I work for lots of different clients, so perhaps it’s a bit easier than if you’re working for one (e.g. as a contractor), but the things I’ve done to make myself independent are:
- I tell all my clients that I work for other clients and therefore can’t always drop what I’m doing to respond to them.
- I don’t let clients have access to my calendar – if they want a meeting they have to email me and request it. This lets me keep slots free for lunch, walks etc.
- I don’t work the same days and times for clients (I used to do this but it didn’t work very well because if a client had a query on a different day they would have to wait for a response).
- I make it clear to clients that because I’m flexible that means I can fit in around their needs most of the time, but this also means that they have to be flexible about fitting in around my needs.
I am very wary of any clients who tried to manage my time in any way – being under the control and direction of a client is one of the things HMRC consider when assessing whether you’re an employee.
The wording I use on my ‘how I work‘ page under ‘working for other clients’ is:
I have clients who I work with regularly and I ask you to take this into account when setting expectations on response times. I don’t oversell my time, and I always answer my phone/email if it’s an emergency (within working hours), but if two or more clients have emergencies at the same time I operate on a first-reported, first-served basis.