Freelancing is one big scary but exciting world. On the one hand you control all aspects of your business – from promotion to billing and all in between. And on the other hand… you are responsible for all aspects of your business – from running costs to legal contracts. It is unsurprising that many freelancers feel slightly overwhelmed sometimes when it comes to the sheer magnitude of work required before even getting down to the actual work! One of the biggest problems is the fact you have no central base to call your own. So how do you deal without the one thing you thought you’d never want to see ever again – the office? We look at two options that serve very different purposes: co-working environments and external meeting rooms.

For many freelancers the world is your office - thanks to mobile broadband, powerful laptops and the increasingly popular smart phone your office really can be anywhere. The flexibility of being a freelancer is partly the reason why it is so exciting. Of course if you feel like you would like more of a central base of operations to meet like minded individuals then consider "co-working" arrangements.

Co-working is a really interesting concept where freelancers and small businesses of different elks interact with one another in a shared office environment. The benefit of co-working environments is the work network -- from PR types to web designers to freelance programmers. They also provide you with excellent working facilities, much like a normal office (e.g. fax machines, photocopiers, broadband hubs etc). Co-working is also getting popular – Co-working evangelists Jelly (US based) are stretching their reach and setting up monthly co-working events at Staffordshire based venues.

So you’ve done the work and want to show it off – what is the best way to present your work? Choosing the right environment is important to ensure that your product, whether it is a new website design or a consultancy report, is presented in exactly the way you want. The main issue with presenting your work in a public environment like a café, bar or pub is that you have to contend with a multitude of environmental factors – noise, lighting, seating arrangements, power etc. Using a client’s premises (if they have meeting facilities) also has its own problems. The major one is set up time – about 10-15 minutes per meeting is consumed by technology issues per incident. This eats away at your overall presentation time giving you fewer opportunities to sing the virtues of your project.

One solution to client office space is to book external meeting rooms. External meeting rooms are useful because they bring the client out of their own environment and give you the opportunity to present your project on your own terms. This can be incredibly powerful especially in regards to technology. Often external meeting rooms have access to large scale projectors, displays and other equipment that might ordinarily be out of reach for yourself or client. Hotels that offer instant meeting rooms access can also be useful for last minute client meetings that require both parties to meet in a central location.

Freelancing can be a difficult game however it can also be incredibly rewarding. You have complete control over the running of your business and you work to your own rules. Just make sure you work in the easiest most efficient manner by using tools to facilitate all your processes.