Remember a couple posts back when I told y'all about the uncertainty of my work situation? Well, the inevitable happened. I was placed on a "freelance as-needed" basis, effective February 25th. Truthfully, I fully expected that to happen, but it came much sooner than I expected. The good news? I've logged a lot of freelance hours with my now-former employer so far, and have also had the good fortune to land some other freelance projects as well!
When the change first happened, I was really anxious about whether or not I could find enough work to make a go of being self-employed. But March has been a very good month, and I'm beyond grateful to my new clients! I've been so busy for the past few weeks that I haven't had time READ any blogs, let alone write any posts for this one. I've been working nearly my regular (though shortened) schedule for my former employer, and then coming home to anywhere from 2-6 hours of work for other folks most nights. I'm tired, but an overload of work is a good problem to have right now! Gotta make hay while the sun shines. Especially since it looks like the workload at my former employer's will be drying up quickly. They're down to a handful of employees now, and there doesn't seem to be much new biz coming in. I'm not sure why... but I honestly think it may just be that they're having trouble adjusting to the "real" world of advertising/marketing, now that they've been forced out of the niche they'd been in for 20-some-odd years. I really hope they figure it out and get business rolling again. They're good people. Plus, if they're successful, that could mean more freelance work for me. A girl's gotta earn a living! They've said I'll always have an office there and that I'm also welcome to use the color copier from time to time, which is very much appreciated. Things aren't pretty there right now though. Everyone is stressed, naturally. I'm really not sure they'll survive, but I hope so.
Ya know what really sucks? I would have celebrated my 10th anniversary with the company a week after my change to freelance status. A year ago, that would have meant a nice cash bonus. Since that perk evaporated (wouldn't have gotten one even if I had still been staff), at my suggestion the president of the company agreed to give me my Mac workstation as a token of appreciation for 10 years of loyal service. I had been negotiating to purchase it anyway... it's five years old and was in need of a few hundred dollars in upgrades, which I got done last week.
So now I have a nice big iMac on which to work as I embark on my self-employment path, which will be much easier than squinting at this MacBook Pro screen. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my MacBook! It served me well when it was the only functioning Mac I had at home and the freelance work started rolling in, and it will continue to serve me well as a portable workstation when I feel like working out on the patio. But it's a whole lot easier to work when you can see your entire page layout on a project without it being microscopically small! Now I just need to find a comfortable workspace to set up the "Big Mac" in. As soon as I have time to do that spring cleaning and reorganize the house.......
So.... it's been a very turbulent and hectic few weeks, but overall pretty damn positive for me! Again, I can't thank my freelance clients enough for helping to make this such an auspicious start to my new independent endeavors! Is it too early to start singing the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" (season 1) theme song?
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