??Five Book Recommendations for Creative Freelancers Everywhere??

Do y’all still read books? I love nothing more than to pick up a tome of someone else’s ideas and stories, absorbing their wisdom, and expanding my own horizons.

Here’s a list of FIVE BOOKS which I heartily recommend any new (or seasoned) creative freelancer read to shape up their business and make the most of their big, beautiful, creative brain.

Each of these books I would recommend picking up and absorbing at a meaningful pace; the ideas might not feel immediately applicable to you but, with some time to dwell and brew thoughts in your subconscious, you’re going to come away with something exciting and new which helps you hit your vision of success.

The Power of Moments - Chip Heath & Dan Heath

One of my all-time favourites, this book has amazing concepts which can be applied to any area of your business. Creating opportunities (the aforementioned ‘moments’) to elevate your clients’ experience or design a new way to think about your business strategies. Let it sink in and the content runs deep.

Creative Confidence - Tom Kelley & David Kelley

A modern classic from the two gents responsible for ‘Design Thinking’. There’s plenty of insight here into how you can apply Design Thinking methods in your day to day, or just use it verbatim in your creative work. Another one that, with some abstract thinking, could change the freelance game for you.

Company of One - Paul Jarvis

PJ knows his stuff. Like, REALLY knows his stuff. This book was instrumental in my first years’ success as a design consultant; plenty of advice on how to run your business well and make the most of what you do as a creative.

Rest - Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Something you will forget to do as a freelancer, fresh on the scene or well-seasoned. This book talks about our need for rest as humans and ways that we can achieve more in our lives, day to day or on a larger scale, by applying ourselves as much to our recuperation and ‘down time’ as we do to our hard graft.

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

This book proved to be a massive turning point for me when I was in senior leadership roles late in my employment tenure. Moving into client services, I found that being equipped with the skills outlined in Kim’s book I could have difficult conversations that happen with clients (because they will) and maintain strong working relationships. It’s also REALLY useful for when you have to find the right words to fire a client (because that’ll probably happen somewhere down the line, too).

Have you read any of these? Maybe you've got others that you might recommend. I'd love to hear about them. Why not shoot me a note and let me know what you'd recommend for creative-industry freelancers running their own businesses.