“The reality of freelancing in 2021 is that we all wear so many hats,” says Anna Codrea-Rado, a journalist, podcaster, campaigner and author of the upcoming guide for freelancers You’re The Business. Anna, 33, has been a Starling business customer since 2019.
“It’s really important to figure out your purpose.” For Anna, it’s always been about fighting for freelancers’ rights and telling their stories, a purpose she distilled when rebranding her newsletter, Lance. “I really believe in the power of journalism - it’s an important function of our democracy and society and a powerful way to bring about change for the freelance community.”
In Lance, Anna brings together the various threads of her work in a single publication and community. Anna wears many hats, but each exists for one clear purpose: championing the self-employed.
The journalist: Lance
Lance includes advice for the self-employed, as well as opinion pieces from other journalists and investigations into freelance injustices, for example on late payments.
“The pandemic is showing us just how vulnerable self-employed people are. In so many ways, freelancers and members of the gig economy have been let down by governments, institutions and businesses. And these struggles aren’t getting the airtime they deserve,” she says. “The newsletter is a place to champion self-employment and talk about the realities of what it’s like to work for yourself.”
Anna’s investigative journalism is backed up by advice from a media lawyer and builds on her experience as a reporter. Before going freelance unexpectedly, she spent 10 years working for major newspapers and publications.
The podcaster: Is this working?
When Anna started Lance in 2017, her subscribers were mainly fellow writers. Now, her audience includes self-employed people across many industries. Growth has been aided by her podcast, Is this working?, which she co-hosts with freelance writer Tiffany Philippou.