Celebrating 18 years as a freelancer

Out of the blue, the thought occurred to me the other day that it’s been 18 years – give or take a couple of weeks – since I set up my stall as a freelancer after working in-house for several years.

It’s really quite hard to believe that it’s been that long since I took the plunge to start my own business, first as a sole trader and now as a limited company.

Initially I offered translation services alongside copywriting, editing and proofreading, but I decided to drop the former after a couple of years in order to focus on the latter three offerings.

Do I have any regrets about making the leap to self-employment? Nope, none at all.

The highs and lows of being a freelancer

Don’t get me wrong as it’s not all been a bed of roses – the very nature of freelancing means that you’re on a permanent roller coaster ride with inevitable (yet unpredictable) peaks and troughs, twists and turns ­– but it’s certainly been a fun ride to date. I’d even go so far as to say it’s been exhilarating at times, whilst scary and frustrating at others!

Of course, the growth of technology means that my role as a freelancer and the nature of my work has changed considerably during that time, as covered in my previous blog posts Freelance copywriting: then and now and Freelance copywriting: then and now (part 2).

But the fundamental benefits of life as a freelancer remain the same: freedom, independence and variety. And I don’t see any of those changing in the near future.

So, I would say here’s to the next 18 years, but I’m rather hoping I’ll have retired by then! Meanwhile I fancy some cake to celebrate and what could be more fitting for a wordsmith than one of these 7 delicious ways to eat your words?!

(Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)