Just because you can freelance – doesn’t mean you should
Time to read: 2 minutes
Sam Howard set up our virtual PR agency six years ago, and the business model is now gaining in popularity, so the demand for freelance comms proffesionals is out there. But just because you can freelance doesn’t mean you should. Here are her top tips for determining if you would be happy as a freelance PR:
Reasons to go Freelance: 1, 2, 3…
Because you want to – not because you don’t want to do something else
1) You actully want to freelance – sounds obvious but don’t do it just as the lesser of two evils or because you can’t find a ‘proper’ job, or because you think you will make way more money than you do now.
In my view, going freelance so you can hope to work every hour of every day to make loads of money is a guaranteed formula to make yourself utterly miserable.
My team and I, all chose to go freelance, we left great jobs to do it, so we brought commitment to the role from day one and are in it for the long haul. And we are all able to ride out the occasional lean month with a shrug of the shoulders rather than a wringing of hands.
Don’t mistake not wanting a boss with the same as not needing one
2) You you can be your own (great) boss – don’t mistake not wanting a boss with the same as not needing one. In a ‘proper’ job the structure provides sticks and carrots, but you have neither when you work for yourself. Sure there are no petty rules but there are no promotions either.
But if you have a big and burly work ethic combined with a very small ego then you’re able to push yourself to get results and when you bring in that piece for the FT be content with a ‘well done me’ cup of coffee and an adoring look from the dog.
Have two passions working and not working
3) You are actually able to implement a healthy work life balance – we all talk about it but unless you can be bold enough to actually implement it you’re just going to stare at the laptop 52 weeks a year stressing that there is not enough work.
Whether it’s kicking off each day with a long walk in the park with the hounds, or the weekly art classes, or the sax summer school – we schedule to take time off. Sure we take advantage of the portable desk and it’s great to be able to get in a few days’ work when visiting family elsewhere. But it’s not just about working away, it’s about not working at all and booking those amazing trips you’ve always promised yourself, for as long as you want to take them.
Our holiday calendar looks like the Conde Nast to do list, and in the last couple of years our small crew have ticked off holidays in:
Sussex, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, France, Corsica, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria, Finland (northern lights), Spain, Lanzarote, Majorca, Ibiza, Greece, Italy, Barbados, Tobago, St Lucia, Mauritius and Uzbekistan.
