I Freelance; That Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Work
The transition from a full-time employee to a freelance contractor isn’t easy.
Doubts, apprehensions, and uncertainties are common and I had plenty of those to deal with when I quit my full-time job in favour of working as an independent freelance content writer.
After all, the world of freelance writing promised wonderful opportunities to fulfill my dreams of becoming a successful writer.
STARTING OUT AS A FREELANCE WRITER
I began my freelance writing journey years ago. It was a time when the term FREELANCE didn’t ring any bells in the minds of people, especially in my part of the world.
I was starting from scratch – taking small steps to launch my freelance writing business and establish myself, all on my own. I knew success could be mine with a lot of patience, an unwavering perseverance, and a pragmatic approach to everything I did.
Slowly but surely, things starting looking up for me. However, the reactions I was getting from people around me were far from positive.
Whoever inquired about my present employment ended up giving me questioning looks.
They had numerous queries about what I was doing and wondered how I could possibly work from home, while they spent hours at a stretch in commute on a daily basis in order to earn a living.
Honestly, at the end of each such interaction, the only prominent vibe I was getting from each persistent inquirer was, I don’t think she does anything.
HOW I BROKE THROUGH STEREOTYPED MINDSETS
This was a time when most people were switching jobs and taking up employment with high-paying MNCs which were serving massive perks and enticing employee benefits as bait.
No wonder, everyone was astonished by my decision to opt for self-employment.
They wanted to know why I had chosen to do something DIFFERENT. Why was I deviating from the dependable nine-to-five work routine?
And here I was – excited, intrigued, and visibly hopeful about making it big on my own in the beautiful world of content writing.
Over the next few years, I worked on some amazing writing projects and was feeling happy and satisfied with where I was.
However, the doubtful looks, the questions and the snide remarks from other ‘successful’ professionals who boasted about their steady flow of promotions in their so-called predictable, high paying jobs, continued.
I was still someone who wasn’t in a full-time job and says she does something on her own.
FINDING MY PATH
I often wondered if people were unable to understand what I was doing or could it be possible that they simply didn’t want to understand?
Could I blame such behaviour on human mentality?
After all, I wasn’t able to name a big company I was working with.
Whatever the case may be, I stood unaffected by such talk and behaviour as I was happy and satisfied with my work and saw no reason to spend time convincing others of what I do.
It was hilarious when at several social occasions, I came across people who complained endlessly about their difficult boss, the feeling of stagnation in their present role, the long commute, or a promotion that was long overdue.
They were the same people, who at one point in time didn’t waste a single moment to judge me.
And the irony of it all, I wasn’t the one complaining about all the numerous problems, they were!
Such is life 🙂
The only thing that was left for me to do was to let my work speak for itself.
You know what I think?
Different people will have different views on everything. The trick is to know what feels right for you and to do it wholeheartedly.
It is important to break through stereotypical mindsets if what you’re doing gives you happiness and creative fulfillment.
Here are 10 Signs You Were Born to Write.
Over the last 13+ years, I have worked on numerous exciting projects with many growing businesses, startups and entrepreneurs from all over the globe.
I still can’t give you the name of a big company I work for. Rather, I can now give you names of many countries where my content writing clients are based and also define the exciting projects I have been fortunate enough to be associated with.
In hindsight, I am happy, contented and thankful to all those people who doubted me.
If it wasn’t for them and their preconceived notions, I probably wouldn’t have pushed myself to achieve all that I have.
I am happy that I took a big risk and that I didn’t settle for anything less than I was capable of achieving.
Today, freelancing has become quite a fad with more and more people choosing to work from home. It feels great to know that the path I chose so many years ago now has so many takers.
I said it then, and I will say it now – I freelance. That doesn’t mean I’m Unemployed!
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Are you a freelancer? What kind of difficulties did you face in your freelance journey?
Do share your feedback in the comments section below.
First Published on ContentWriter.in | Last Updated: 4th July 2018
Photo by Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash
Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash
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