This article was originally published in Freelancer Magazine, issue 19, Autumn 2025. To read the digital back issues and get the printed mag delivered to your door, become a subscriber.
Remember when Google’s motto was ‘don’t be evil’? They don’t seem to stick it at the top of their stationery any more, for some reason. Most big businesses and institutions will have a list of values. Sometimes, though, that’s all it is: a list. A collection of nice words that they like to think they embody or that sound good from a PR standpoint, but they don’t actually enact them day to day. Whether well-meaning or calculating, that can lead to hollow promises or hypocrisy. Like the head of HR having an affair with a colleague.
Us freelancers have an advantage. We don’t have to drag ourselves to a dreadful away day, sit in a conference room with our colleagues and go through torturous exercises to dredge up a list of values. We already have them. The values that we have as human beings. As a company of one, what you hold to be important, the boundaries you draw and the lines you won’t cross become those of your business. And these are much easier to uphold and naturally become a part of your practices because you already do so in your daily life. Much harder to do with an artificial list of good-vibes words.
Having said that, it can be helpful to do a (non-torturous) exercise or two to tease out exactly what your values are, or which are the most important to your business. This can boost your confidence in talking about them, help you weave them into your marketing, and make it clear what you’ll say no to.
The real test of whether it is a true value or not? When you have to say no to something otherwise juicy. The tagline for my business is ‘sustainable websites for non-evil businesses’, and I talk a lot about digital carbon footprints and sustainable business practices. I’m not a perfect green goddess but it seems like a no-brainer to me that we should try and lower our negative impact at work as in life. RIP my bank balance after refilling laundry detergent at the organic shop.
Last year, I had the glimmer of a chance to do a speaking gig in Dublin. I was thrilled. Not only could I enjoy a Guinness Zero and have a laugh in the land of my ancestors, but I could also call myself an international speaker before my fellow magazine columnist, Mel Barfield, and she would be CRUSHED.
Then it occurred to me. Probably shouldn’t hop on an hour-long flight to talk to people about sustainability. I started looking into ferries. And trains, because I don’t have a car. Funnily enough, it was more expensive and would take absolutely ages. I was staring down the barrel of a big travel bill and half a week of childcare to source for what was a very lovely but unpaid gig. It didn’t look like it would be possible. Agony. How would I vanquish Mel now?
I could have said “Screw it, I deserve a treat” and gone skyward. But I didn’t. Was it the fear of being a hypocrite or true passion for our climate that stopped me? I’ll never tell. In the end the event moved online so I was spared the dilemma. Come to think of it, there were probably people tuning in from all over the world so actually I guess I’m an international speaker anyway. Gutted, Mel.
