it? Either way, what it certainly doesn’t do is help us understand what kind of people do that work and what we can expect from them. It’s just too open and leaves the potential to be filled with all kinds of meaning based on bad experiences with people or set ups that fundamentally weren’t right for your business.

So whilst this piece may be a defence of the idea of ‘freelance’ I concede that, as a word, it doesn’t quite do the job.

We’re off to find a new term. I suggest you do too.


Bryony is the founder and CEO of Engineers for Pioneers a new platform supporting growing young companies by giving them better access to some of the UK’s top freelance talent at the point and price they need it most.


[1]Exploring the risk of self employment in the modern economy, IPSE

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Bryony Simpson

Written by

Founder and CEO of Engineers for Pioneers. Making talented people more accessible to ambitious young businesses.

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