Freelance Heroes Day is on May 16th each year and is a day when freelancers around the UK come together as a community to celebrate UK Freelancers and the Freelance Industry.
The UK Freelance industry is booming, with skilled professionals concluding that workplaces and employed conditions aren’t giving them the flexibility or work life balance that they desire, or the opportunities to best use their skill set
A rise in freelancing has also been driven by demand. The economic benefit of hiring freelancers is prompting more and more companies to do just that. Freelancers aren’t replacing employed teams of people, but rather adding value to business strategies, with their honed skills. A freelance PPC consultant for example, might be hired to work within an existing marketing team. The marketing team would place huge value in this skill set and it will help drive business growth; but the company is paying only for the skills of the freelancer without all the extras that a member of staff would otherwise require.
So why does #FreelanceHeroesDay matter?
Freelance Heroes Day is an annual celebration of our 24/7, 6.5k strong, freelance community that has grown dramatically over the last three years and is a valuable resource to many freelancers in the UK.
Our supportive and encouraging community gives voice to freelancers; not only to help drive the online conversation about the industry and showcase our awesome Freelance Heroes, but to offer support and encouragement via our closed ‘freelancers only’ group. Our closed group is a safe space for freelancers to discuss their concerns and struggles with the people who can empathise in the most genuine manner and helps to prevent that overwhelming sense of isolation that freelancers and the self-employed can so easily feel.
Freelance Heroes Day gives us the opportunity to come together as one and take over the conversation online; to highlight the freelance industry, our community and individually, our Freelance Heroes. It also offers a valuable learning and networking opportunity with a conference held in Wolverhampton each year where a group of speakers will enlighten delegates on subjects that have been chosen by them, a forum of experts will host an open Q&A session and relationships amongst the Freelance Heroes community are further cemented as they meet outside of their ‘online’ world.
Why May 16th?
Freelance Heroes began as a Facebook group on May 16th 2016. Simples!
Here is how to get involved
The theme for #FreelanceHeroesDay this year is ‘Grow Your Freelance Business’. It is not too late to get your ticket to the live event, which is supported by FreeAgent and Dinghy Insurance for Freelancers. If you would like to hear from our 9 amazing speakers on topics such as goal setting, work life balance, finding clients, creating content with purpose, the value of community and how to grow your online presence, you can get your ticket here (HINT: Some of the speakers have got 40% off discount codes so get in touch with them if you can).
The online campaign is driven by YOU. We need you! As the saying goes:
“Individually we are one drop. Together we are an ocean”
So here are three things you can do, on Thursday 16th May, to be an active part of the conversation!:
1) Freelance Heroes Assemble – Roll call!:
Tweet and/or share on Facebook/Instagram an image of yourself holding the phrase “#FreelanceHeroes Assemble!” (Just like below). Tell us in the post who you are, what you do and how you are celebrating #FreelanceHeroesDay. DON’T FORGET to mention @FHChat on Twitter so we can re-tweet you and use the following # tags:
Share your picture to Facebook. If you use the # tags and tag our profiles, we will share/re-post it.
2) Shout outs!:
Give a shout out to all or any of the #FreelanceHeroes who have helped you to grow either personally, or in business, over the last 12 months. DON’T FORGET to mention @FHChat so we can re-tweet you and use the # tags! Again, tag our Facebook and Instagram profiles if you share there, too.
3) Make a pledge:
Produce a piece of content (blog, video, social post, etc) that tells us what being a Freelance Hero means to you and what you pledge to do over the next 12 months to make a difference to the growth of your business, to help someone else or to contribute to the community.
AGAIN! Tag our profiles and use the # tags where ever you share this, so that we can share it from our profiles, too.
Want to become an amabassador for #FreelanceHeroesDay?
We are searching for a group of ambassadors who will not only do the three things above, but will also join forces with Freelance Heroes HQ to help share content, drive the conversation and generally be a pro-active part of the day.
If you would like to be an ambassador, please tell us how to get in touch with you here and click the box!