Exactly one year ago, I officially made the leap into freelance life. I left my Director-level job at a women’s magazine - not because I didn’t enjoy it, I did - but to choose myself and carve out a life that was more about living. It worked, and my only wish is that I did it sooner.
Now, no day looks the same for me. Some days I’m writing features on wellness and beauty trends, the next I’m creating social media content for a publication, other days I do corporate copywriting (for the £££) or work on personal projects (social media partnerships, poetry, this newsletter, manuscripts). I get to lean into my different professional passions and produce work, rather than spending hours and hours a day in meetings. I am someone who needs a lot of creative stimulation, and freelance life has given me that.
Ultimately, I didn’t want to be in the rat race anymore. I realised that what I’d been working for, for so many years, wasn’t something I wanted anymore. I was doing very little writing, getting very little space to think, and burning out. Constantly. As someone with an autoimmune condition, the jobs I held were making me sicker — I could not take ‘slow’ days when my periods floored me, I could not take time off for hospital trips without raising eyebrows, and I could not rest when I needed to.
I am someone who finds saying no very hard, and I always want to be the hardest worker in any room - I was desperate for validation and success, and whilst that helped me thrive in many ways (promotions, awards, accolades), it wasn’t what was best for me.
As a freelance writer and creative, I’m still busy and work long hours. But they are decided on by me. I am the master of my ship. I now spend a lot more time looking after my well-being, because so much of the daily stress and admin of full-time work has been removed. I no longer leave the house at 7.30 AM and return at 8 PM, I no longer answer calls at all hours or deal with crisis comms, and I no longer spend hours a week managing dynamics and bosses.
So, for anyone thinking of going self-employed, here are 5 lessons I’ve learnt over the last 365 days:
It’s not as scary as people make out: Freelance work, I think, is gatekept as an option. We’re told you need loads of savings and connections. Those things help, sure, but it is possible without them. There will never be a ‘perfect’ time to go freelance - I kept waiting to have some money in the bank but realised that working in journalism in London this goal might be a decade away. So, I just went for it.
Depending on your industry, you could make a lot more money freelance.
Back to the gatekeeping point: Figuring out HMRC and tax isn’t that hard! The admin of freelance isn’t more than the admin a corporate company makes you do! Don’t let that put you off!
If it doesn’t work out, you can go back to full-time work. Just give it a go.
Get very, very thick skin. Especially as a freelance writer. You will get ghosted a lot, you will get rejections, you will get the dreaded ‘Not one for us!’. It’s not personal and it doesn’t mean the idea is bad —oftentimes Editors won’t have the budget, or they won’t even see your email, or maybe they don’t want to commission someone they haven’t worked with before. Pick yourself up, try somewhere else, and persist until your idea gets the right home.
Yep yep yep, to all of this. My boss in a previous magazine job brought me in to discuss how many sick days I was taking and that really stayed with me. Like, getting reprimanded for taking sick days????? No. Not for me. I can manage my health so so much better freelance oh my god. AND I don’t have to sit in an open plan office with the big light on all the time, ooohweee
I honestly feel like leaving office life is a bit like escaping a cult.