Eight years of freelance life (and a few truths I learnt along the way)

Today marks eight years since I quit the in-house life and went freelance.

It’s been a while since I marked a work anniversary (I’m generally not very good at remembering significant dates – just ask my husband, whose birthday I’m pretty sure is in April), but I know it’s a tough market out there at the moment and I’m often approached for advice on going freelance.

So, this year, I thought I’d share a few truths about being freelance for anyone thinking about taking the leap (and is in need of reassurance). ?

Not everyone is turning over six figures.

I’m not. And I’m OK with that. It’s also great if you are (really – very well done, it takes a lot of work). My goal when I set out to be freelance was to earn enough to live a nice life and you guessed it, achieve a work-life balance (still not there – maybe next year?!).

Work out what success means to you, not to everyone else. I do work I genuinely enjoy with lovely people, and I earn decent money doing it. I haven’t grown my business in the sense that I don’t run events or have products or have taken on employees. Growth for me is about learning and improving. For example, I’ve been on the IoIC board for the past three years – an experience that has been fulfilling and challenging (in a good way!).

Not every project will work out.

I’ve been lucky and most of mine have, but there is one that will always stick in my mind that absolutely did not. It was a personality clash, and I realised that early on but decided to stick with it for fear of looking unprofessional and walking away. Big mistake. I should have saved us both a lot of time and stress by having the courage to acknowledge that it wasn’t working.

Always go with your gut.

Be realistic.

Do I have a newsletter? No. Should I have a newsletter? Probably. Can I commit to a newsletter? No.

It’s something I have beaten myself up over in the past but honestly, I don’t have the time right now alongside other commitments (there are only so many hours in a day and I’m currently ruled by an opinionated three-year-old) and I’m not sure what I would be adding to the conversation.

Maybe one day I will but right now, I need to be realistic about what I can achieve. Having said that, early on in my freelance career, I did a lot of blogging. That visibility definitely helped me win work – so the lesson here is to find what works best for you.

I make myself visible through volunteering my time within the IC world (plus through doing this I continually learn) and by delivering work I’m proud of that will hopefully lead to a future recommendation.

The network really is everything.

I say this to anyone who will listen but if you want to succeed as a freelancer, you need a network. And that can only be built on trust – for someone to recommend you, they are putting their own reputation on the line. Always do what you say you will, when you say you will (and be nice to people).

Eight years ago, Rachel Miller and Alan Oram both took a chance on me and without their support I might have just hit the ground and not quite managed the running part. There have been so many others since then who have trusted me with their projects or contacts, and I have tried to pay that forward wherever I can.

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So there you have it, a self-indulgent post that I hope has given a realistic insight into freelance life – you might not get rich and you will fail from time to time (you may even decide it’s not for you – that’s OK too) but I guarantee you’ll meet some great people and have some fun along the way.?