An insider's secrets to freelance success in Prague and the Czech Republic

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For example, IPSE’s survey Exploring the UK Freelance Workforce in 2016 states that a full 43% of British freelancers are situated in southeastern England and half of these live in Greater London. While Prague isn’t London, in terms of freelancing, it’s not that far behind. There are also a great number of foreign freelancers in Prague, working freelance for the international market and benefiting from the lower cost of living. A freelancing expat can live and work here for years without ever dealing with Czech clients. There is also a growing number of international companies opening up offices and divisions in the Czech Republic.

In general, speaking Czech is essential only in approaching the general public with your services. In business, speaking English is standard, just as it is anywhere else in Europe. Yet if you only speak English, this may narrow your possibilities and options slightly when dealing with some Czech companies, where speaking English might be a challenge. Knowledge of French, Russian, Spanish or other world languages is pretty uneven among the Czech population, so I wouldn’t rely exclusively on these to do business in general, though for a specialist or a single-client contractor this may prove to be just fine.

Let me turn this question around by saying that good freelance jobs are not ones that are simply “found”. Successful freelancers are much more active than that! They proactively create job opportunities for themselves as well as for others — by building relationships, by presenting their work online and offline, by approaching prospects, and by being active in freelance, professional and coworking communities. According to surveys, social bonds, weak and strong, online and offline, are by far the most important source of business opportunities for freelancers.

This is precisely why we as freelancers need to approach our marketing differently than a company or a startup. It is also very easy for a freelancer to be fully loaded with low-paid work because an individual has a limited production capacity. That’s why freelancers usually have to prioritize the quality of gigs over their quantity. The best freelancers are experienced businesspersons who take on fewer, but higher-quality jobs, after establishing themselves through smart personal marketing and gradually building their good name.

As I’ve said, for freelancers, the good work is where good people are — both your colleagues and clients, as well as prospects. Sure, it may take a while to stumble upon interesting opportunities, but for a freelancer one or two of them is often enough to launch a promising freelance career, even if it is initially only through gigs and side jobs. Besides the tips I have already mentioned, I would suggest having a solid online presence, which means having at least a single-page web presentation plus a trustworthy social media presence.

These will definitely help you approach the types of professionals you want to meet or partner with in the future. Consider also joining one of the major professional communities for your field (here, you can hire myTimi.cz to do the research for you) as well as groups dedicated to supporting not only freelancers but entrepreneurs in general. There are also support platforms for businesswomen like Holky z marketingu or Podnikavá žena.

Let me just amend this by noting, that the top ranks are similar in all advanced freelance economies and that few Czech freelancers mention complicated administration, high taxes, non-payers, or corruption as the dominant problems in their business. These problems exist, but freelancing presents a bit more of a personal challenge, with the major pros and cons being closely tied to one’s personality, and psychological as well as an emotional approach to work and business.

The Freelance Way is published by Melvil. To read an excerpt click here.

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