TFC Issue 1: "I'll just do some freelancing!" 3 years later...
Why work for someone else, when you can work for yourself?
Welcome to the very first edition of The Freelance Collective newsletter!
This is quite a surreal experience writing this, as I have wanted to start a newsletter for a long time and finally worked up the courage to do so just as work picks up post-lockdown and Iām about to start my mastersā¦ what can I say, I have great timing.
This newsletter has come about as an extension to the 2,000+ strong freelance force we have congregating at @FreelanceCollectiveUK. If you donāt already follow us there, come on over!
āSo, what made you decide to go freelance?ā This is how the conversation usually startsā¦
Firstly, let me introduce myself, my name is Grace and I am the freelancer behind TFC. I have been a freelance PR consultant for 3+ years having given up my corporate job in the PR department of an international law firm in summer 2017. Iāve had my fair share of work ups and downs, but Iāve never been happier in my work as I am when Iām freelancing. I feel like Iām built for it. My industry, however, doesnāt really suit me. Youāll note that PR never gets a look in on the instagram community page, simply due to the fact that Iām moving away from that type of work now. Itās not the industry I want to work in any more, which is why Iāve been spending the last few months plotting a career change, to go into career coaching, in fact.
Let me explain. I worked hard for my career in PR. Throughout school and university, my goal was always to get a job in communications, having first heard about the industry from my mum when I was about 12 years old. By the time I was 18, I was spending every summer, easter and Christmas holiday doing internships with London PR agencies (unpaid and at the expense of a hefty student overdraft, I might add). I thought when I finally made it into a paid job, it would be a little bit glamorous, definitely interesting, often challenging and fabulously well-paid (ha!) but as I quickly discovered, my personality just did not fit with it and nor did my values.
In my first graduate job, I was bullied, passed over for a (minor but meaningful) promotion that Iād worked towards in favour of an arrogant male colleague with less experience and eventually made redundant. In my second, I failed my probation because my confidence had evaporated after my previous experience and I couldnāt pick up the phone without having a panic attack. By my third, I was willingly sacrificing my own mental health to cope with my bossā insane mood swings, on the off chance that I would be given some recognition for my hard work which sometimes came in the form of getting pissed at 2pm in a private memberās club in Soho for no apparent reason. By my fourth full-time role, with another charming psychopath for a manager and no honest prospect of being given more responsibility, Iād quite literally had enough and left my job without another to go to.
āIāll just pick up some freelance workā I told my friends and mother, whoās advice in these situations has always been ātell them to f*ck off and walk outā despite her own role as an HR Manager suggesting she should recommend I do the exact opposite (i.e roll over and play dead). After 4 failed attempts at a full-time, ārespectableā, permanent role, I was suddenly faced with the realisation that I hate working for other people. Donāt get me wrong, I loved working in teams. I loved teaching others tips & tricks Iād picked up along the way in my higgledy-piggledy work life to date. I loved working with clients, even difficult onesā¦ but I hated the tedium, enforced hierarchy and game-playing that came with a managed, rigid role - in an organisation of any size and it would seem, in any industry.
Iād always recognised my disdain for authority figures, but this was on another level entirely. Despite the security that (usually) comes along with it, permanent, traditional employment now looks like utter hell to me. This is why it makes more sense for me to describe myself as an āaccidental entrepreneurā. I hadnāt intended to start my own freelance business, but here I am 3 years later, about to embark on a whole new field, re-train at masters level, launch my own coaching business and Iām loving every second of the journey, whilst still making enough money to just about feed my cat and a rather unhealthy candle addiction.
Many of us freelancers have a story like this, even if it doesnāt involve tripping up and falling head first into entrepreneurship. Iād love to hear yoursā¦ hit the reply button and tell me about it.
I hope you enjoy this weekās newsletter. If thereās anything youād like me to share in next weekās, or ideas for what youād like to read about, just drop me an email me at graceamymaud@gmail.com.
Until next week, with love,
Grace x
Grab your copy of the Profitable Side Hustle Workbook
Have you thought about starting your own side hustle but donāt know where to start? In this 15 page interactive PDF workbook, I tackle why having a side hustle is a great idea, how you can launch one in 5 simple steps and what the implications on your tax situation would be (itās not as complicated as youād think!)
What Iāve been appreciating this week
A quarter of women have started their own business during the pandemic according to some stats in from AllBright. You couldnāt get a stronger sense of optimism in the self-employment sphere right now. If youāre a woman reading this thinking about starting your own thingā¦ Do it. (The guide I wrote above might help!)
The High Low was back last week after a short break and itās been sorely missed! Iām never going to look the same way at Dolly Aldertonās shoulders ever again.
What is Hollywoodās obsession with suits? From dandyism to Daniel Craigās Bond, this oneās worth a quick read. (Especially if you want to channel Cary Grant but actually look far more like a sixth form teenager in your ill-fitting suit.)
Tolerate moderate discomfort and discover the secret to a well-lived life? That reminds me of every time Iāve ever tried to walk up a steep hill for the promise of a nice view at the top. Oliver Burkeman finishes up his long stint at The Guardian with his perplexing manifesto for how to live a (mostly) fulfilling life, as long as you just go and do the thing.
As a former clumsy waitress, I have the utmost sympathy for anyone working in a restaurant these days. The pandemic seems to have expedited a burnout trend for hospitality workers. We gotta remember our manners.
The Unography Magazine is described as āyour local internet art galleryā and I canāt think of a better description. Itās run by my friend Srishti and her co-founder Dhruv and is an aesthetic wonderland of art, poetry and drama. Check it out on a slow afternoon alongside a cup of something warm and season your imagination upon it š
The Art (of freelancing)
Isabelle Feliu is one of my favourite artists and this week she posted a reels on her instagram of her creating and painting this piece, called āGoodbye Summerā. As someone who loves to travel as much as possible, this summer feels like it has been one big missed opportunity. I canāt wait to escape the UK again soon for an adventure.
The Freelancer Conundrum #1
Every week I tackle a question a freelancer has sent in. Hit reply or drop into the DMs over at @FreelanceCollectiveUK if you have a freelancing question I can help you with!
Q: Iām a UX designer and Iāve had to drop my rates since Covid happened and work has been pretty hard to come by. How can I get my rates back up to where they were pre-pandemic or should I just accept I now canāt charge as much?
A: Knowing how to price yourself as a freelancer is something that is incredibly important at every stage of the game, from when you first learn how to price your work, to 5 years down the line when you know what youāre doing but still getting push back from those cheeky clients. And I can pretty much guarantee that whatever you were charging before the pandemicā¦ still wasnāt enough. The way I will handle this one is to ask you - why did you lower your rates in the first place? Was it a new client you wanted to work with and could offer a bit of flexibility to get them on board? Was it an old client who put pressure on you to reduce your costs? Was it desperation after work declined? Simply put, you must charge what youāre worth and the only person who can dictate that is you. Clever clients will always try to negotiate, theyāre in business for a reason, but just because times are tough does not mean they should automatically be getting a sweet deal - what about your own costs? Freelancing is tough - there is no doubt about that, so why lower your rate to fit their mould when you are the one-man-band taking on all the risk? I would recommend you start pitching your work at the previous rate and declining work which comes in far below that. Negotiate. If thereās a project youāre really keen to work on, reach out and voice that, but take away some of the value if the budget canāt flex to your usual rate. How often are you increasing your rates? I recently had an opportunity where my day rate (which increases annually, at least) had gone up, but the client wanted to work on the same one Iād had previously. I explained my annual increase and also that due to Covid, money was tight, then held on with fingers crossed while I waited for a response. As a global company - they should take the (really small) hit on cost, not me. Iāll be doing the very best job I can, whilst they go without one more bottle of champagne at the Christmas party (which letās face it, will probably be over Zoom anyway). In the end, they were fine with it, but sometimes it just takes that confidence to push back, then hold tight until they respond.
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The Weekly Atty
My 2 year old cat, Atticus, is the laziest animal I know. He sleeps all day and requests outside time - by yelling into the nothingness at the door - when itās dark outside, although heās free to come and go as he pleases throughout the day. Needless to say, his nocturnal patterns do not suit my anxiety and he gets grumpy with me when I keep him inside at night. So this is my revenge. Iām not above shaming him on the internet. Tough sh*t kitty cat.
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Thanks for subscribing! I'mĀ Grace, the person behind this newsletter. I am the founder of the freelance community The Freelance Collective (thereās a theme, I know) and you can also follow me on InstagramĀ here, and TwitterĀ here.
TFC Issue 1: "I'll just do some freelancing!" 3 years later...
Loved it Grace. Very insightful and honest. I think you will do well in your new career!