The Freelance Life

SO it's been a while since I wrote my last post and to be honest, this is mainly because I'm so scared of people being able to read how I'm feeling and what I'm saying. I get so paranoid that I'm going to write a word with a different meaning or just be ... wrong?

Weirdly I've never had this issue when it comes to visuals; I've always been so happy to share my work and it's because i'm confident in design, writing ... not so much. I've never been one for big fancy words, huge books were (and still are) daunting. Hitting the bottom of the page after I've read it to realise, oh no I was so focused on physically reading the words, I actually have no idea what they mean. 6 attempts later and finally we've gotten past the first page - it's exhausting.

With all the above being said, here's the third blog post *gulp*.

I officially became a full-time freelance graphic designer in December 2021. This was a big leap for me. I had always steered away from the freelancer life, the thought of not necessarily having a steady income, paying my own taxes and no pension pot scared the life out of me! Then I was made redundant. When this happens, it makes you question everything - especially when the reasoning from the company is all over the place.

Was I good enough for the role? Was it about me? Should I have put even more hours in?

Do I want to be doing this job? Could I perform better else where? What do I even want to do?

So many questions and so little time, with money running out it was make a decision or ... be broke? So I made the decision to take on freelance design work. Only for a little bit, I'm sure I'll hate chasing clients and having my own schedule and being more trusted/respected than as a full-time employee.

You guessed it, I didn't hate it.

I love meeting amazing, creative new people from different brands and companies; understanding what they need from me and how I can help them for the time we're together. It's so fun!

Don't be afraid to ask questions, reach out to your peers (or possible mentors) for advice, support and assistance - I'm always happy to help a fellow creative!

So, as cliche as it sounds, things do happen for a reason and you are put in certain situations that you might not like ... or think you like, until you take the chance!

#graphicdesign #careerpathway #designer #designcareers #creativechar