The Freelancer Life: Meet Matt Batterham
Meet Matt, one of our go-to SEO consultants who we’ve worked with on projects for Click2Build and Fenella Smith.
Matt is an SEO wonder. He’s knowledgeable, has great attention to detail and all of the technical skills you could hope for. What’s more he’s a really nice guy, easy to talk to and he has a way of breakings things down so they’re easy to understand and you can very quickly see the impact his work has on your business - winner!
We talk to Matt about the perks and struggles of freelance life and learn Matt’s top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves.
“For me, collaboration is about challenging your own preconceptions and learning from others, which is something I get a real buzz from - I think this is why I enjoy working with The Doers so much!”
Hello, Welcome!
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for?
Hi! I’m Matt, and I’m a freelance SEO consultant.
I fell into the industry about 12 years ago, entirely by accident. I studied sound engineering and had big aspirations to become a music producer, but after a short time working in the industry, I realised I was much better at marketing music than I was at making it.
That realisation led me to my first agency job and the rest is history. I’ve been specialising in SEO for around 10 years now.
While I call myself an SEO consultant, a lot of my work crosses over into PR, content, and broader digital strategy. Ultimately everything I do centres around making brands more visible online.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
A combination of lots of things that boil down to needing a new challenge and wanting more freedom. There were parts of working in an agency that I enjoyed (the people, the perks, the financial security) but also lots I didn’t, and it got to the point where the bad outweighed the good. I’d felt for a long time that I’d be happier doing my own thing one day, it was just a case of gaining enough experience and waiting for a time that worked for me and my family.
Also, I think a large part of wanting to go freelance stems from the fact that I’m surrounded by entrepreneurial people. A lot of my family and close friends are business owners so self-employment has never felt like a crazy idea. Having these people to talk to and get advice from made the leap easier for me, and a lot less scary.
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home and why?
I started renting a small office space just before the first lockdown but only got to use it a handful of times before handing back the keys. So right now, my desk is at home, in the corner of my living room.
The past few months have made me realise I like being at home, but need physical and mental separation between my work and home life, so I’m in the process of building a home office at the end of my garden. Having a space where I can get my head down without interruptions is going to do wonders for my productivity.
I’ve tried working in coffee shops (a right of passage for every freelancer) but I found it too distracting.
Share your struggles - what do you find hardest about working for yourself and why?
Not having people to bounce ideas off or sense-check work can be tough. There are times when I’ll think I’ve got a great idea, but I’m never quite sure if it’s actually a good idea or just the coffee talking. I’m lucky that my wife also works in marketing so is always happy to offer a second opinion, but I do sometimes miss being able to walk over to a colleague’s desk for a chat.
How have you found ways to combat these parts of working for yourself?
I’ve had to learn to trust my instincts and put more faith in my own ability, which is easier said than done. When I first started out I used to sit on work for ages before sending over to clients because I was too worried about it being *perfect* but now I have a rule that once the work is done, it gets sent the same day. This stops me stewing and means I can concentrate fully on the next task.
I’ve also learnt to lose my ego and ask for help more. As soon as I accepted that it’s OK not to know the answer to every single question it was like a huge weight was lifted. In fact, not knowing the answer to everything and not having the option to refer questions to colleagues has been a good thing as it has forced me to learn new things for myself.
Share your perks - what do you enjoy most about working for yourself and why?
Freedom. I love being able to work to my own schedule and when I’m feeling most productive. I can pick up my kids from school and not feel bad about it, go for a run at any time of day to clear my head without having to tell anyone, or meet a friend for a coffee whenever I want.
Simply being unchained from a desk and not having to ask permission to do things that make me happy and healthy is incredibly liberating. It’s given me an entirely new perspective on work and I don’t think I could ever go back to a 9-5 office job now.
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
Hone your soft skills. Being good at what you do is the easy bit, it’s running a business that’s difficult. Being a brilliant communicator is essential, as are things like good time management, project planning, and budgeting.
Take your finances seriously. If you’re able to save up a bit of a buffer to get you through the first few months it’ll help you sleep at night. Also, get yourself a separate business bank account (I recommend Starling, the app makes my life so much easier). Pay yourself at the end of each month like you would a salary and put money aside for tax as soon as an invoice gets paid.
Plan to take time off and stick to it or you’ll find yourself working way too much.
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration etc. and why?
Leapers is a constant source of inspiration for me. Leapers exists primarily to support the mental health of the self-employed but it’s equally valuable as a source of practical advice for freelancers - the Slack channel is always open on my desktop and is the first place I head to if I have a work-related question.
The Being Freelance podcast was a big source of inspiration for me in the early stages of freelancing. I spent many nights lying awake listening to stories of people in similar positions to me, which gave me a lot of confidence to take the leap.
What role does collaboration play for you?
Whether I’m working with an agency, as part of an in-house team, or alongside other freelancers, collaboration is at the core of everything I do. For me, collaboration is about challenging your own preconceptions and learning from others, which is something I get a real buzz from - I think this is why I enjoy working with The Doers so much!
What do you love to do? What makes you tick and what do you simply love doing?
Work-wise, I love it when a plan comes together. 10 years working in SEO and I still get a kick when the work I do yields results. If my clients are happy, then I’m happy.
Outside of work my biggest passion in life is music so I spend a lot of my free time either listening to music or expanding my ever-growing Bandcamp library. I’ve got really into running this year too. Having more flexibility to run during the day when it’s light and I’m not tired after work has made running feel like less of a chore and more of a choice - I hit my first 100k month in December which I would never have dreamt of doing a year ago.
“Being freelance gives me the opportunity to collaborate with so many brilliant people, and that’s what I enjoy most. ”
What are you really good at? What’s your marketing superpower?
I don’t overcomplicate things, I find simple solutions to complex problems, and I think about the big picture. People hire me for my SEO experience but they continue working with me because I add value to their business, beyond making their website more visible in Google search results.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
I’m under NDA for most of them :)
To be honest, it’s not typically the projects themselves that excite me, but the teams I get to work with. Being freelance gives me the opportunity to collaborate with so many brilliant people, and that’s what I enjoy most.
What were you doing this time last year? What have you learnt or how have you changed since then?
This time last year I’d just started freelancing. The year we’ve had since then has been a massive learning curve for all manner of reasons, but it’s helped me realise what’s important to me both personally and professionally. I’m going into 2021 with a clearer idea of what I want out of life and where I want to take my business.
Anything else you want to share with us or want us to include?
Taking the leap into freelancing was one of the best decisions I have ever made, but I was ready for it. The skills I learned in a senior agency role - things like people management, pitching for work, writing proposals etc. - meant I was able to hit the ground running. While these things can be learned along the way, I think it’s important to acknowledge that there’s a lot more to freelancing than just doing your day job.
Want to find out more about Matt? Visit his website bounddigital.co.uk or connect on LinkedIn @mattjbatterham.