Beyond Redundancy – the self-employment option

Last Updated on 21 July 2026

22 years ago I moved from employment to self-employment. Below are 10 things I wish I’d been told.

When my post was closed I decided to try working for myself. It was daunting, confusing, disconcerting and quite the emotional rollercoaster.

I had been a BBC employee for more than 20 years.  Going through a redundancy process made me question not just what I was going to do, but who I was.

But it was also a much more creative process than I’d expected.

I decided to set up a training business. Amongst other things I help creative people to develop their freelance business skills.

Here are some things I include in my training, and that I wish I could tell my younger self.

1. It’s the job that’s closed, not you. Organisations are always re-structuring.  Don’t take it personally.  You can take everything you’ve learnt with you, including your values.
2. Take people with you. If you’ve made friends at work, they can still be your friends! You will probably have to organise the meet-ups, but your friends will want to keep in touch. Hey – your friends quite like you. Who knew?
3. Don’t define yourself through a job title. Think of yourself as a bundle of skills that can be used in a variety of ways.  If you’ve lost sight of all your skills ask a trusted friend or colleague to help you make a list, and don’t forget the transferable people skills too.
4. Work out how to respond to the question ‘what do you do’. Always have an active, optimistic and forward-looking response. I went with ‘I’m giving myself some time off to recharge my batteries’ and ‘I’m setting up a new training business’.  Whatever you do, do NOT just reply ‘I used to work at the BBC/ITV/…’
5. People are lovely. I hadn’t realised that there’s a community of freelancers and a whole ecosystem of self-employed people. They swap information. They support each other. They sometimes become friends. Selfish people are shunned. The real world is nothing like the The Apprentice.
6. ‘Freelance’ doesn’t exist. Or rather, the word ‘freelance’ isn’t helpful when it comes to money and tax. You’re either paid as PAYE or as a sole trader or running your own company.  ‘Freelance’ just means job-hopping and can apply to all of these. They are all taxed differently.
7. There’s no such thing as ‘unemployed’ when you’re freelancing. Being freelance is like running a one-person business. At any given time you’re either 1) earning, 2) running your business (e.g. looking for work) or 3) taking time off from your business altogether (hobbies, weekends, sleeping, etc.).  You get to decide the pattern which works best for you.
8. Finances are much easier if you look them in the eye and grab the mixed metaphor by the horns. Employed people are used to a routine with their income. There are other ways to organise income and outgoings. Starting with your lifestyle costs and then working out how hard you need to work can be liberating.
9. It can take a while to get your first income when setting up on your own. If you work in one month and invoice the next month money will arrive a month after that. That’s three months between working and getting the money. Plan for this.
10. Be prepared for the emotional roller coaster. It’s surprisingly disconcerting to have your routine and points of reference removed. Allow yourself to feel the grief. You might even feel bereaved or betrayed by your former employer.  I am not an angry person but I felt extreme anger at time.  It will pass, but talk to other people about it.  You are not alone. (See point 5 above.)

A final note: I have a support page for freelancers on my website: https://davidthomasmedia.com/resource-hub/support-for-freelancers-and-creative-people/.

Probably the most important link for people working in film or TV is the Film and TV Charity: https://filmtvcharity.org.uk.

They support people going through the kind of process I experienced.  It wasn’t around 22 years ago. We should be very thankful that it is today.

Posted on 10 July 2026