This isn’t a typical weeknotes. I started my business 5 years ago today and wanted to write something about that instead of my usual notes on what I’ve been doing this week.
I had to check my maths a few times, because I can hardly believe it’s been half a decade already. It’s trite to say, but time really has flown by. And so much has happened over that period of time too. The pandemic, political, economic and social chaos, and on a personal level, my husband developed epilepsy and broke his back in 8 places.
Through out all this, work has been a joy. This time last year, I said that my business feels like a gift I’m giving myself, and I still feel the same way. I love the freedom self-employment has given me to focus on projects and causes I care about, build my skills in a way that doesn’t fit any job description I’ve ever seen, and work in the way that feels natural to me.
It’s not without challenges. Not least at the end of last year when I got as close as I’ve ever got to financial disaster. Part of me feels like I shouldn’t share that, but the other part thinks it’s really important to talk about how tough and precarious it can be to be to run your own business – especially when the economy is tanking (side eye Liz Truss). I think there’s too much pressure to pretend you’re killing it all the time, when that’s not the reality.
But what it comes down to is this: I love what I do. I love getting to speak to so many fascinating people as part of research – and that they trust me with their opinions and stories. I love making sense of big confusing content messes. Most of all, I love that I get to help my clients make the world better, fairer, and more beautiful through content.
Here’s to the next five years.
