It’s been busy
Flash back to December 2021. My career was a bit flat. I was stuck at an agency where I wasn’t doing the work I enjoyed, surrounded by a toxic culture and feeling totally burnt out. Honestly, between you and me, I was questioning whether I really wanted to write copy anymore. It had done me in, and filled me with doubts about my ability.
I had a choice to make: either sack it all off and learn something new, start at the bottom of a new career ladder and struggle to pay my mortgage, or try a new approach.
Fortunately for my house, I opted for the latter.
As we reach the 12 month mark of me doing a bit of my own thing, here’s a run down of what went well, what I’d do differently, and where I’m at now. Spoiler: it’s a good place.
Late December 2021
So, it all started with a decision: that I was going to give freelancing a go. Initially the plan was to do this full time, which didn’t quite turn out, but at the time I didn’t know what the future would bring. I gave it my all. I invested in a new website, spent loads of time writing it and even more time trying to design it, and did a real half-arsed job at the place I was planning to sack off imminently.
I told myself I’d get started in January. I took Christmas off and spent the holiday season feeling anxious but excited. But mostly anxious. Ok, entirely anxious.
What went well: I got loads of case studies together and turned my website into something fit for a man of my calibre, apart from the design, which I just blagged.
What went badly: The combination of feeling emotionally drained plus terrified/excited for the future can really take its toll on you. Try not to mix them too often.
January 2022
January was weird. I put something up online about me wanting to pick up more freelance work, and a surprising amount of people got in touch. People who said things like, “I’ve always wanted to work with you!” and “Is this just sarcastic like most of your social media stuff is?”
Honestly, if you ever put yourself out there, the human instinct is to expect it to go horribly wrong. The fact it went well was shocking to me. Now I had loads of people wanting me, which I put down to how well written my website was.
I also wrote my notice up for my former employers. I wasn’t ready to hand it in just yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time.
What went well: Good things were starting to happen. You never know unless you try, and I was trying so I knew it could be possible.
What went badly: My time management was terrible. I never thought minor success would be so stressful.
February
I worked for four different agencies in February, five if you include the job I was on the cusp of ditching. (I don’t. I try not to think about them, ever.) I picked up more work than I could ever have expected, writing for some really cool brands and taking on a juicy retainer for a massive tech company.
December Ash hadn’t thought things would go like this. February Ash didn’t really know how to handle it.
What went well: What the fuck was happening? Why do these people like me? Let’s spend all this money on our cats.
What went badly: I had to start a spreadsheet to keep track of all my work. This was a good idea, it helped, but I can’t express enough how much I hate Google Sheets.
March
March saw two big things happen: One, I handed in my notice. I’d known I was going to for a long, long time, and the first two months of the year had shown me that I was capable of moving on by myself.
The second thing meant I didn’t have to. Another agency got in touch asking if I’d be up for working for them, as well as myself. Storycatchers are a bunch of some of the loveliest people you’re ever likely to work with in marketing, and I’d heard nothing but good things about them from everyone I knew. Yes, working for them and freelancing would make my life incredibly hectic, but it would also mean I had security if every client decided they hated me. Always a genuine concern.
What went well: Exciting things on the horizon! Guaranteed mortgage payments! Freedom! A sweet, tipsy mix of work!
What went badly: I was going to have to start making to-do lists.
My final send off: a tone of voice workshop in which I threw sweets at the attendees.
April
It was my last full month in my previous role in April, which gave me some time for reflection. Mainly as I wasn’t planning to do any proper work. (Shout out to the incredibly talented Poppy Booth, who picked up the slack before getting much more drunk than me at our joint leaving drinks a few weeks later.) The big things I learnt were that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, especially if that cover is all glitzy and sparkly, while the pages inside turn to acidic dust as you try to turn them. Joining a start-up was always going to be a risk, and while I didn’t entirely regret it, I definitely regretted where it ended up.
Seeing that the CEO had written her own Wikipedia entry should have been the red flag I needed.
In happier news, it was also my best paying month of all time. If you’d shown me that figure a few months earlier I would have lolled and lolled and lolled, and then double checked you meant it.
What went well: The sweet release of freedom.
What went badly: I spent most of that money on wine.
May
We went to Croatia in May, which was our long overdue proper honeymoon. It was a much needed break, although it did mean I had to fit all my work into a two week period which was STUPID. DO NOT TRY TO DO THAT. Coming back from a very relaxing holiday to find an inbox absolutely crammed with emails is both flattering and awful. Really ruins the vibe.
I started at Storycatchers in May too. I can’t say enough how lovely they are as people. To feel truly valued for what you do and respected for your, dare I say it, gift? Is really special. Find that feeling and cling onto it.
What went well: Work with people you trust and who trust you. You’ll sleep easier.
What went badly: May was a great lesson in time management. If you don’t have time to do a job, don’t lie and say you do. Your clients won’t care if you have to stay up late to finish it, but you will, a lot.
Totally worth it.
June
This is when I encountered my first difficult client. They’d all been so lovely up until this point, but then the inevitable happened. I was briefed to rewrite their website, giving it a new tone of voice and making it flow better. My bread and butter. Easy. But once I’d done it, I realised the copy I was replacing had been written by the CEO, and he hated the fact I’d changed it. He refused to pay me and denied I’d ever been briefed to do that in the first place.
As a side note, I once interviewed for a place where they said, “We’re not sure we really need a full time copywriter, our boss likes to do a bit himself.” I did not take the job.
What went well: The rest of June was really nice and no-one else was a prick to work with.
What went badly: Having to send repeated emails about an invoice I was due. I only started picking freelance up for a bit of creative excitement, let’s not make it difficult eh?
July
I didn’t know this at the time, but July would be what I came to call a ‘plodding along’ kinda month. It was the exact sort of month I was hoping for when I realised I’d be juggling full time work with freelancing. No new clients, no big demands, just nice, steady work that I could pick up whenever I had the time. It was by no means boring - I don’t take boring briefs on - but it wasn’t too challenging either.
Like I didn’t have to meet any new people, or learn any new skills, or spend too many evenings eating dinner late. It was good for me.
Especially as Storycatching (verb: to get information about brands and share it in creative ways) was always my 9-5. This freelancing lark was just a chance for me to flex my muscles and survive the Cost of Tory Crisis.
What went well: Repeat business is such a lovely feeling. As I don’t really promote my own business too much, knowing that clients trust me enough to keep coming back puts a lovely feeling in my heart.
What went badly: There’s always a danger of chasing a new thrill. I certainly felt this in July, when I kept thinking to myself, ‘What if…’
Some words I wrote on a chalkboard for Creative Mornings.
August
Such an EXCITING project came my way in August. Unboxed, which was a massive festival of creativity across the UK, needed someone to work on their tone of voice and bring it to life on loads of different media.
I got the work through a mate I’d worked with years earlier, who still remembered that I was the kind of guy who could write copy that made people stop and stare.
It goes to show it’s as much about who you know as what you know, and I know some really good people.
What went well: Connections. In a past job, I’d been told not to be ‘too Ash’, but it was by being as Ash as possible that people remembered me.
What went badly: One client asked me to start using their timesheet system, which meant more spreadsheets. I’ll do it but I won’t be happy about it.
September
Looking back at September, I really can’t believe it was three months ago. I just glanced at my work log and panicked that I had stuff to do - it all felt so fresh in my memory. Which is a massive improvement from the year before, where months felt like they lasted foreeevvveeerrrr. Doing what you love makes a massive difference to your noggin’, even if at times it requires long hours and a bit of stress.
Stress for someone else’s benefit? Nah. Stress for my own? I’m in.
What went well: We got a new bathroom in September, something that was only possible because of the extra income freelancing had brought in. Nice to see hard work paying off with a comfortable poop.
What went badly: There was a big chunk of time where we had to use the downstairs toilet, which means coming down in the middle of the night and making the cats think it was food time. It was not. They were fuming.
October
I started working on a project that was so exciting I had to sign an NDA. That’s all I can say about October.
What went well: See above.
What went badly: Also see above. I really want to talk about it.
November
November started off really quietly, to the point where I told Grace (my wife, and main reason why I keep on striving for more), “I think this might be the first month where I don’t have any freelance work to do.” The second those words left my mouth the work started coming in. It was still a fairly slow month for my side hustle, but after a busy year, it was more than welcome. And I was always mindful not to take more on than I could manage.
What went well: We went away for Grace’s birthday and spent way longer than the recommended amount of time in a hot tub. I also paid my tax, something that I’d been saving for. Felt nice to know that money was already there and not a last minute panic.
What went badly: By this point of the year I was feeling a bit tired. I’d been burning the candle at both ends, finding it almost impossible to say no to work even if it was too much. The trip away was needed.
December
A year since I first decided to give it a try, I can safely say picking up freelance work has been a major success. Not only has it brought extra money in, but perhaps more importantly it’s made me rediscover why I love copywriting again. Freed from the shackles of a wicked dictator, I’ve been able to do the work I’m best at and feel excited about it again.
Coupled with working for Storycatchers, it’s been a great refresh for my state of mind, and cast any doubts aside about this being what I should be doing.
Sure, the idea of retraining to be a landscape gardener did seem very appealing, but judging by the state of my houseplants it might have taken more time than I’d initially planned.
What went well: The whole year was decent. It’s good to give yourself time to look back and see what you’ve achieved.
What went badly: I took a lot of time off in December, which meant when I was working, I was working lots. I’m generally against that.
The Storycatchers Christmas party, when we still looked classy.
The top things 2022 taught me:
Believe in yourself. If you’ve got a talent, people will pay for it.
Get organised. I still hate Google Sheets but it has saved me on numerous occasions. (Most recently this blog, when I realised I’d totally forgotten everything I’d ever done.)
Build your network. Two of my closest mates now work at Storycatchers with me, and I’ve got so much freelance work through word of mouth. It pays to be good to people.
Know your own worth. Early on last year someone laughed when I told them how much I charged, so I had to fix that sharpish.
Own your comfort zone. 2022 taught me that I didn’t enjoy PR content, but that I could afford a new bathroom through being a pithy, tongue-in-cheek marketing copywriter.
