Robert Vlach
business consultant and founder of Freelancing.eu
Czechia • Working area: globalStatus: at your service • Languages: English, Spanish, Czech
Listed in: Business & Finance
Author of The Freelance Way — an international business bestseller published worldwide in 2022 by HarperCollins and translated into 5 other languages
My work covers two distinct areas of entrepreneurship:
The first is business consulting for top-notch professionals and business owners, with whom I collaborate either long-term, on shaping their business strategy, or via one-off consultations whenever needed. This is a fairly expensive service, which I provide mostly remotely within the EU. It is usually appreciated by experienced entrepreneurs who want to have something like a “partner without a share” — that is, an independent expert who understands their business over the long-term, in great depth, and thus improves the quality of their decision-making and management. I have over 300 consulting cases under my belt and would be happy to take on yours.
The second area of my work is the systematic business support of independent professionals (aka freelancers), which I have been doing full-time as a publicist, consultant and lecturer since 2005, long before it was cool :) Supporting freelancers is something I enjoy and find fulfilling, as my professional calling. Together with my great colleagues, we take care of the two big professional communities that I founded: The pan-European Freelancing.eu and the Czech Navolnenoze.cz, which together belong among the largest and most active freelancing communities in Europe, supporting hundreds of thousands of freelancers in their business. I wrote the bestselling book The Freelance Way, published worldwide by HarperCollins and translated into several other languages.
If you would like to follow my work, subscribe to our monthly newsletter, where I regularly publish bits of freelance know-how and comment on news from the world of freelancing:
European Freelancers & Where to Find Them
PRICE LIST AND CONSULTING TERMS
- one-off consultations … €3,000 (2–3 hours online session)
- consulting projects … usually priced from €20,000 to €200,000
- hourly rate … €1.250 (for consultations beyond consulting projects)
- VAT of 21% may apply in some cases
- terms and conditions of business consulting:
- Consulting is paid in full in advance against an issued invoice.
- You may use the pre-paid consulting time in blocks of 10+ minutes.
- I send the complete time report at the end, or anytime upon request.
- I store your data on an encrypted drive and secure Google Workspace account.
- I keep all your data and information as 100% confidential.
- I don’t share your data with anyone else without your explicit permission.
- I’m independent of what I recommend. I disclose any potential conflict of interest.
- My liability to any loss or damage is limited to €3,000.
- You can have the unused consulting time refunded with a 50% cancellation fee.
- A client orders my consulting services as a businessperson. We’re equals.
- Any exception to these conditions must have a form of a written contract.
PERSONAL BIO & MEDIA KIT
Robert Vlach is a senior business consultant, specialized in supporting independent professionals and business owners. In 2005, he founded one of the largest national freelance communities in Europe that is now being expanded into Freelancing.eu. In 2012, he founded Europe's first think-tank for freelancers which meets regularly in Prague and other cities, as well as online. He has been holding freelancing courses for more than a decade, and has consulted on over 300 business cases with individuals, startups, and companies. His book about freelancing has become an international bestseller, published in English as The Freelance Way by HarperCollins in 2022. Robert lives with his family in the Czech Republic and Spain.
A media kit with photos and book covers
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 2022 – HarperCollins has published The Freelance Way worldwide, incl. audiobook
- 2021 – over 100,000 views of the talk European Freelancers & Where to Find Them
- 2020 – Freelancing.eu was launched to support all European freelancers
- 2019 – European edition of The Freelance Way was published in English
- 2017 – Melvil published the original Czech edition of The Freelance Way
- 2016 – co-founded deep-work Retreat.cz with Lenka Paprok
- 2015 – co-founded Procesoid, a simple app for business process management
- 2012 – founded the 1st European think-tank for freelancers (based in Czechia)
- 2011 – awarded The Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year in Ostrava city region and selected as a country representative for the European Business Awards
- 2010 – founded and served as the first president of Toastmasters Ostrava
- 2005 – founded the largest Czech freelance community Navolnenoze.cz
- 1998 – went freelance and have been freelancing ever since…
LATEST TALKS & INTERVIEWS
- European Freelancers and Where to Find Them — over 100,000 views
- NextConomy: The Freelance Way of Personal Finance
- BW Dialogue with Dr. Annurag Batra and fellow journalists from the BW BusinessWorld
- The Universe Writes with Pavan Lall for Prabha Khaitan Foundation and Siyahi
- Freelancing is the simplest approach to doing business with Jana Poncarova
- Del teletrabajo me gusta la equidad que facilita y la libertad personal que proporciona
- What are the signs of an advanced freelance economy and how can they be supported by coworking spaces (a 15-minutes talk for the international Coworking Symposium)
- Live interview for freelance English teachers with Nina English
- Impact Hub: Robert Vlach is out to change the world for the better, the freelance way
- 21st Century Creative Podcast with Mark McGuinness
- An insider’s secrets to freelance success in Prague and the Czech Republic
Contact details
Privozska 31
Ostrava
70200
Czech Republic, European Union
| Mobile: | +420 775 686 693 |
|---|---|
| Email: | robert@vla.ch |
| LinkedIn: | robertvlach |
| Twitter: | robertvlach |
| Facebook: | robertvlach.cz |
| Instagram: | robertvlach |
| VAT ID: | CZ7807035566 |
| IBAN: | CZ92 5500 0000 0000 0036 9000 |
| SWIFT: | RZBCCZPP |
Firsthand recommendations
If you want to succeed as an independent professional, it is essential that you educate yourself about running a personal business. You can either learn this the hard way through trial and error, or read Robert’s unique book instead. It covers virtually everything you need to know as a freelancer on how to start, manage and grow your business — be it a local or a global one, working remotely. The Freelance Way is packed with proven advice, tools, stories and wisdom from people who have gone down this road before you. It will undoubtedly help you live and prosper, the freelance way.
As freelancers, we know why we should run our indie careers as a business, but how is often a challenge. Robert’s essential book delivers actionable advice and practical tips you can use to build a solid business foundation right now.
Are you an experienced entrepreneur? Then Robert’s book will save your ass several times over. Are you a newbie freelancer starting out? It may even save your life! The Freelance Way is one of the most useful books that I have read on my journey to a free(lance) life.