Going Freelance: Building and Branding Your Own Success
Justin Gignac · Co-founder of Working Not Working
A polished, honest 51-minute pep talk on freelance branding from a top talent-network insider, light on step-by-step execution.
A Pep Talk First, a Curriculum Second
"Going Freelance" is built as a conversation between Justin Gignac and Claire Wasserman of Working Not Working, a curated network for creative talent, and it plays like one: two people trading observations rather than a teacher walking through a system. Across nine short lessons it moves from personal mission statements to side projects to portfolio critique to marketing to networking to money basics. The arc makes sense on paper, but the pacing is uneven. The portfolio and marketing sections run long and specific, while the closing business fundamentals lesson, arguably the part most freelancers actually need, gets compressed into a handful of talking points about savings and accountants.
The strongest material sits in the portfolio lesson. Rather than giving abstract rules, Gignac and Wasserman name real people and explain why their sites work: Jen Mussari's oversized lettering thumbnails match her illustration style, Lotta Nieminen's clean layout mirrors her design sensibility, and a producer's website that closes with a photo of her dad at a sailboat race adds personality that a plain client list never would. The recurring point, that a portfolio's presentation should visually echo the work inside it, is a genuinely useful lens that most beginner portfolio advice skips.
The side-projects lesson is similarly grounded in example rather than platitude. It walks through Lauren Hom's "Daily Dishonesty" lettering project turning into a book deal, and Tim Goodman and Jessica Walsh's "40 Days of Dating" turning a personal experiment into a coffee-table book and ongoing partnership. These are useful case studies for understanding how a side project can compound into a career, even if the course never explains how to structure or schedule one beyond "just start making stuff."
Where the class thins out is anywhere numbers or process are involved. The business fundamentals lesson tells freelancers to keep three months of expenses saved, to follow up on invoices past 45 days, and to hire an accountant for an S-corp or LLC decision, but it never walks through an actual invoice, a rate calculation, or a client contract. Marketing yourself and authentic networking lean on the same "be genuine and helpful" framing repeated across two lessons, which starts to feel padded by the second pass.
As a mindset primer, this works. It reframes freelancing as brand management from day one and gives newcomers permission to think of their portfolio and social presence as deliberate choices rather than afterthoughts. Anyone hoping for a repeatable pricing model, a pitch template, or a step-by-step portfolio build will need to look elsewhere after finishing it. At under an hour, it earns its place as a starting point, not a full toolkit.
The standout
The portfolio teardown of real sites like Jen Mussari's and Lotta Nieminen's shows exactly how presentation choices should mirror the work itself, which is the most actionable segment in the class.
What you will learn
- How to write a personal mission or manifesto that filters which jobs to accept
- What separates a side project from a hobby and how to use it to attract paid work
- The specific elements every strong portfolio site needs, including context, editing down to your best pieces, and no splash pages
- How to keep a consistent personal brand across your name, handle, and social profiles
- A no-pressure approach to networking built around small favors instead of direct asks
- Baseline business fundamentals: three months of savings, chasing late invoices, and hiring an accountant
Best for: Someone early in a creative career weighing the jump to freelance who wants encouragement and a framework, not someone who already has a portfolio and needs tactical execution help.
Skip it if: Freelancers who already understand branding and portfolios and need concrete pricing, contract, or client-acquisition tactics rather than mindset and inspiration.