Stronger Joining forces can boost both skills and income, says Linda Harrison W
hen Lily Canter was approached by a publisher to write a textbook on freelance journalism, there was one person she wanted to bring in to help: her friend, fellow journalist Emma Wilkinson.
It was the start of a successful collaboration that would take
their careers in a new direction. Tey now run Freelancing for Journalists, which helps others to build their careers. Canter says: “We started collaborating in 2018. Emma had
far more experience of freelancing than me so I really wanted her expertise. We’d known each other since 2000 when we met on our journalism master’s course. It felt like a natural fit.” Tey decided to do a podcast series of six episodes to
promote the book, launching it just as the pandemic struck. “Suddenly, there was huge demand for this kind of advice,”
says Canter. “We realised we needed to keep the podcast going. From there, things grew quite organically. Journalism.
co.uk approached me to ask if I could run a freelance journalism course and I again asked Emma to help.” Tey started running online webinars, set up a Substack and
launched a remote work experience scheme to help people who could not get into newsrooms during the pandemic. It snowballed and the business has developed further. Canter and Wilkinson have added a premium Substack – now their largest revenue stream – and started the Freelance Journalism Awards. Tey also wrote the award-winning Ultra Women book and are working on their third book. “Te benefit of working together, particularly when writing
a book, is that it’s such a huge task and being able to break it down and share the load is really useful,” adds Canter. “It also
The lowdown on tax
Clare Marsh, founder of Her Business Counts, an accountancy practice focused on helping women business owners, warns of tax implications. She says: “A partnership can exist
without anyone intending to create one. Under the Partnership Act 1890, a partnership exists when two or more people are ‘carrying on a business in common with a view to
10 | theJournalist
profit’. There’s no paperwork required. No registration. No formal agreement. “HMRC looks at what’s happening,
not what the parties call it. Things that can tip a collaboration into partnership territory include regularly sharing clients or referrals, splitting income or costs, presenting yourselves jointly to the market, sharing a brand, website or social media presence or making
Admin and tax
Clare Marsh has some advice:
• Be clear in writing about the nature of any collaboration. What it is, what it isn’t, how income and expenses are handled and – crucially – if you are each operating as separate businesses.
• VAT registered? Factor that in before you agree terms.
• If a collaboration is becoming something more regular and structured, take advice before it takes on a life of its own.
helps to have someone to brainstorm and fact-check with, and edit your copy. “We share everything 50/50, and also have a Facebook
community of around 8,000 members. We’ve made sure we assign different roles so we each have different responsibilities but we can also step into each other’s roles when we need to.”
Trust your gut Freelance journalist Helen Nugent is another collaboration convert. She started offering media training around 2008, including talks and workshops with PR contacts. Over time, Helen says, companies increasingly wanted more mock interviews and video playback, something she could not do on her own. “As luck would have it, I met a marketer and social media
expert in Manchester through another project,” she says. “We hit it off and soon realised that, with my journalism and media training skills and his videographer and social media skills as well his marketing background, combining forces would be a great business idea. In February 2024, James Richardson and I set up Gatto Nero Media. As business partners, we offer a number of things as a company but media training remains our primary focus.” In terms of choosing who to team up with, Helen says:
“I’m a big believer in going with your gut. I view potential business partners the same way I see friends; it’s all about the personal connection and how you feel in that individual’s company.” A successful collaboration can also help make work more sociable and enjoyable.
decisions about the work together. One of these may not be enough, but a combination, particularly over a sustained period, can look very much like a business carried on in common. “Once HMRC considers a
partnership to exist, there are consequences; a partnership tax return is required, and both people become jointly liable for the business’s tax
obligations. For sole traders, there’s a VAT risk. HMRC has the power to aggregate the turnovers of businesses it considers to be operating together. Two people each under the £90,000 VAT threshold could find themselves over it on a combined basis, with VAT potentially owed on their entire income backdated to when HMRC considers the arrangement began.”
CLARE MARSH
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