Why did you decide to become a freelancer?
I was a freelancer early in my career, and did it as a way of getting more experience and building up my portfolio of skills. I then spent a good 15 years in regular work, but in 2023 I was feeling burnt out by working in large institutions and felt I needed a circuit break.
For the first time in my career, I handed in my notice without knowing what I would do next: I had three months to figure it out, but was confident that I could step back into freelancing if I needed to.
In hindsight, I’m so glad that another permanent opportunity didn’t present itself to me – returning to freelancing has given me the space to be more creative, find a better balance and engage more with the sector. It’s also forced me to be clearer about what I want to do, and think more about what I offer – not just in terms of paid work, but also how I can contribute and support others in the sector.
What would you say are the benefits of working in a museum consultancy rather than in a museum?
It’s a great way to work across a range of museums and force yourself out of any pigeon holes you might have been put into or found yourself stuck in. Being a consultant forces me to think about how my skills translate in different settings and gives me opportunities to work with people, organisations and collections I might not otherwise have ever considered. It’s a great way to test the waters in different ponds and see behind the scenes of other organisations.
Being a consultant presents opportunities to be a critical friend to the sector. At times the arm’s-length distance to organisations can feel limiting, but more often than not, I find that it actually offers ways of supporting individuals, challenging institutional assumptions and making deeper connections with others in the sector.
How has the cost of living affected freelancing in the sector?
It definitely has an impact on the costs of running my business, which in turn impacts the type and scale of work I can afford to pitch for. I have to carefully balance what I’m working on so that I have a mix of longer term projects, which are more regular and sustained, to make sure I can afford to take on shorter 5- to 10-day projects that are often exciting but take the same amount of time to pitch and secure.
It feels like a lot of work that may have previously been completed by freelancers is being resourced ‘in-house’ – especially around facilitation. Whatever money organisations have set aside for delivery in previous budgets isn’t stretching as far, which means it feels like there’s less work up for grabs. In some cases however it has presented opportunities to offer support or critical friendship, acting in advisory roles that support in-house teams to explore best practice and reflect on their work.
What skills do you think are most important for freelance or consultancy work?
Flexibility, communication and relationship skills are definitely key. Flexibility is necessary in that though you are your own boss, you’re often working with moving parts you can’t control. You need to be flexible and understanding with your clients, who are often very stretched and under pressure.
Communication because it’s really important to be able to set expectations and communicate boundaries with clients in a meaningful way.
Relationships because a lot of work comes down to relationships and networks – it’s less about how many contacts you have, and more about how many relationships you’ve nurtured, even if those aren’t with people you are in constant contact with.
It’s not necessarily a skill, but I think it also helps to be prepared to face your own demons when it comes to navigating uncertainty and having challenging or uncomfortable conversations, especially if your work is around evaluation, giving feedback or acting in an advisory capacity.
How do you find out about opportunities for freelancing?
All the usual avenues that you’d expect – Arts Jobs, the Museums Association, various mailing lists, etc. LinkedIn is also great – it can be a bit corny and it’s not always very authentic, but I’ve found that like a true social network, the more I use it and engage with it, the more it starts to share things that are relevant to me.
I occasionally hear of things through my networks or I’m recommended for opportunities by others. It usually still involves the normal steps of pitching and applying, but it helps me come across work that I wouldn’t have found out about otherwise, or makes me aware of a network I didn’t know existed.
I try to be honest about when I’m looking for new opportunities or have space to take on new work. It’s sometimes uncomfortable to ‘sell yourself’ or constantly chase work, but there is also a danger of people assuming you are ‘booked and blessed’ if you present yourself as being too busy.
What advice would you give to someone who is not currently working as a freelancer or in a consultancy?
If you’re thinking about becoming a freelancer, take a step back and look at all your skills and experiences. It’s really helpful to think outside of job descriptions and consider the broader skills you have or the insights you’ve gained from the work that you’ve done.
Your experience of, for example, being the only learning and engagement colleague sitting on a marketing project, or your insights into the types of questions visitors ask from working front-of-house, might be the perspective needed to solve a problem or tackle a brief. Your insights and experiences can be just as valuable as your specific knowledge and skills.
What do you wish someone had told you about being a freelancer?
Stay on top of your admin! I’m sure someone did tell me this, but for some reason I didn’t listen. Keeping on top of admin has always been a challenge for me, especially around finances, invoicing, expenses and record-keeping. Moving from being a sole trader to setting up a limited company has helped me with this because I have more in place around accountancy and I’ve set up a business bank account.
Now that I’ve got these things set up, I can’t imagine any other way of doing work – and I can’t understand how I ever survived without a separate business bank account. It’s daunting, but there is lots of great advice out there, and it’s not as hard as you think. Committing to ‘admin time’ with another freelancer, co-working or ‘body doubling’ for boring tasks is a slightly more fun way to tackle them and ensure they get done.
What should museums be doing to support the wellbeing of freelancers?
Great question! I think that museums offer a lot of systems and structures that freelancers could benefit from, and there are lots of ways to make freelancer relationships less transactional in terms of how you share access to the resources you have.
For example, many museums organise training events or have memberships for online conferences or training sessions where there’s no bottom-line impact if they are accessed by more people. Why not invite a freelancer you have an ongoing relationship with to join a training session or share a digital conference pass with them? You don’t have to cover their time to attend, but having the option to access free training is still significantly cheaper than if someone were to sign up on their own.
Think outside the box about what you could offer: in one organisation I worked at, the cost of a one-year membership was only £15 when purchased from internal budgets, so I purchased them from my budget for several freelancers. That way, they could always attend our exhibitions for free and get discounts in our cafe or when buying tickets to other events. It was a great thing to offer them, and it saved me a lot of time coordinating comp tickets on an event-by-event basis for the artists and consultants we worked with.
Finally, go out of your way to offer freelancers feedback and testimonials, and if you can, include some time within their fee to participate in wash-ups or project reflections.
We don’t have annual appraisals or peer feedback systems in place, so please so give freelancers feedback on their work, offer a quote or testimonial, or offer to be a future reference. It’s sometimes awkward to ask, and often better captured in the moment when a piece of work comes to an end, so don’t be afraid to offer positive and constructive feedback unprompted.
You can find Chris on LinkedIn