My 10-year anniversary as a freelancer 🎉
Cheers to me, cheers to you, cheers to everyone who's made the leap to self-employment. 👏🏽
Ten years ago, I stepped into a drab office building to register as a solo self-employed person.
After a few admin questions, the woman behind the desk asked me for my official business name, a question that took me by surprise. I had assumed I wouldn’t have to come up with a business name as a sole trader. I tried to think of a serious yet catchy name, but nothing came to mind that wasn’t gimmicky or awful-sounding. So, I told the woman to simply put down my full name. She took my instruction quite literally and, to this day, my official business name is the highly unimaginative “Thompson, Linda”. Yup.
When I stepped out of that office building, I felt like I had just jumped off the edge of the cliff. For the lady at the desk, it was just another Tuesday. Needless to say, there was no welcome package or anything of that sort.
In hindsight, the decision to go freelance was one of the best career moves I ever made. But, my God, I did not want to become a freelancer.
Consider some of the journal entries I dug up from that period:
Oct. 17, 2012: “No, freelancing PLEASE.”
Oct. 25, 2012: “I’m terrified at the thought of going freelance with no real contacts in the journalism world.”
Nov. 6, 2012: “I'm seriously considering non-journalism jobs. The answer is freelancing, I know.”
I can hardly relate to those feelings anymore. What was I so afraid of? Then I remind myself that I was 24 went I went freelance. A baby, really. My niece is around that age now and when I look at her, I understand why people around me were simultaneously amazed by and worried by my decision.
I had little to no soft skills; I didn’t know when or how to stand up for myself; how to distinguish between constructive criticism and a client having a bad day. Nor did I know anything about the business side of freelance journalism. My entire training had focused on the craft of journalism; no professor of mine ever mentioned minimum rates, copyright terms or accounting software. As I explained, I didn’t know anyone who worked in journalism, but I also didn’t know anyone who was self-employed, period. There was no-one to turn to for advice. Of course, it felt like I was jumping off a cliff. I kind of was.
I if I could do it again, I wouldn’t have gone freelance at the age of 24. Today’s freelance-industrial complex did not exist in 2013. All those newsletters, all the podcasts, all the freelance meetups – none of it existed at that time. And so I freelanced from my own little island, and felt isolated and lonely a lot of the time. If I could do it again, I would work a salaried job for a few years and go freelance after having built up a professional network, after having picked up countless soft skills simply from being around my peers.
In spite of the rough first years, the end destination has nevertheless been wonderful. I love the variety of what I do; it’s magical to me. In one week, I can go from proofreading copy for a major bank, to writing a deeply reported feature about a legal industry trend, to interviewing the founder of a boutique hotel in Finland, to translating promotional materials for an art foundation. I’m not making this up; this was my last week of work in December.
I never get a pit in my stomach on Sunday evening; I never have to drag myself to my coworking space on Monday. The opposite is often true; I can truly itch to get to work at the start of the week.
Freelancing has also insulated me from a lot of workplace dynamics – people’s unconscious biases to name but one – that I think would have crushed me or at the very least demotivated me in the long run.
Once you have found your footing, freelancing offers tremendous power and freedom. It is an electrical feeling to know that my financial security doesn’t depend on a single company’s economic performance. I will never need to put up with annoying, infuriating or downright toxic behaviour because I can’t afford to lose my job. Instead of the straitjacket of a nine-to-five, I set my own work schedule. If I get bored of a particular kind of work, I can simply pursue other kinds of assignments.
I’m happy to be able to say I know a lot of people who are self-employed today. One of my siblings freelances on the side, while another sibling will also go part-time freelance this year. 🎉 The decision to go freelance is a ballsy one at any age, and it’s well worth applauding yourself and those around you for jumping off that cliff every now and then.
As for myself, I’ve decided to throw a drink and invite a few freelancers under the pretence of celebrating the New Year later this month. In reality, I’m doing it because I wanted to mark my 10-year-anniversary as a freelancer with the peers I didn’t have when I started out. It’ll be the celebration I should have had back in 2013.
What about you? How do you look back on the first few years of your career as a freelancer? Are there things you would have done differently? Advice you can offer newbie freelancers?
Linda
My 10-year anniversary as a freelancer 🎉
I'm a new follower and I think I picked the right post to read first because it was highly motivational. Firstly, congratulations! I'm a freelance writer myself and have been at it for 8 years. I'm still relatively unsuccessful but I do enjoy freelancing, so I'm sticking with it. As far as advice for newbies and aspiring freelancers, I recommend:
* Aligning with other freelancers (as this post explains, there are now a lot of resources and supportive forums out there). This helps curb the isolation, which is one of the first noticeable drawbacks.
* Really work on honing your unique voice. I get hired mostly because I'm a sassy writer. Sure, I've got a decent amount of experience and positive reviews, but it's my unique voice and tone that gets me referrals and orders.
* Don't make freelancing your full-time career right away. This one may get me some hate, but I think it's important. If you have the option to start your freelance career as a side hustle, do so. Putting unfair pressure on your freelance career to give you $3, 000 a month or more right in the beginning can lead you to burnout and despair so fast.
Those are just my thoughts, of course. I'd love to hear others!