Greetings from the outside world! I’m writing this outside in the sunshine, there’s an apple + blackberry crumble in the oven and I couldn’t be happier (until the crumble’s in my tummy, then I’ll be much, much happier).

A great many of my friends are stuck inside, in office jobs they hate. They’re wasting their youth (their words, not mine!) to achieve X years of experience before they deem themselves capable of pursuing their real dreams.

Today’s my favourite kind of freelance day. It’s the ability to really enjoy life right now, summed up in the freedom to enjoy nice weather and take a baking break between tasks. It’s pure gold. It’s exactly why I jumped from (so-called) corporate safety at the age of 24 straight into risk, roller coasters and really hard work.

A lot of my clients and people I meet freelancing (online and off) are likewise happy bunnies. Many are small business owners doing what they love in the unlikeliest of places. Some are retired, some my age. We enjoy ridiculous highs and lows, but we’re each doing what we love and I think it shows.

Before my cliff-jump, I read a lot (a LOT) of small business and entrepreneur books. I mostly skipped the chapters about perseverance (I knew I had it), gunning straight for the “skills”: accounting, sales, web design…. Inevitably, not very long after opening shop, the need to keep going clashed violently with the flight instinct. “Holy mother of god! What am I doing?!!” was a common refrain while trying to sleep. It was scary out here. I remembered those sage words I’d barely read. 

“Keep trying, then try harder” is a cliché, to be sure, but effort and long hours (the persistence I knew I had) is all that separates me from then and now. I think back to when I was climbing the walls of my cubicle-cage, knowing I belonged elsewhere. Out on my own, the highs are higher and the lows lower, yet they’re mine to solve.

Helping along the way, throughout all my sales and networking efforts, have been fellow freelancers, ‘solopreneurs’ and small business owners. Without fail I’ve found them to be the most generous and helpful of sorts – to a degree never found back in corporate land. Back there, HR departments have to set up official mentor schemes. Out here, people just help each other out.

Somewhere, a world away from my quiet patio table, suits are vying for promotions, accolades and recognition. Freelancers and small business owners can choose to define their success any number of ways, but the glorious afterglow of a black and white corporate victory might elude them. If we win a bid, we wonder about next month. If we crack Google, we wonder how long it will last. 

Out here in the sunshine, I’m simply celebrating being here. For having the courage to jump in the first place and all the progress made since.

Does the same apply to you? Please, spend your weekend doing likewise – and don’t scrimp on the gin. Let me know about your victories – in whatever size they come.

Tags: All about freelance, small business