That would be me!
This is going to be one of those long, potentially rambling posts, so make yourself something heavily caffeinated (or juice up some leafy greens if you’re so inclined), slip into something comfortable (I recommend lulu, my uniform) and settle in for my story from employee to employer of self.
My About page gives a brief overview of who I am, and what I do, but it doesn’t go into any detail about the why, let alone the how.*
Once upon a time, there was a girl who wore heels and a suit every day, who had a full time job in the CBD working as a communications advisor, managing multi-million dollar projects, whilst completing a Master of Communications, and then a Master of Arts (Writing and Literature). By day, I wrote speeches, letters, policy papers, articles, communications strategies and corporate communications collateral, and by night, I wrote poetry, personal narratives and feature articles about men’s underwear, amongst other topics. I had a non-fiction lecturer who liked the way I strung words together, and encouraged me to pitch articles for publication, and wouldn’t you know it, they were accepted! Around the same time, the project I was working on finished, and after many years of working in a bureaucracy, I desperately needed a change. I booked a holiday to Italy for the following year, and set myself the challenge of earning enough money through freelance writing and communications to be able to do nothing but eat gelato and lie on a Southern Italian beach for a month.
I wasn’t sure I’d like being my own boss- I’m someone who loves a checklist and a process, but I discovered working for myself allowed me to nurture my need to organise, plan and make lists. It also allowed me to set my own goals, untied to a broader, relatively faceless organisation. I could work on my passions and my motivations, rather than the targets set by the 22nd floor. I loved working on a diverse mix of projects, and working on the projects that appealed to me. I also really loved the flexibility and independence that didn’t exist for me in a 9-5 working environment.
That was over a decade ago- since then I’ve had a family, I’ve been a stay at home mum, a working mum employed by an organisation (x2), and a work at home mum working for myself. Blue51 Communications is my ideal working fit- it gives me a balance between parenting and working, it showcases, feeds and enhances my skills and experience, and most importantly, provides the opportunity to work with inspirational clients on exciting projects, solving their communications problems to achieve tangible, in some cases life changing results in their businesses. What’s not to love?
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*The ‘how’ is a biggie, and I’ll be covering that in posts over the course of the year via my fabulous 2016 blog schedule. Stay tuned!
This post is the first of a series of posts about freelance life. Each month I’ll share the good, the bad and the beautiful about being my own boss. I’ll provide insights, hacks and ideas for freelancing and running a business. If there’s something specific you’d like to know about working for yourself, freelance communications or copywriting, please shoot me an email or give me a buzz, and I’ll do my best to help.