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  • Published: 25 May 2021
  • ISBN: 9780753558652
  • Imprint: Virgin Books
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $40.00

You're the Business

How to Build a Successful Career When You Strike Out Alone




A practical guide for the modern freelancer, side-hustler and creative entrepreneur, from Anna Codrea-Rado, activist, journalist, and ‘expert freelancer’.

Are you your own boss? No idea where to turn for help? This is the guide for you.

The 9-5 isn't the only way to make a living. More and more of us are becoming freelancers, side-hustlers or creative entrepreneurs, drawn to flexible working, a better work-life balance and a greater sense of self-worth - all on our own terms. But once you've decided to strike out on your own, the reality dawns on you: where can you turn for help? How do you deal with a knotty client problem alone? What does "payments on account" even mean?

These uncertainties left Anna Codrea-Rado feeling overwhelmed and alone when she first started out. But now, having documented the hard-won lessons and mistakes made along the way in her popular newsletter LANCE, she knows what makes up a successful freelance career. Based on these personal experiences, her candid advice has already helped thousands of people - florists, accountants and journalists alike - develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to thrive. And now you can too.

From finding clients and setting rates, to saving for taxes and dealing with insecurities, You're the Business will help you build a long-lasting career you love. Packed with everyday examples and transformative insights, this book will remind you that although you're now going it alone, you don't have to be alone.

  • Published: 25 May 2021
  • ISBN: 9780753558652
  • Imprint: Virgin Books
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $40.00

About the author

Anna Codrea-Rado

Anna Codrea-Rado is a journalist, podcaster and campaigner.

She writes about business, culture and technology with a particular focus on working life, and has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, Wired, the Paris Review, New York Magazine.

In 2017, when she first went freelance, she started a newsletter about her experience of losing a job and striking out on her own. The Professional Freelancer has since grown into a weekly staple for thousands of readers, who turn to it for its candid advice on how to make freelancing a viable career choice. As a vocal proponent for freelance workers’ rights, Anna launched the #FairPayForFreelancers campaign in 2019. The campaign calls upon the media to pay its freelancers fairer, better and faster.

Alongside the writer Tiffany Philippou, Anna co-hosts the hit weekly podcast Is This Working with guests including the bestselling author Laura Jane Williams; award-winning journalist, Vicky Spratt; and the American writer, Gretchen Rubin.

Anna lives in London.

Praise for You're the Business

Brilliant, incisive and empowering. Essential reading for anyone going it alone

Laura Jane Williams

Anna combines business acumen and a deep understanding of what makes freelancers tick. This makes for a book that is filled with practical advice laid out in a way that means you'll actually follow it. It's an indispensable guide for freelancers everywhere.

Harriet Minter

I've always wondered why they don't teach you how to set up and run a successful business, in school. If they did, this would be the textbook.

David Speed