Been There - Doing This Now
No.118
Monday 24 October
Hi, it's David here.
Survive or thrive.
8 years ago as agency fees were cut so were senior creatives.
As Covid left employees unable to go to the office, more creatives left the building.
Remote working, once abnormal, became the norm.
Today, access to senior talent is everything and those who were fired can no longer be found.
The juniorization of our industry has created a new industry.
As always, curious to hear what you think.
Co-Founder at?BeenThereDoneThat
Hello everyone, everywhere who secretly knows or works with BeenThereDoneThat. Tis, I, Jason Charles Joseph Michael Gaboriau of the Massachusetts Gaboriau’s.
Whether you are full-time, part-time or anytime, I think we can all agree that?BeenThereDoneThat is an amazing opportunity and resource for all of us advertising professionals to live our best creative lives.
BUT, for my article today I wanted to focus on those of us who are new to this wild and wackadoo world of freelance.
If you are like me, you recently decided to leave your ECD/CCO creative leadership life to go freelance. And if you are really like me, it feels really weird to you too? Kind of like growing out your bangs (UK translation: Fringe) - It’s not pretty but hopefully once it grows out it’s going to look great.
Maybe you left?by choice.?Maybe it wasn’t your choice.?Maybe you are happy.?Maybe you are super pissed.?Either way this is your life now and it is a huge change.
For someone who has been an agency creative leader for quite a while this change can feel drastic.?You went from leading an agency, leading brands, leading clients, leading culture, leading pitches, leading the work, hiring, firing, all of it - to being all alone in your home office / bedroom wearing your Bill Bernbach footy pajamas waiting for a project to come in.
These are my tips for anyone who may be in the same boat or thinking about making the leap to full time freelance.
1. You are no longer an ECD / CCO leader anymore. You are a freelancer.
OUCH! Sorry, but this harsh reality is really the hardest part of the whole thing. You are no longer the leader everyone needs to run every idea through. No longer the person needed in all important meetings. No longer the one leading the work, agency, and culture. That you is dead. Well, not dead, but dead-ish. Although that may seem like tough love, you need to focus on the newfound freedom of freelance and not on your LinkedIn title. Now you can decide who you work with and what you work on. The P&L pressures are gone. No agency drama. No politics. It is just you as a creative and it feels amazing.
This leads to my second point…
2. This is your best creative self.
Being "just a" creative again is amazing. You had no idea how talented you really are until now. You have been forced to come up with ideas at the 11th hour in-between agency drama for so long you forgot how great it feels to just focus on ideas. To just be able to get a brief and have fun with it. You forgot how much you love just doing the work. You are a tremendously talented creative mind. You have an incredible range of experience. You are smart AF. You are a seasoned and sensational problem solver. … and that has a ton of value! Sure, there is some pressure but that’s mostly because you are getting paid an f-ton so you better deliver the goods.
3. Your personal business is your new New Business.
You are so connected it is re-donk-u-lous. You know everyone everywhere. Once you start thinking about who you know who can potentially help you get freelance it is going to blow your mind. All these personal connections are your new New Business pitches. They are your potential clients now and what’s great about that is they already love you. Email, text, call them all, asap. They are waiting. Tell your friends at agencies you are freelance now. Ask for a project. Do it for less. Write to old clients. Who knows where a direct-to-client opportunity can lead. Reconnect with vendors you’ve worked with. They know everyone and everything going on in the industry. Reach out to recruiters, obviously, but also connect with other friends who freelance. They can’t do every project and their referrals are freelance gold. They can also help you get set up, help you learn rates, tell you who to stay away from.?I have even found speaking with your neighbors can lead to fun projects.
You already signed up for BeenThereDoneThat newsletters… So,?you aren’t a total idiot.?You know who told me about BeenThereDoneThat? A former client... See point #3 in action!
4. BONUS POINT: It is a very tough time to be a creative leader.
They don’t tell you about all the negativity that comes with being a creative leader. Especially now with all the anonymous websites. You need to take a lot of pride in what you have accomplished in your career and in your leadership skills. That will not change and cannot be taken away because you decided to go freelance. You are an amazing talent. Think of all the great work you have done. All the pitches and awards you have won. Think of all the talented people you’ve worked with and how few made it to the top leadership position. There is so much to be proud of. Being a full-time freelancer is a great challenge. One that is more personal and rewarding. It will take all the skills you have learned to be successful and sustainable.
This is NOT a lesser you, this is a better you. A way better you. Ok, so you are no longer?PRINCE?Harry, you are just Harry. Loveable, every day, caring, ginger-haired Harry who is married to Meghan Markle and inks 7 figure Netflix deals.
领英推荐
As always, we are curious to hear what you think.
Community Member at?BeenThereDoneThat
Freelance Creative Director / Writer
1. 5 easy ways to make more money as a creative freelancer
Read Time: 5m
If you love money and love being freelance this article is for you.
?
2. Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
Read / Listen Time: 30-50m
That thing you are feeling inside… explained here.
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3. Building A Bias Towards Action – Be The Person Who Goes For it!
Read Time: 16m
Be biased towards a Bias Towards Action.
4. What they never tell you about becoming a freelance creative
Read Time: 8m
The better, more professional version of what I wrote.
We'd love to hear what you thought about this newsletter! Reply in the comments below or reach out to us! To find out more about BeenThereDoneThat, connect with us on?LinkedIn?or visit our?Website. If you'd like to receive The School of Athens weekly newsletter on every Friday directly to your inbox, subscribe?here.