It's hard to say what came first when I left the day-to-day of the Corporate world in January. I planned to have my second baby in May, and then begin freelancing.
But I've come to realize that a life plan is more like a loose guide. You imagine what you want to do, where you want to be, and what you want your life to look like; how you get there is never exactly what you envisioned.
I did both of the things I set out to do, but the freelancing came first. On my last day of full-time employment, I published a Facebook post excited about the future and requesting that any project ideas come my way.
Within a week, a colleague that I hadn't worked with in 10 years or spoken with in five reached out curious about my "next." She was launching a new B2B conference and needed help with positioning it and generating excitement and attendance.
I helped her with a tiny portion of this and she introduced me to a marketing executive at a media company where I had never worked and had no real connections. That executive went on to hire me for a series of writing projects -- newsletters, website copy, executive speeches -- before and after baby Lionel was born.
I distinctly remember worrying if I was ready for the challenge. For one project I was not even three months postpartum and I had spent much of those drained with a 15-month-old, a newborn, and all the heights and depths that come with them. I'm still not sure if I delivered my best work.
My son is now almost 14 months old. I've landed additional clients and lost out on others. COVID-19 has made it all tougher.
I keep thinking about that Facebook post and the woman who reached out to me. Even though a decade had past since we worked together, her memory of me was a positive one. There was enough good there to DM me, consider me for projects and recommend me to others.
If you were to ask me what has been the most critical aspect of landing freelancing gigs, it's #reputation. Did you deliver good work? Were you a thoughtful collaborator? Are you someone who people would want to bring back into their corner of life?
How do people feel when they think of you?
It's important to me that people feel in good hands when they think of me. I'll approach my work and my life in a way that makes that true. And I'm grateful to the former colleague who remembered and unknowingly kicked off a new phase of me.
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