I didn’t plan to go freelance. Not like this, anyway.
After 12 years working in web development across agencies, startups, and in-house roles in Glasgow, I recently found myself out of a full-time job and facing a decision: do I start sending CVs out and slot back into employment, or do I finally take the leap and go out on my own properly?
I chose freelance. And I want to write honestly about what that’s actually been like,the good bits, the scary bits, and everything in between because when I was looking for this kind of post before making the decision, I couldn’t find many that felt real.
A Bit of Background
I’m William Dowling, a web designer and developer based in Glasgow. I’ve been building websites since the mid 2000s, starting with teaching myself HTML and CSS as a teenager and eventually turning that into a career.
Over the years I’ve worked at several agencies across Scotland, picked up a W3 Award for design and development along the way, and most recently spent several years as a web developer for a London-based company. I also did bits of freelance work on the side throughout. Building sites for local businesses, grassroots football clubs, and anyone else who came my way through word of mouth.
So freelancing wasn’t completely new to me. But doing it full time, as my only source of income, with a fiancee and two boys depending on me? That’s a different thing entirely.
The First Thing I Did Was Sort My Own House Out
Before I did anything else, before I told anyone I was available, before I updated LinkedIn, before I reached out to a single potential client…I rebuilt my own website from scratch.
This felt important. If I’m going to approach businesses and ask them to trust me with their online presence, my own website needs to be something I’m genuinely proud of. It’s the first thing anyone will look at, and it needs to do its job properly.
I built a custom WordPress theme from scratch, got my portfolio in order, wrote proper case studies for my recent projects, and spent time on the SEO basics that I’d honestly been neglecting on previous versions of the site. It took longer than I expected but it always does when it’s your own work and I’m glad I did it before anything else.
If you’re thinking about going freelance, sort your own shop window first. It pays off.
The Scary Part: No Salary at the End of the Month
I’m not going to pretend this isn’t daunting. After 12 years of knowing exactly what was hitting my bank account on the last Friday of the month, suddenly having no guaranteed income is a significant mental adjustment.
The honest advice I’d give anyone in this position: give yourself a financial runway before you start. Having two or three months of living costs in savings takes a huge amount of pressure off the early weeks and lets you be more considered about the work you take on rather than panicking and accepting anything at any price.
I’d also say: don’t undercharge just because you’re nervous. Twelve years of experience has a value. The temptation when you’re just starting out is to price low to win work, but it attracts the wrong kind of clients and sets a baseline that’s very hard to move away from later.
The Good Part: I’d Forgotten How Much I Love This Work
Something unexpected happened in the first few weeks of freelancing full time: I remembered why I got into this in the first place.
When you’re employed, especially at a larger company, you can find yourself quite far removed from the thing you actually enjoy. There are meetings about meetings, processes to follow, tickets to close, and a lot of time spent on work that doesn’t feel particularly meaningful.
Freelancing strips all of that back. It’s just me, the client, and the work. I have a proper conversation with someone about their business, understand what they need, design something, build it, and watch them get genuinely excited when it goes live. That direct line between effort and outcome is something I’d missed more than I realised.
Working with Coatbridge City FC recently was a good example of this. Seeing a club go from a Facebook page to a proper website that’s already generating newsletter subscribers, player enquiries, and sponsorship interest all within weeks of launch is genuinely satisfying in a way that closing a ticket never was.
What I’ve Learned About Getting Clients
The best clients I’ve had, both in freelance work alongside employment and now full time have almost always come through people I already know. Former colleagues, past clients, people who’ve seen my work and passed my name on.
When I went full time freelance, the first thing I did was message people in my network not with a hard pitch, just a simple note letting them know I was available and asking if they knew anyone who might need a website. Within the first week I had two conversations that turned into real projects.
The lesson: your network is your most valuable asset when you start freelancing, especially in the early months before your website starts generating organic enquiries. Use it.
Beyond that, I’ve been focused on building a local presence in Glasgow, getting my Google Business Profile set up, writing content that local businesses might actually search for, and making sure my website is optimised for the searches that matter. It takes time to see results from SEO, but it’s worth doing from day one.
The Work-Life Reality
One thing people don’t tell you enough about freelancing: the work doesn’t stop when the laptop closes.
When you’re employed, you can switch off at 5pm. When you’re freelancing, there’s always something you could be doing, a proposal to write, a blog post to publish, a client email to respond to, an invoice to chase. Setting boundaries around your working hours is something you have to be intentional about, especially when your home is also your office.
I’m fortunate that I’ve got a great support network at home. My fiancee Danielle has been brilliant about it, and even my boys with a 10 year old who just wants to play football in the back garden, have been a good reminder that life exists outside the screen.
Getting outside, staying active, and maintaining some kind of routine has made a real difference to how I feel on a day-to-day basis. Freelancing can be isolating if you let it even though working from home for 4 and a half years felt like the walls were closing in at times.
Would I Recommend It?
Yes but with honest caveats.
Going freelance is brilliant if you have real, marketable skills, a network you can activate, and some financial buffer to give yourself time to build momentum. It’s hard if you’re starting from scratch with no contacts, no portfolio, and no savings to fall back on.
After 12 years in the industry I had all three, which put me in a much stronger position than someone just starting out. The experience, the award on the CV, the case studies, they all matter when you’re asking someone to trust you with their business.
The early weeks were unsettling. But several weeks in, I’m more energised about my work than I’ve been in years. I’m building things I’m proud of, working with clients I actually enjoy, and slowly but surely building something that’s mine.
That feels worth it.
Thinking About Getting a Website Built?
If you’re a small business owner in Glasgow or Scotland and you need a website or you’re not happy with the one you’ve got I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch at hi@williamdowling.dev and let’s have a chat. No jargon, no hard sell, just an honest conversation about what you need and what it would cost.
