Making the leap to become a freelancer is daunting enough, but once established how do we ensure our business has staying power? Thank you to our experienced freelancers who share their top tips for longevity. Never let it be said that OOOO is one-sided – our newbie contribution comes from Tania Kotsokechagia who reports on her first ever EMWA conference. Our new ‘Day in the Life’ series begins with an interesting insight into the lives of fellow medical writers, Wendy Kingdom from the UK and Ingrid Edsman from Sweden. As freelancers, our organisational skills are certainly tested with the busy and varied lives we lead! Legal matters can be a daunting aspect for any business owner but cannot be ignored, so we are grateful to Tim Bradburn from the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) for his helpful commentary on the legalities of managing a business.