The global trade body for independent professionals

Independence shouldn’t mean isolation. The IFA strengthens independent service businesses worldwide through credibility, continuity and representation.
Join IFA

Global

Trade body

International scope and standards

Certified

Independent

Standards-based credential

What the IFA provides:
  • Standards and structure for independent businesses
  • Collective credibility without employment
The problem

Treated as individuals. Expected to perform as companies.

Across the world, independent professionals face structural pressures that undermine stability, credibility and long-term resilience.

  • Clients demand employee level control without employee-level commitment
  • Governments struggle to classify modern, borderless work
  • Platforms commoditise skills and push rates down
  • One-person firms lack leverage, continuity and credibility
  • A single illness, gap or dispute can destabilise income
The solution

Independence with support

The IFA turns one person firms into a recognised global business class. By becoming a member of the IFA, you can remain independent while gaining the benefits normally reserved for larger organisations:

A substitution network ensuring continuity of supply

A shared commercial framework built for B2B contracting

A credibility signal clients can trust

Representation with employers and policymakers

Access to opportunities, partnerships, and pooled delivery

Stay independent, with structure and support

Join IFA
What IFA is (and isn’t)

Not a platform.
A trade body.

The IFA exists to give independent professionals institutional strength, not to operate as a marketplace, agency, or community platform.

Trade association
Standards body
Commercial alliance
Cross-border delivery network
Representative voice for independent businesses
The framework

The foundation of genuine independence

The IFA Independence Framework defines what it means to operate as a genuine independent business through shared standards and practical structure.

Replaceability

Members can provide substitutes and team capacity to ensure continuity of service.

Commercial Responsibility

Members contract as businesses: delivery accountability, defined scope, professional liability.

Client Independence

Guidance and tools to avoid dependence on a single buyer and strengthen business positioning.

Operational Autonomy

Control over tools, methods, location, hours, and delivery approach.

Business Infrastructure

Contracts, insurance access, dispute support, and professional standards.
Testimonials

Built for serious independent professionals

I used to worry about the impact of taking a sick day on my business. Being a member of the IFA meant I could get paid, even though I wasn’t working on my contract.
James Turner
Independent IT Consultant

I used to think that the future was simply to be employed, but the IFA has worked with me to make my one man band into a proper business.

Laura Mitchell
Freelance Strategy Consultant

I don’t consider myself to be working on my own anymore, I’m a part of a much bigger business now.

Jose Wright

Independent Engineering Contractor