Seeking Legal and Ginancial Advice

There are a number of useful websites that provide information and support for self employed people. These sites are very useful to help understand your rights and responsibilities in relation to tax, insurance and other legal requirements.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/categories/self-employment
https://www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5890

https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader/register

While these sights are useful for general information about being self employed they do not deal with freelance illustration specific issues such as contracts and pricing. The Association of Illustrators provides detailed information on all aspects of professional practice including contacts, pricing and finance. They conduct pricing surveys that look at all categories of illustration. You have to be a member of the association of illustrators to make use of their resources but they provide a high level of support including professional contact lists.

The association of illustrators acts as a professional network similar to our own but more organised and on a much larger scale. We can make use of our own network in a similar way, sharing information on clients, advice about pricing and support.