What does success look like? And what does it mean to you?
I used to think that âsuccessâ was working my way up the ladder of the corporate hierarchy, securing promotions every 1-3 years, before finally reaching the undefined âpinnacle of successâ that I had been led to believe existed in some tangible way at the end of the rainbow. As I outlined here, however - I quickly realised that this is nothing but a heavenly stereotype, one perpetuated by notions of tradition, capitalism and order, that had no place in the way I worked or the way I actually wanted to live my life. I realised that my perception of success was centred all around status and even more worryingly, around work and work alone.
When I worked in the corporate world, job titles meant everything to me. My entire self-worth and value as a human being seemed to rest on the title I was awarded. I constantly compared myself to my peers and viewed my value as intrinsic to how long Iâd been in a certain role and became anxious and frustrated when I didnât feel progression was available quickly enough. From my very first role, I was eager to learn and enthusiastic, yet was shot down numerous times when I asked for more challenging work. I didnât know why.
With that in mind, you can imagine my younger selfâs devastation at never having been officially promoted. Not once. At least, not by anyone other than myself. If you look at it like this, the word âsuccessâ has never been a less accurate description of my professional life. Since I wasnât being promoted, I had to move roles entirely in order to fulfil my ambitions of reaching the next rung of the ladder⊠This might seem familiar to you, but I urge you to consider it another way. I am good at my job, always have been, but my perspective always seemed to differ from those of my bosses - they kept their eyes on the prize - the massive amount of money theyâd earn from their new contracts, whereas I was mostly concerned with working on projects that interested me and had a wider purpose than to simply make rich people richer. I did not play the game and that, rather than the value of my work or experience and ability, was the main reason why no one ever promoted me.
Success, now, to me - means being free of these antiquated expectations and having true autonomy. This goes for my balance sheet too - I earn far more now than I ever did working for someone else.
As a freelancer, I give myself promotions. Literally. After Iâve worked at a number of projects and feel confident I could take on more complex work, I update my âjob titleâ - now not my sole focus, but rather a superfluous description in the life of a freelancer - but within my industry itâs still something the agencies I work with rely upon to categorise potential candidates. Each promotion I award myself comes with an increase in my day rate and a mini celebration. Never once have I felt out of my depth with the work I do as a freelancer - itâs a challenge, oh yes, but by giving myself permission to run my own show, it means my clients give me more responsibility than I would ever be âallowedâ in a normal job. I trust myself to do my best work and by extension, they trust me. The feedback I receive from clients proves my work is of a high quality.
I watched a great TedEx shared with me by a uni colleague this week about how to find success, wherever you are and in whatever you are doing. The 3 steps the speaker outlined are paraphrased below⊠I hope they resonate with you as they did with me.
Be open to and be ready for change (change is a synonym for growth)
Embrace the experiences, ditch the titles. Think of your work like an artistâs portfolio. Each piece is beautiful alone, but together, the whole portfolio clearly illustrates the growth youâve gone through. Each experience can help you expand your options and better enjoy the journey.
Make personal, meaningful connections. They are everything. Plug in to the conversations - ask questions, seek advice, tell people what you want to achieve and people will think of you when they have something theyâre looking for that suits you.
The more observant members of my readership may have noticed I took a break last week from this newsletter - as you may know, I recently took on the new challenge of a part-time masters and to say it was taking up all my remaining time would be an understatement. I now live and breathe epistemology! Many thanks, as ever, for your patience and support.
I hope you enjoy this weekâs newsletter. If thereâs anything youâd like me to share in a future issue, or ideas for what youâd like to read about, just drop me an email me at graceamymaud@gmail.com.
This newsletter is an extension to the 2,500+ strong freelance force we have congregating at @FreelanceCollectiveUK. If you donât already follow us there, come on over!
Until next week, with love,
Grace x
Become an entrepreneur in 5 quick steps!
Have you thought about starting your own side hustle but donât know where to start? In this 15 page interactive PDF workbook, I tackle why having a gig on the side is a great idea, how you can launch one in 5 simple steps and what the implications on your tax situation are (itâs not as complicated as youâd think!) đ€«
Interest & inspiration for the week ahead
This fascinating study from the ADP Research Institute looks at what makes us resilient in the face of Covid and their thesis was completely wrong.
Lockdown has allowed many of us to reflect on our priorities and as we know, many women are taking stock and switching up their careers as a result.
The workplace has been forever changed by Coronavirus. Forbes looks at what the future of work means for our mental health.
As someone who realised they were an introvert far too late in life, this was a lovely read. Also, who doesnât want to spend a year of self-discovery in France?! (Emily in Paris does not count, fyi.)
Speaking of which⊠âEmily in Paris is a sinister study of the American Dreamâ writes Vice. Dark.
The Art (of freelancing)
Iâve loved this piece, called âTwo Facesâ by designer, artist & brand consultant Frances Costello for a couple of years now. Iâve asked for a print of this for Christmas đ
If youâre a freelance artist, illustrator or designer and would like to be featured in the art of freelancing, reply or DM me.
The Freelancer Conundrum #6
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: Iâve just gone freelance and Iâve been told I need an accountant - how do I find a good one and is it important to have one if I want to purchase a property whilst being self-employed?
A: The number 1 rule is always to ask around. Join communities of freelancers on social media and ask those in a similar industry to yourself for recommendations. Obviously your choice will be influenced by what level of accountancy support you require, but finding a good accountant is indeed the first step you should take when you become freelance and arguably the most important, to ensure you don't fall foul of the taxman. I've also seen plenty of independent bookkeepers and accountants launching their own businesses, especially during lockdown, so when thinking about going freelance, it might be worth reaching out to an accountant in the same boat, for general freelancing support, as well as their accountancy know-how. As for securing a mortgage as a self-employed person, I donât have personal experience of this, but I have heard that itâs totally possible as long as your accounts are up to date and there are paper trails for everything - so having an accountant takes a considerable amount of the legwork out of it for someone busy building their business. I think it's also worth noting here that if your income is irregular, as it does tend to be for most freelancers, you need to ensure you're charging what you're actually worth. Making sure your day rate or project fees are competitive but fair is paramount to successfully building up to a point where securing a mortgage is going to be possible. Most of us aren't charging nearly as much as we should be for our valuable work and this will only hurt us down the line when we want to make a big transition, such as a house purchase, so make sure youâre thinking about your long-term goals as well as making your clients happy on a shorter-term basis!
Do you know someone who has just been made redundant or might be facing redundancy after the furlough scheme winds down?
Iâve written about my own experience of redundancy in the workbook below and given my tips for how to spruce up your CV and cover letter, as well as your social media profiles. You can access it for FREE - just click below.
The Weekly Atty
This week Atticus has been potato printing in the bath and all over the bathroom floor. Muddy cat paw prints everywhere are not as delightful as they sound. Here he is looking rather majestic and like butter wouldnât meltâŠ
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Thanks for subscribing! I'm Grace, Iâm a career coach in training and the person behind this newsletter. I am the founder of the freelance community, The Freelance Collective and you can also follow me on Instagram here, and Twitter here.