designs while looking after a young child was too much. Instead, she began using her hard-earned knowledge on sustainable design and started to offer this out as a consultant. She was picked up by a forward-thinking agency and began to work two days a week from home – managing with a mixture of paid-for childcare and utilising Max’s nap times. With a high day-rate, this two-day working week enables her to lead a financially comfortable life, while being very much involved in her son’s early years.
Anna Jones – bestselling author, cook and columnist for the Guardian and The Pool – wanted a freelance career that would fit well around motherhood, but also offer variety. ‘I’ve spent my whole life trying to avoid routine,’ she says, ‘which has been a challenge since entering motherhood, as babies like routine. But I can get bored quite easily. I don’t like doing the same thing again and again, so I designed my career so that every day is different. I thrive on that. I’m quite good at being present, which is a good trait for someone who freelances – I’m not worried about where the money’s coming from or what I’m doing each month, I’m just living in the moment.’
For Dr Pragya Agarwal – designer, entrepreneur, journalist and TEDx speaker – it was a different set of circumstances that led to her embarking on her multi-skilled freelance career. ‘Becoming self-employed was not a decision that I took lightly,’ she says. ‘After a career at the top of academia, and facing workplace bullying, stress and burnout, I took a difficult decision to take a break and step away from something that I had worked very hard to achieve. I defined myself through that success and that position, and so this change brought about some loss of self-esteem, confidence and a sense of direction. But it also gave me an opportunity to evaluate what I really was passionate about and wanted from my life, and that was to make a positive change and impact and create a life filled with meaning and purpose that was flexible and gave me back control.’ She now has multiple income streams. ‘This kind of portfolio career suits me because it makes life really interesting and exciting. It has also been good for my mental well-being, as it helps me to keep thinking outside the box and more creatively.’
Whether you turn a hobby into a career, like Francesca; use your experience and knowledge of your industry to offer consultancy, as Lauren does; set up your own shop or small business, like I have; transition into a new but connected phase of your career, like Anna – from chef to food stylist and writer; or find yourself needing a fresh start following an unbearable work situation, like Pragya; it’s about ensuring that you are honing in on everything you’ve learned up until now. You have valuable assets, whatever your previous line of work. So once you’ve worked out what they are, and what your work–life balance should be, you can start making this your reality. All the practical stuff, like childcare, can be considered later. This initial exercise is just about you and your dream freelance career.
Helen Thorn, one half of the Scummy Mummies comedy duo, says:
‘My number-one top tip is to be passionate and love what you do. Don’t just choose the style of working because you think you should or because your friends are doing it. Working freelance is wonderful for its flexibility, but you also face other challenges in terms of irregular income, hustling for work and rejection that you wouldn’t get in other “normal” employment. If you REALLY love what you do, this will get you through those times.
‘One of the most useful things we did a few years into the Scummy Mummies was write down a list of absolutely everything we wanted to do. And I mean everything. And then we chose five to focus on. In the beginning, you’ll be tempted to say yes to everything and be “busy”. But while the money may be appealing, there are no prizes for exhaustion. Think about your business and brand in the long term and what you really want from it. Being successful is about what you say “no” to, as well as what you say “yes” to.’
Passion work vs money work
Now we can get a bit more practical, because while you may have dreams to be a film actor or novelist, it could take time for this to pay. So in the meantime, it might be helpful to look at your freelance career like a tree. The trunk is you; you’re rooted and grounded, standing tall. There are various branches, which might represent the different work you’re doing, but at the end of each branch is a flower – that’s the end goal. It might look and feel as if the branches aren’t connecting, but they are: they are all part of you, and your capabilities, and are linked to your dream career.
For instance, I’m a writer. That’s what I love doing. In fact, one my biggest dreams was to write books. But I didn’t start my freelance career as a published author, that was going to take time. Instead, I sought copywriting work, which paid well. I didn’t have to feature it in my portfolio – some work can just be money work – but I did have to see it as being worthwhile. I focused on the fact that it would be good practice for my later book-writing, as I was finding ways to say a lot in very few words. And I soon learned how to do it.
In time, I built my website, The Early Hour, and this involved editing as well as writing, but also all the techy stuff, social media, cold-calling companies and persuading them to advertise with me. It was loads of work that felt like it veered far from the end goal – writing a book – but they were all branches on my tree. What happened was that I grew a community, and a platform, and this led to me eventually having a pitch accepted by 4th Estate publishers, and the offer of a book deal.
On my journey, I’ve occasionally been asked to do work that I don’t enjoy – like writing the copy for a company whose ethics are questionable, or doing PR for a product I don’t believe in. If I’ve been incredibly strapped for cash, I’ve taken on the work, but now I’m a lot more selective. Experience gives you the freedom to turn down work, which is a wonderful position to be in. The goal is to spend the bulk of your time doing exactly what you love doing: writing, speaking, acting, making music, illustrating, designing, lecturing – whatever it is, you will be able to do almost solely that. Keep those roots watered and the branches strong and, in time, the flowers will bloom and thrive.
Anya Hayes (@mothers.wellness.toolkit) was a managing editor in book publishing before being made redundant. She went freelance temporarily as an editor, because she didn’t have a job to move on to, but also trained as a Pilates teacher at the same time. She was then offered a temporary, self-employed, two-days-a-week desk editor role at Macmillan publishing on a wellbeing imprint. So she did this, while continuing with her training, then stayed in the role while also starting up as a Pilates teacher. It worked really well in terms of balance, though ‘not too well in terms of career progression,’ she says. The job with Macmillan ended, she found work with another publisher and then became pregnant, which, being self-employed, was financially tricky. Since having children (Anya now has two), she’s worked as a freelance editor, Pilates teacher and has written a book: The Supermum Myth. A ‘cobbled-together’ career, says Anya, but one that works in terms of its flexibility, which allows her to work around family life.
Katie Stockdale (@peaceloveandbirth) had been working in fashion before she left to have her baby, but she decided that her maternity leave would be a good time to re-train. So after nine months Katie completed a hypnobirthing course to become a teacher. She then decided she wouldn’t be returning to her previous fashion job at all, so she also trained as a yoga teacher. Of the two, hypnobirthing is more lucrative, though she is breaking even with the yoga. To supplement her more holistic work, Katie is a part-time college lecturer on a fashion-buying course. This balance of regular work related to her previous career, alongside embarking on an entirely new career path, is a great example of how you can utilise your existing experience while also trying out something new.
Anna Jones (@we_are_food) trained as a chef under Jamie Oliver. She was then employed as part of a small team, experimenting
