Third International Freelance Conference, 2025

A day that reminded me where everything started

There are events you attend because they’re on your calendar.

And then there are events you attend because they feel personal.

The Third International Freelance Conference, organised by the Impact Foundation, was the second kind. I didn’t go just as a speaker or guest. I went as someone who still feels deeply connected to the freelance world and everything it represents.

Walking into a room filled with freelancers, founders, creatives, and builders felt like stepping back into the earliest chapters of my own journey.

What Made This Conference Different

The program was packed with practical talks, honest stories, and real examples of what it means to build a career on your own terms.

Here are a few moments that stuck with me:

1. How to Choose the Right Virtual Assistant

Listening to Biljana Dimitrievska break down the process of finding and working with a VA felt like a mini masterclass in scaling yourself. She shared the right questions to ask, how to set expectations, and what a healthy working dynamic looks like when you’re ready to delegate.

2. A Roadmap to the US Market Through an LLC

Petar Todorovski and Nikola Arsovski, moderated by Natasha Velkovska, walked everyone through the real steps freelancers are taking to expand beyond local borders. It wasn’t theory. It was an experience mixed with wins, mistakes, and lessons.

3. Turning Projects into Partnerships

I loved hearing Georgi Dokuzov and Bisera Loteska talk about client relationships. I’ve known them for years, but hearing their stories live reminded me how much of our industry is built on trust, communication, and showing up for your clients long enough for the relationship to evolve into something meaningful.

The Panel: A Conversation That Hit Home

My favorite part of the day was the panel with Stefan Stefanov, moderated by Marija Ristovska, titled: “Forward and Backwards: From Entrepreneurship to Freelancer and vice versa.”

Stefan and I have very different journeys, but the transition between freelancing and entrepreneurship is always a story of identity first, strategy second.

I shared a few things I’ve learned the hard way:

• You don’t switch careers. You switch the person you’re becoming.
• Your environment either keeps you where you are or pulls you forward. Choose the second.
• Freelancing teaches you to work harder. Entrepreneurship teaches you to work smarter and lead better.
• Your priorities evolve. Independence turns into shared goals, team growth, and long-term vision.
• Technical skills get you paid. Leadership skills build a company.

SmartClick exists today because of that shift. And every time I speak about it, I’m reminded why I made the jump from “solo” to “team”.

A Community That Knows How to Move Forward

A huge thank you to Elena Ivanova and the entire Impact Foundation team for putting together a conference that wasn’t just informative, but genuinely inspiring.

And a shoutout to SMX, whose booth showed how much the world of learning has changed. The tools we have today can help someone start a freelance career faster than ever.

Why This Event Mattered to Me

Freelancing is where I learned discipline, ownership, resilience, and resourcefulness. It’s where SmartClick began long before it was ever an agency.

So being part of this conference wasn’t just another speaking opportunity.

It felt like coming home, reconnecting with the people who are building the next era of work, and hopefully giving back a small piece of what the community gave me years ago.

If you’re on your own path right now, keep going. You never know where this journey might take you.