I’ve survived one year of being self-employed (and what I learnt along the way)

I am all about celebrating anniversaries here in on The Bloglancer. I’ve written my monthly blog to business updates and also celebrated one year of starting my blog-business journey. However, this milestone seems the most exciting milestone of all: I’ve survived a whole year of working for myself as a writer! No part-time roles, no temporary teaching work-a whole year of only me being the boss! And it’s a more exciting anniversary as to be honest, it was one I didn’t think I’d be celebrating.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Blcb-PCAlUz/?taken-by=jennafarmeruk

Month by Month

At first, my plan was to take things month by month. Because I used to be a teacher and my job was in high demand; I told myself I was just taking a break from supply work so I could try 2 months just writing.

That seemed a lot less scary than contemplating a whole career change and I’d highly recommend trying it this way; even if it’s something like using a few weeks annual leave or dropping down a week and dedicating that whole time to trialing being freelance. Although I talk a lot about how much I work for myself, I would never advise anyone quitting their job. In fact, my plan went something like this…

• Sep 2016-switched from permanent teaching role 5 days a week to a permanent 3 days a week role to see if I could start making money from my blog.
• January 2017- Left my 3-day a week role (hated it!) and switched to supply (temping essential) teaching work 3-4 days a week.
• April 2017-test run. Declined supply work for one half-term (6 weeks) to just try writing. Although it was pretty successful, decided to just do one last half-term (May-July) just in case.
• July 2017- Left supply teaching and went 100% self-employed as a writer.

I hope that helps show how gradual the movement was. Looking back, I could have probably done it a bit sooner but I think it’s especially hard if your career is one you’ve trained for-there’s a reluctance to let go at something you’ve spent so hard working (and getting in student debt!) for.

I ended up with enough work to make it to October ’17 (the end of the first ‘half-term’ in teaching) and thought I might be able to get to Christmas. But I fully expected to be back in the classroom by January. However, January came and went and that first few months turned out to be some of my busiest ever.

Saying Yes

Sorry for the cheesy insta-worth quote but one of the things I found this year was that being self-employed opened me up to so many more opportunities. I could say yes to events; yes to networking. Things I said ‘no’ to as I couldn’t rejig or schedule a loss of day’s wages previously, became possible..

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ0-gBOg7-2/?taken-by=jennafarmeruk

And I really did have a fun few months making the most of that! I learnt that sometimes the things you’ll think you’ll get the least out of (can I really justify taking a day out of my schedule and a train fare for a christmas showcase?) end up being the most fruitful; and I feel I really started to make long-term connections.

Getting things moving

https://www.instagram.com/p/BarnKZ6AfwN/?taken-by=jennafarmeruk

There is nothing like having actual bills to pay from your writing to send a bit of a rocket up you! I might’ve looked at the numbers previously but I think on that first day that adrenalin rush just takes over! I thought I’d sit procrastinating but you end up pushing harder than you thought you ever would: picking up the phone, chasing emails and coming up with ideas.

I think that’s the thing- we spend so long contemplating the decision that when it actually happens, we’re so desperate to make it work. I must admit, at first I did struggle to ‘cut off’ as each email received felt a signal for ‘you can do this!’ or ‘you’ve got no chance!’ and I took everything very personally.

Being my own boss forced me to look outside my comfort zone-for example I transitioned into journalism, blog outreach and copywriting for brands. Things I’d probably never have done if I was working full-time. It’s probably because you finally start using the language (although my family still call me a teacher even though I’m not one now)- ‘I’m a writer’ or ‘I’m self-employed’ and get rid of ‘aspiring/wannabee/trainee’ or whatever your word of choice is! This massively helps your mindset (although there’s no reason why you can’t use that language straightaway!) even if you’re not earning!

Always having new ideas

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkVn4QYgqJL/?taken-by=jennafarmeruk

The downside to freelancing is nothing is secure. I mean literally nothing. One email and you’ve lost a project or a role-and there’s no notice periods, sick pay or even an apology. You can get comfortable working on the same projects each month and see them as guaranteed income. A few months ago, two of my ‘guaranteed’ places that I contributed suddenly changed direction. If I’m honest, I probably had it quite easy to get regular contributor pieces in journalism so soon and I don’t think I appreciated how stressful it could be pitching all the time.

It felt like a real kick in the teeth. Of course, it was partly about the money but more so my pride and my comfort blanket. It felt like having to start again. But I’m starting to learn that constantly starting over is pretty much what freelancing is all about. It actually encouraged me to get creative and start actively pitching again; and some of the stuff I ended up working on ended up being really exciting-and stuff I probably wouldn’t have put myself forward for if I had the other roles.

It helps to keep inspiring yourself with new things. Read new books, hang art in acrylic picture frames, go on plenty of walks. When you feel inspired, you can get creative and suddenly remember why you started writing for yourself in the first place.

You need so many ideas going freelance. And if you think you’ve got enough-then you probably haven’t. Most of the time I love being creative but other times I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall going ‘write something you fool!’

I wouldn’t change it

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkj983hAU-G/?taken-by=jennafarmeruk

I really wouldn’t change my journey now for anything. I mainly wanted to write this post because I am so happy with my job-and I genuinely look forward to Mondays. I feel sad that I spend seven years (many of those with a serious health condition that should have given me a nudge) doing a job that I just didn’t love and feeling unfilled; so I hope this post gives you some inspiration if you are looking to do the same! If you have any questions about freelancing or blogging as a job, do let me know and I’ll do my best to help.