One Decade of Freelancing
According to my LinkedIn page, I celebrate 10 years of freelancing this May. One whole decade.
To be honest, I don't remember exactly when I started, but it doesn't really matter. I'm grateful that my past self took a risk (with a lot of help) and decided to start rather than wait for the right time. There was no real clarifying moment that made my career feel like this was what I wanted to do. Just a slow, steady meander through my skills and interests that whittled what I had available to me.
I look at other successful businesses, freelancers, and workers who have these dramatic stories that helped shape them and their careers. A lot of people imagine that specific, powerful, pivotal moments in their lives will reveal grand things for them. I've noticed that sometimes, it's just getting started that helps me see what I need to do. Grand things take time or chance, and if you wait for the chance, you won't create the time for it to happen.
I feel very lucky to be doing what I do, and working with the utterly fantastic, amazing, and genuine people I do. I realised while building my career, I created the space I thrived within.
Here is some tangible advice, which I still do not feel qualified to give.
You have permission to start now, or whenever you want
You also have permission to make great work or do the work you want to do. I spent many years not knowing I could be doing the work I want to do. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what you want to do; decide for yourself
You grow the space you nurture, meaning you can work how you want to and the way you want to
I still sometimes don't know what I'm doing, and that's how I got here. The lesson in this is that it helped me shape a lot of my decision-making skills
The world is a scary place, so you might as well start carving out a part of it that feels familiar to you, or start looking for others who feel the same way you do