Creating a Workspace That Supports Your Freelance Business

Closing your first deal as a freelancer is a huge milestone. Take a moment to celebrate that win. But before you dive into the work, it's smart to pause and make sure your work environment is actually set up to help you succeed. This is a crucial step when from home.

Designing Your Ideal Workspace

Think about where and how you do your best work. When you're working from home, you're the boss of your own office layout. You can put your desk near a radiator for warmth, position it to catch a great view, or even set up shop in a backyard shed. What kind of environment has helped you be most productive in the past? What specific elements made it work for you?

It’s just as important to consider what worked. I once did a freelance gig at a company with these sleek glass desks. They looked fantastic, but during the winter, my hands got so cold I could barely type. Since I had to be on-site, I just had to power through it. But you can bet I’ll never buy a glass desk for my own use. That experience, however, taught me the value of a proper, supportive office chair. Knowing I'll be sitting for hours, I see it as my personal responsibility to invest in my own health and safety.

Good lighting is another non-negotiable for me; a quality desk lamp that illuminates my work area without causing glare is essential. When you’re , you get to design everything to your preference. Does a window view inspire you or just distract you? Is the room temperature comfortable? Taking the time to think through these details pays off in the long run.

Equipping Your Desk for Success

No matter your field, a desk is a central tool in . Once you've found the perfect spot, it’s time to equip it. Your computer is the main event—your workhorse. You need a machine you can count on, so make sure it's reliable and powerful enough for your tasks. The last thing you want is your tech failing you on your first project.

One of the best moves I ever made was converting my laptop into a desktop setup at home. I just bought a large monitor, an external keyboard, and a mouse. Now, I can plug in my laptop and get a comfortable, large-screen experience. When I have a meeting, I just unplug the laptop and go, with all my files right there with me. A pro tip I learned the hard way: always have two power cables. Keep one at your desk and one permanently in your bag. Trust me, you don’t want to be about to start a presentation when your battery dies, or get home on a Friday with a weekend of work to do only to realize your charger is back at a client's office.

You'll also need the right software and a solid backup plan. Whether you choose an external hard drive or a cloud storage solution, you need a way to recover your work if your machine dies—and eventually, it will. I lean toward cloud storage because it offers instant, automatic backups.

Beyond the tech, I always keep pens and a good notebook handy for to-do lists and call notes. My phone is my other lifeline, keeping me connected to clients and projects. It needs to be reliable, with good battery life and access to email and my files. It’s what allows me to juggle my and family life, like doing the school run a few times a week without clients ever knowing I stepped away from my desk.

Navigating the World of Remote Work

Technology has completely changed the game, making remote work more common than ever. It allows you to be fully connected with a team whether you're across town or on another continent. But this way of working comes with its own set of challenges, which generally fall into two categories:

1. How you maintain a strong connection with your clients.
2. How you take care of your own well-being.

Staying Connected with Clients

Building and maintaining client trust is all about communication. They need to feel confident that you’re getting the job done. The amount of communication needed can vary wildly. On a strategy project that involves a lot of independent research, I might only check in with the client for monthly progress updates. But if I’m producing a live event, I’m often in daily contact.

When I’m working from home, I find myself sending more quick emails to ask questions that I’d normally resolve by just walking over to someone’s desk in an office. I make sure to keep clients in the loop with regular updates and scheduled check-in calls to go over details. They have to trust that I’ll deliver high-quality work without direct supervision. Years ago, “working from home” was often a joke that meant someone was slacking off. Trust can still be a hurdle, especially with clients new to remote collaboration. For these clients, I make an extra effort with frequent communication. Once you earn their trust, they often become your most loyal customers.

Staying Happy and Healthy

Those long-term strategy projects I mentioned are a different beast entirely. They can be incredibly isolating. After an initial briefing, I’m often left to my own devices for weeks, conducting research and then compiling a report. The constant chatter of production work is gone, and it’s easy to get distracted when I hit a wall.

During these times, I often turn to a co-working space for part of the week. Being around other people who are also focused and busy is incredibly motivating. It breaks the isolation, offering casual conversations over coffee that help me feel connected. It’s a simple change of scenery that can dramatically boost my focus and productivity. Before I discovered co-working, there were days I’d drop my kids at school, work alone all day without speaking to another adult, and then head back for pickup. It was lonely. Co-working makes me feel like I’m part of a larger professional world again.

If a co-working space isn't your thing, even just taking your laptop to a coffee shop can help you feel more connected. The key to a sustainable is figuring out what works for you and being willing to adapt as your needs change. The beauty of this career path is the freedom to make those changes whenever something isn’t working for you. You just have to be self-aware enough to recognize when it’s time for a switch.