For more than two decades, Atlanta-based creative studio Ideas United (iU) has collaborated with creative talent from their global iU Community to develop content for top brands and organizations – and now they want to share what they’ve learned. This month the iU Community launched Freelance Fundamentals, a five-part series exclusive to iU Community members walking them through the most challenging aspects of creative freelance work.
In the US alone, 75% of employees in the arts and design industry and 55% of employees in the entertainment industry are freelance workers. Over the next decade, work performed by freelancers is expected to increase by 168%.
“With the current state of work in the United States, we decided to conduct a survey of our internal iU
Community to see what challenges freelance creators are facing,” says Vi Andrews, Community Lead at
Ideas United. “We identified five key areas where they are struggling. Luckily, Ideas United has learned
a thing or two in the past twenty years of coordinating top partners with freelance creatives. We know
what top brands are looking for in a creative professional and we want to help our iU Community
thrive. 50% of Generation Z has already participated in freelance work, so these are skills they need to
learn if they’re going to succeed in today’s creative economy.”
iU works on a decentralized, progressive model that allows them to take an unconventional approach.
By finding and fostering top talent for twenty years, iU has built an “iU Community” of 3,500
storytellers working alongside more than 50 in-house creatives. Together they’ve been able to share
stories across 50 states and over 60 countries around the world.
iU Community is a network of producers, directors, designers, writers, editors, strategists, composers,
web developers, and everyone in between. By providing professional creatives with real income
opportunities from established brands, iU pulls global leading talent for any content, experience, or
campaign imaginable. Brand partners have included the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation,
Everytown for Gun Safety, NCAA, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Grady Health
Foundation, PGA of America, Elfenworks, TOUR Championship, Panasonic, Equifax, Paramount, and
more.
If you name it, iU can create it: a fundraising campaign, an event (whether virtual, in-person, or
hybrid), a commercial, a feature film. Whatever the need, organizations can source professionals from
iU Community with the expert management, creative, and quality control of the core team. Due to iU’s
emphasis on DEI, they can match the ideal creator to a project or brand that brings out the best in
both.
Anyone can create a profile at community.ideasunited.com. With a complete profile, creators can
apply for posted opportunities and could even be hand-picked by iU’s Core team in Atlanta for specific
projects if their expertise and experience qualify them.
To help creators in the iU Community level up, the Freelance Fundamentals series breaks down the
basics of expanding your network, branding and marketing, finding and keeping quality clients,
business brass, and upskilling in the creative economy. Each lesson comes with an engagement event
and a simple, clear, actionable resource guide to help creators take the next step immediately.
Freelance Fundamentals launched in August and will wrap up by the end of the year, but additional
iterations of the series will repeat in the future. The next lesson on September 21 is on branding basics,
featuring a roundtable discussion of best branding practices. Panelists include iU Community veterans
Deanna Griffin, Drew Grossman, and Stephanie Roman, along with iU Core team member Sarah Sastre.
With 300+ partners and thousands of projects, iU knows what they’re doing. Whether it’s helping
universities and nonprofits raise over $5 billion, giving emerging filmmakers a shot at working with the
biggest studios, or building a purpose-driven business for the long term, iU knows that their best days
are still ahead of them.
