Corporate to freelance, a day in the life of…

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.

Anais Nin

I love to get to know my clients but sometimes they are on the other side of the world or a 5 hour plane ride far in an amazing location. This is when I get creative… Last week I wrote website content for a hotel on an island and I had a beautiful cocktail and coconut pieces – and photos of the hotel – to inspire me.

How did I become a freelancer?

When people first hear that I was responsible for managing an ecommerce site with a 40 to 60 million turnover per year the first question is always – why did you leave? The long answer is, when you aren’t happy and you put in a lot of effort in making other people lots of money and you don’t see enough return on investment – is it really worth staying?

I wanted more from life than sitting and wishing I wasn’t at the office, never receiving a thank you for overshooting my targets and a manager that was a complete bully that I had shouting matches with on a regular basis.

The first few months wasn’t easy. I had to find clients and make sure that I still paid the bills, but once it clicked everything just fell into place.

What else do I do?

I don’t just sit and write content! I build websites, manage social media pages and also assist with marketing for some of my clients. Oh, and I go out when the sun shines to have a coffee or lunch – and get to go on holiday whenever I want.

Sometimes I will take on design work, but only for my existing clients. In a previous life I was a designer too – can you belief it?!?!

How do I get clients?

Hard work, marketing and referrals.

Do I have processes?

Yes I do, I’m very disciplined. I don’t just sit at my desk and twiddle thumbs. Each day has a plan of work that I would like to complete and each brief or work piece has a plan behind it.

My content writing process

1. Receive brief
2. Story research
3. Content/page planning & keyword research (if it’s a website)
4. Switch off from the world and write
5. Edit
6. Send to client
7. Tweak

Who are my clients?

If I told you I would have to find a place to hide your body.

Am I hiring?

No. I already have an accomplice or two and we work together well.

Goals for the year

• Increase client base
• Make more money
• Go somewhere awesome

Follow your dreams

If you want to run your own business or work for yourself, take a chance on yourself and go for it.

Don’t let your dreams be dreams.

Jack Johnson