Freelance. Four success stories: left the office and life started

Talking about the pros and cons of working on freelancing can be infinite, but we are convinced that the future is precisely in this format. In the last article we talked about four heroes who decided to radically change their lives and went to work for freelancing, in fact, we did not even expect that the material would cause such a resonance and decided to continue. Today we will tell 4 more true stories about how people change their lives.


On freelancing, I have since 2013, changed the office dress code to slippers before the birth of a child. Initially, work on maternity leave was started rather as a kind of fan - especially, judging by the first incomes. And as a personal leap: I have put a lot of effort into self-education, authoring projects, editorial and other diverse experiences in the field of media. I was really scared to fall out of the market when you go nowhere and do not understand what is going on around: knowledge without practice is nothing, and outdated knowledge is even worse than nothing.
')
You start all over again: even if not from working positions, then necessarily from internal strain and powerful stress. Here you were at home, sang children's songs, and then "hello, cruel world." Three years later, I can assure you: in the world, regardless of the market, so much has changed that to continue working on maternity leave was one of the most correct decisions, and it remains to them today.

Working from home is primarily a matter of self-organization. A lot of distractions, non-working environment. Therefore, it is important to have a full-fledged study, or at least to select a separate "corner" for the workplace, where the brain will automatically be included in the work after a while, that is, neither the kitchen nor the bedroom fit.

At first there was only one regular customer (Moscow), we are still cooperating. In my case, neither the exchange nor the freelance sites shot. Monitors social networks, subject groups and communities. But this is now a decent job - just manage to send out a resume portfolio, at that time there were so many responses for every half hour or hour that you shouldn’t have counted on the answer at all. At first, well-established contacts with graduates of a business school, where I studied also, were very helpful. Later, the recommendations of those who worked with me or simply knew about my activities joined. Also, the projects to which I connected, provided new contacts - I was invited to the next project, already other people with whom we were on the team and so on. Clients coming on recommendations and long-playing complex projects (from a year to three) are my main stream of orders now. Permanent download is optimal, so I gradually turn to consulting on strategies for promoting companies and people, content plans for social networks, and “smart” sites. That is one-time orders that freelancers dislike so much - but in this case it is partly crisis management with full immersion for a short period of time, and therefore a completely different story.


I feel comfortable remotely: the schedule is as flexible as possible, income is higher than office and its growth depends only on me. Returning to the office is not yet in my plans.

I became a freelance photographer by chance and at random at the same time. In the family, all the relatives took a great interest in photography: they made friends, relatives on Zenit and printed pictures in our bathroom at home.
In childhood I dreamed of becoming an artist, but my parents were against it. They insisted that I go to the specialty "Finance and Credit". After graduation, I successfully got a job, earned good money and quickly moved up the career ladder. My parents were proud of me, but my heart told me that the work in the office was not at all mine.
After some time, another childhood dream came true - I moved to live in Moscow. She entered the designer and was absolutely happy, seeing how my creative ambitions are embodied in reality.

In the third year I bought myself a reflex camera - and it started! She was late for studies to get a good frame of a blossoming apple tree, and instead of doing her homework, she studied the basics of photography and mastered photo equipment. The first customers came from friends, by word of mouth. I simply did not have any other communication channels - I did not upload my work anywhere, leaving them solely for personal viewing. Gradually, the fear of "non-recognition" went away, and I published a series on social networks, after which strangers began to write to me and ask about the shoot.

So imperceptibly frivolous hobby turned into a real job. I went a continuous stream of orders and. combine work and study have failed. I had to quit training, although I still remember with gratitude all that I managed to learn on the course. Many objects were useful in work: color, light, composition - all principles are identical for painting and for photo.
I am sincerely glad that everything turned out this way. I am madly in love with my work and I am sure that I can achieve great heights in it.


For a long time I worked in the PR departments of large telecommunications companies, where there were big projects, good budgets, and colleagues, super professionals, but I was constantly haunted by the feeling that life was passing by, not mine. I wanted to do something meaningful for me personally, I wanted to set goals myself, achieve them, see the results of my work. However, I did not accept the decision to “leave the office” - the girls are easier here, we have the opportunity to go on maternity leave and in this forced “leave” I decide what we really want to do.

I thought for a long time and realized that I was not accidental in my field of activity, and that I still want to engage in PR, promotion and organization of events. But not as part of a giant corporation, when responsibility is so blurred among employees that the very meaning of the word is forgotten, but as an independent specialist who sets goals, writes plans, whose work is noticeable, and the result is obvious. As a specialist who is personally responsible for all the KPIs written together with the client.

My first clients were small companies from the site fl.ru, I saw their publications, responded, wrote about my experience and we agreed on a price. At first, the relevant experience in IT and telecom helped a lot, the first clients were from these areas. Then positive reviews began to appear, and with it new customers from other areas. For example, now I have a client with a business for the production of children's clothing. At the same time, I began to write colleagues-marketers from previous jobs - many of them also lead projects as independent consultants, and if they need a PR specialist or event organizer for clients, partners, the press, they invite me.


When I was tired of the tyranny of my boss, and even the fact that he did not pay his salary on time, I took a decisive step — I left the gloom. It was October 1, 2015. I wrote this post and was in a panic. Since then, much has changed, but most importantly my income has never dropped below what I received as a top manager, and since then it has only been growing.

I started the preparation for this voyage long before: I began writing articles in business magazines on the topic of public speaking, and occasionally conducted trainings. Then bang, and the whole life changed. Do not get up early, you have to somehow kick yourself to work. How to sink - and burst, all as in the famous saying. I had to think a few months in advance. Now I understand that this was the best decision in my life. Income is growing, despite the fact that the rest of the market is not growing so thorough, the head works differently :) as a whole - is happy. Although a couple of times there were moments of treacherous alarm, they say when I was a top manager it was more effective, there were more people in the line, there were interesting long-distance solutions and so on. but I stop myself and go forward again.

Now I have 5 employees, an assistant, a project manager, teachers and a driver. We work remotely, the office in my structure has not got accustomed, except as rent of premises for trainings. We work through fb and e-mail - I learned how to set tasks and trust employees. Very interesting life, business trips around the world. And the general feeling is that at least four years have passed in one year :) A year and a half - the flight is normal. Income settled, life is interesting. What else is needed?