I’m a straight-talking plain-English megafan. You won’t get fluff or jargon here.

Rubber Ring Author Ruth Sedar

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At the beginning of your freelancing career, you find yourself saying “yes” to just about any client and opportunity that comes your way, because let’s be realistic, you have bills to pay. However, further down the line in your freelancing career, when you aren’t desperate for work and you have your regular clients in place, you are often still left guilt-tripped into doing more work than you can handle due to not being able to say the dreaded word; “no”. 

Well, I’m here to tell you its ok to say no from time to time, under one condition.

If it doesn’t help you reach your end goal – you can say no. 

It could be that a golden opportunity that you’re presented with, and who am I to tell you that you should turn that down?! Instead, remember what your focus is, will saying ‘yes’ now get you a step closer to where you want to be in 5 years? If so, brilliant! If not, don’t be afraid to say no.

You don’t have to accept every project that comes your way.

You have enough on your plate already without someone asking for you to do extra work that’s out of scope. If excepting to do that extra bit of work is going to mean that you have to work late every night of the week for little to no reward, then just say no (it sounds scarier than it is – and you’ll feel super empowered!).

There is a difference between having a choice in what work you take on and being responsible. You may have people at home that are dependable on your income so being picky about who you work with isn’t always an option especially if you have had a slow month.

Being responsible means you may have to work with a client you don’t particularly like and do work that you aren’t over the moon about but at the end of the day if you aren’t in a strong financial situation it would be irresponsible to say no, wouldn’t it? 

Whereas having a choice is for those freelancers who have the financial freedom to pick and choose, it may seem counterintuitive to decline a project but when times aren’t desperate, there is no harm in being picky about who gets your time and who doesn’t.

There is nothing worse than over-promising and underdelivering a project for a client so before you say “yes” ask yourself:

If you can say yes to any of these then you don’t have time to say yes to that extra work you have been offered, it can wait till a later date.

The pay doesn’t meet your expectations 

Not everything is about money but, as a freelancer, we need to pay the bills and we can’t just be negotiating a lower day rate for any old client! Stick to your guns and try not to waver too far below your fixed day rate, and if someone only offers less, you know you aren’t the best fit for each other.

There’s nothing worse than working on something that isn’t interesting to you. It’ll feel like it drags on forever, and you won’t produce your best. We all have our certain interests and our strengths when it comes to client work, although there will be times where we have to do work that we aren’t thrilled about. If you can afford to be picky about what you choose to work on, then no-one is stopping you from saying no.

Be appreciative that they thought of you for their project 

Give a brief reason as to why you said no 

“I can’t give you an answer right now, could u check back with me later?”

“No sorry, I can’t do that but I can do this…”

“I appreciate you thinking of me for this project however I have a lot on my plate right now, sorry”

“I’m afraid I can’t commit to that right now, but I can recommend someone who might be able to…”

“This sounds great, thank you for thinking of me, however, I could only start this project in the new year”

Being a freelancer can be hard but sometimes learning to say no can be even harder and we understand that so hopefully now you can feel confident to say no to work that simply isn’t doable for you.

Learning when to say no as a freelancer

As working from home is particularly prevalent in a Covid-19 world, many of our customers have been asking us about home-working and how that may affect their insurances. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers: –

I have home contents insurance, does that cover my work equipment too?

The short answer is probably not, although there are a few things to consider here. Firstly, who owns and who paid for the equipment? If you purchased the equipment personally then your home insurance may provide some cover. However, it is important to check as sometimes equipment used for business purposes is excluded. In most cases, your business equipment will have been a business expense and it is therefore very unlikely that your home insurance will cover it, even if that is where you work from. You should therefore ensure that your business insurance includes cover for your equipment. When choosing a policy, you need to consider where you may take your equipment and whether that policy will cover you. Here at ipro, our business equipment section provides worldwide cover, so you can even take it on holiday with you!

Do I need to tell my home insurer I am working from home?

It depends what you are doing. Most home insurance policies allow ‘clerical work’ to be undertaken at home. This essentially means that any computer-based work will be acceptable, however, you should check with your individual home insurer to ensure that you are meeting any requirements they may have. If, however, you are having business visitors to your home or doing any form of manual work then you must tell your home insurer, failure to do so could invalidate your policy in the event of a claim.

I have clients coming to my home for meetings from time to time, what insurance cover do I need?

If you have clients coming to your home, it is important that you ensure that your business insurance has public liability cover attached to it. Just remember that compensation payments for slips, trips and falls can get into seriously eye-watering figures, so it’s important to make certain that you have the right insurance in place for protecting yourself and your business.

Most home insurance policies do not allow or provide protection for business visitors. Even if your business has a public liability insurance in place, it’s important that you advise your home insurer. This would be considered a material fact to which you have a duty to advise them.

Will my home insurance cover me for a mistake I have made in the course of my work if I work from home?

No – if you are offering a service or advice in any form to your clients then you must have a professional indemnity policy in place. A professional indemnity policy can cover you for the cost of defending a claim and any award that may be made against you. It can even provide protection in a situation whereby you have been accused of making a mistake but have not actually done anything wrong.

Working from home and your insurance

When you’re hitting the road, unexpected bumps can quickly turn your journey from adventure to disaster. With debris in the road, poor surfaces, potholes and carriageway defects (AKA smaller potholes) your tyres can easily be damaged. And we get it - they’re your pride and joy so the last thing you want is to shell out on paying for a replacement or even a whole new set.

Car insurance covers the whole vehicle, but might not always specifically pay out to replace damaged tyres when people submit a claim.

With Rubber Ring tyre insurance, you can get covered and carry on. We’ve got affordable coverage with policies that start from just £12 per tyre. Our smart AI technology is powered by customer insights, giving you the best prices and best cover possible.

But best of all, Rubber Ring tyre insurance gives you the peace of mind you need to get cover for your tyres and carry on.


Be prepared with tyre insurance

Let’s face it: sh*t happens. The road isn’t always as forgiving as you want it to be.
You’ll be grateful you took out Rubber Ring tyre insurance...

...in winter. Untreated roads, black ice and extra bumpy potholes can all cause damage.

...in bad weather. Dry and dusty roads can be just as dangerous as icy roads. Dry conditions can cause your tyres to lose grip and skid on the surface.

...on a staycation. The last thing you want is to get a flat or take damage to your tyres en route to a much-needed holiday.

...over long journeys. If you do a lot of mileage, you’ll want to have peace of mind that your rubber is safe.

...on tour. Road trips can mean coming up against uneven surfaces on country roads and scenic routes.


Make sure taking out tyre insurance is on your list of jobs when it comes to getting your car ready to hit the road. We can insure your new tyres within 72 hours of having them fitted, so if you have tyres fitted on a Friday, we can still cover you if you apply for a tyre insurance policy after the weekend on Monday. It’s one of the many ways Rubber Ring makes sure to keep you happy: we call it our Customer Contentment policy. If you’re happy, we’re happy. And if you’re not, then we make it right. Promise.

All about potholes

In the UK, the Department for Transport has set aside a whopping £500m for pothole repairs in 2022. With major roads littered with gaping holes just waiting to gobble up your valuable tyres, it pays to have extra protection. And as for carriageway defects, the smaller siblings of potholes, there’s plenty of those too. Including damaged surfaces, crazing, shallow and small potholes and subsidence, there are many different ways to damage your tyres on the road. In 2021, authorities in Manchester topped the UK’s payout list and spent the most on settling damage claims caused by potholes: an impressive £1,165,279 in compensation.

You can’t rely on traditional car insurance to cover every possible outcome. For example, it doesn’t always cover punctures or damage to tyres. So why take the risk of not being covered for replacement tyres if you need them? That’s where tyre insurance comes into its own as a helpful and specific insurance covering just the parts that need to be covered.

Find out more about Rubber Ring tyre insurance and get your free quote.

Why you need tyre insurance

When starting up your own business it can be hard to attract customers. They need to know what you offer and why they should buy from you, but to do both of those, they need to find you first. 

Well, it all depends on your audience. Different audiences hang out in different places online. Think about how you use the internet. If you’re looking for a plumber, you go straight to google. If you’re looking for something techy, you’d probably go to Amazon. If you’re chilling out for five minutes, you probably go to a social network. 

Now think about what your audience would do to find your product or service. Do they know it exists? Or are you appealing to an audience that knows what you do already? When you have an idea of what journey they would go through online when buying your product, you can maximise your visibility at the time they go looking.

While you’re thinking about how to get in front of your customers, here are a few ideas on how to get started:

Register your business with Google My Business 

This should be your first point of action into being found online by potential customers. By registering your business with Google My Business, this allows you to be found more easily on Google and will show up on google maps for customers in your local area. 

Startup your own social media channels for your business

Social media is an amazing platform to take advantage of because after all, it is free! However, due to their being many social media platforms today you will find very different audiences on each platform. To establish which accounts you should activate, think; what is your business? Who are your target audiences? Where can you find your audience?

For example, if you have your own bakery/cake shop you are best using Instagram and Facebook to connect with your audience, due to Instagram being predominantly Millenials and Facebook being a slightly older audience you are therefore maximising your reach and engaging with those who will be interested in ordering from your bakery. 

Influencers are very effective in promoting businesses and brands. Using influencers will sure to instantly create exposure for your business to become visible to a wide audience across social media.  However, make sure you are selecting the right influencers to help spread the message and promote your business online, soon enough you should see your growth in customers.

 One of the best ways to get your business name out there and create awareness is through hosting a giveaway or contest on your social media channels. People love a good freebie, by giving away a free product or service will sure to increase your followers and reach. Whatever you offer, make sure that you are securing the customer’s contact details so that you can get in touch with them later.

If you are friendly and authentic online, it’s likely your expertise will shine through when you create content for your website or engage with people on social media. Being someone who people can easily approach will benefit you massively.  

By creating online content that is both unique and sharable, you will entice and intrigue your target audience. By offering authoritative content that helps your audience, you establish your brand’s voice and makes you seem trustworthy.

If you’re not entirely sure what SEO is, it stands for ‘Search engine optimisation’ and helps your business rank higher in Google.It can be a complicated process, but essentially it helps your services be seen by people searching for what you do. 

YouTube offers a great resource for helping market your business online. By offering online tutorials or helpful tips that aren’t profit lead will help to reach and engage with your target audience. Make sure the videos you upload are of high quality and that you are including a link back to your website – you never know, your videos could prompt a sale!

This site is a great resource for finding any online business, giving you the opportunity for customers to leave reviews and star ratings of their experience with your business, meaning your business will be more trusted by people looking online for what you do.

Join a relevant online community and contribute 

Joining an online community that is related to your field of work will really help get the word out about your business. By contributing and helping your network of people they will do the same for you.

Not only are Facebook ads relatively cheap, but you can target your audience incredibly specifically, meaning online social media scrollers will see your ad and with correct targeting, you are more likely to have a lot of click-throughs onto your website and perhaps more conversions.

Hopefully, by taking these steps, you will be able to conquer the online world and attract your target audience. Good luck!

A guide to being found online

Professional indemnity insurance can protect your business, and when your business is not only your baby but your livelihood, it makes sense to do just that. Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI) – or Professional Liability insurance as it is sometimes known can cover legal defence costs as well as compensation payments for any acts, errors or omissions that you make or accused of making in the course of your work. 

It is only human to make mistakes but even a small mistake could result in a big loss to a client, especially when you are employed in a creative field where there are fewer rules and the finished product can be open to interpretation. You need to feel confident in your ability to carry out a project to conclusion without sweating the small (and big) stuff and the certainty of knowing you have a professional indemnity insurance policy can take some of the weight of those shoulders.  

PI can help with a variety of losses to a client so if you are a business that provides some kind of professional service to clients, offers advice, handles data or intellectual property belonging to others, then Professional indemnity insurance can help to protect you in terms of compensation claims and legal defence costs.  

The following looks into the benefits of cover for a few of the professions that we offer products for:- 

Whether you work for a small business or major corporation, IT consultants are one of the many professions that are often required under contract to hold professional indemnity insurance. An ipro professional indemnity policy could provide cover for such things as:- 

Infringement of somebody else’s intellectual property 

Media is perhaps the biggest player in the industry, with almost every business involving interaction of some kind. Risks facing the industry such as defamation and intellectual property infringement have always been there and in a compensation culture are only becoming more prevalent.

If you count yourself among marketers, graphic designers, web designers, advertising agents, public relations, brand development, corporate identity consultants, copywriters, publishers and broadcasters then professional indemnity insurance can offer protection against such issues as:

unintentional infringement of intellectual property rights

Being a project manager can be satisfying work when everything runs according to plan. As the saying goes, however, what can go wrong will go wrong some of the time and a client won’t be pleased if it leads to their loss. In a time like this it’s nice to know that project managers’ professional indemnity insurance can be there for you, when you most need it. 

Due to a partnership with the organisation The Big Word, we are proud to offer professional indemnity insurance for translators. Translators and interpreters lead busy lives, darting from phone interpretations to court hearings as well as working away on translations at home. 

Inherent risks associated with this field of work are:

Mistranslating when translating/interpreting 

Failure to meet a deadline causing your client financial loss  

Professional indemnity insurance can provide protection and help give you a peace of mind that your policy is there, should you need it and lets you concentrate on doing what you do best. 

Why is professional indemnity insurance important?

Professional indemnity insurance (PI), or professional liability insurance as it sometimes referred to, can cover you against a client making a financial claim against your work.

PI can pay your legal costs and any compensation payments that may be due if a client takes legal action for a mistake you have made when providing your services, designs or advice. It can even pay your legal defense costs to clear your good name if you are accused of making a mistake but have done nothing wrong.

We’re sure you are very good at what you do so you may find yourself asking “why do I need professional indemnity insurance?” The reality is that we live in a compensation culture and any business providing a professional service can be challenged if a client deems the advice or service received is incorrect or has failed to meet expectations. A professional indemnity policy can cover legal defense costs as well as any award made against you. A claim can be extremely costly and disruptive and so it is wise to protect your work from the outset.

In terms of specific professions; professional indemnity can offer the following benefits:

Here at ipro, we offer professional indemnity insurance cover which can protect your IT firm whilst you offer your skills and services to protect the information technology of others. Keeping computers and software running smoothly where hacking and cybercrime pose an ever-increasing threat can be a challenging task, but you can run your business confidently knowing that our professional indemnity insurance can offer protection for such issues as:

Creative media is at the heart of almost every business with social media being the platform on which to market, advertise and increase footfall to your client’s door. Our professional indemnity insurance for creatives & media could be exactly what you need to protect yourself against the worst. This professional indemnity insurance is ideal for those involved in the following professions:

brand development/corporate identity consultants

If you infringe on somebody’s intellectual property or are accused of providing poor advice to your clients, your professional indemnity policy could protect you against costly legal defense and compensation awards.

Working as a project manager can be immensely rewarding when you see a project from design brief through to completion. However, it is not without its challenges. Many times, a looming problem can be avoided, but when there is no solution but hindsight – it may lead to a costly and stressful claim that could literally mean game over for your business. ipro offers project managers’ professional indemnity insurance which can protect you against such problems as

We know that translators and interpreters work hard on many different projects and as we are all only human, mistakes can be made. If you mistranslate or misinterpret something you client could suffer financial loss and may launch legal action against you to recover it. Defense costs and compensation payments can run into thousands, or even millions of pounds. Our policy could protect you against such things as:

Professional Indemnity insurance is essential in today’s compensation culture-driven environment. It takes just one mistake for a client to lose out financially, and even if you have not made a mistake, but you are accused of doing so, legal defense costs can run into some seriously big numbers.

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Ruth Sedar

Rubber Ring Author

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Ruth Sedar

Rubber Ring Author

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