Yay, it’s my 7-year “freelance-versary!” As I celebrate my 7th year of running my freelance business, I’ve come to realize that some things never change:
- My tendency to procrastinate my own writing in favor of doing work for my clients instead (hence me sitting down in late October/early November to write this blog post).
- My appreciation for autumn, especially Halloween and the time and care people put into their costumes and decorations. It’s always so fun to go for a walk around the neighborhood and discover a new skeleton scene, giant spider, or creepy doll display.
- My gratitude for my amazing clients and the interesting, fun work I get to do for them. I love the fact that so much of my work involves learning about new things and talking with people who are passionate about what they’re doing.
If you’re curious to read any of my past editions, you can find them here:
- Two years of freelancing
- Three years of freelancing
- Four years of freelancing
- Five years of freelancing
- Six years of freelancing
2024 is hitting different
However, I have to be honest that this year, there are some things that feel a little different. Freelancing always has ups and downs—that’s the nature of this type of work. But this year feels defined by much more uncertainty than any other.
In the past, I felt like it was relatively easy to close any gaps in my availability (to the point where it almost felt comical that one client would end or pause our contract and within a day or two I’d get a new lead or a big project from an existing client). I’m not fully on the woo-woo side of things, but it did often feel like the universe had an uncanny way of balancing things out.
This year, though, that hasn’t been the case to the same degree. I’ve had a few moments of feeling like I had less work than I’d like to, and new clients and projects haven’t simply materialized the way they did in the past. There’s also been much more confusion, ghosting, and overall uncertainty from clients than ever before.
I’m getting the sense that change is afoot. There seem to be a few different factors at play (at least that I’m aware of):
- The upcoming US election has a lot of people and companies feeling skittish. There’s an overall feeling of “let’s just wait and see what happens before making any major decisions.”
- Companies are being more conservative with their spending, layoffs seem to be an inescapable part of the business landscape, and strategy is much harder to pin down than in the past.
- With AI search snippets giving high-level overviews on the Google search results page (and maybe to a lesser extent the proliferation of AI-generated content that’s now available online) companies are beginning to question whether it makes sense to invest in written content.
As one of my clients put it: people will always need writing and editing, but the exact format of where those skills get put to use is likely to change.
So my big existential question at the moment is: What does this mean for me and the services I can offer? I likely need to adapt and evolve, but I’m just not sure yet exactly what that change will look like.
I’ve been starting to come up with some ideas, including things like:
- Creating more downloadable assets and courses
- Doing more book editing, including helping people with the earlier stages of creating their table of contents, writing their book proposal, etc.
- Leaning more into writing social media content
- Finding a way to use some of my other skills (like knowledge of Japan, English teaching experience, etc.)
I’m still at the very early stages of this, so full transparency: I have no clear direction or decisions for the time being! It’s just something that’s weighing on my mind at the moment. While at times it feels heavy and scary, there are other moments where it feels like a great opportunity to be creative and come up with new ideas.
If you’re reading this and finding yourself at a similar crossroads (or you have been at one in the past), I’d love to hear from you. How are you thinking through your next steps? What are some things that are keeping you motivated and optimistic?
Highlights of the past year
Speaking of positivity, when I sit down to write this post, I always love to choose a few highlights from the past year. Here are a few from 2024:
Product at Heart
2023 was the inaugural Product at Heart conference in Hamburg and I was grateful to be part of the social media and content team. This year, it meant so much that co-organizers Petra and Arne invited me back. They are so thoughtful about every last detail of the event, curating a diverse lineup of speakers and session topics that are super relevant to what’s going on in the product world today. Fingers crossed I get invited back in 2025!
I also loved the chance to connect with a few current and past clients in person, including Martina Hodges-Schell, Kate Leto, and Melissa Perri.
Alt Summit and Bay Area Baddies get-togethers
In 2024, I attended my third Alt Summit (a gathering of creative female business owners) in Palm Springs. Over the years, I’ve realized the value of returning to events because it gives me the opportunity to strengthen connections with people over time. I tend to be a bit on the shy/introverted side, so I can easily get overwhelmed when every interaction at an event is with a stranger—especially if I have to be the one to kick it off. But returning to events like Alt Summit gives me the chance to pick up conversations and strengthen connections with people I’ve met in the past.
I was especially grateful for one of the connections I’d made in 2023—Sapna Tandel, AKA @craftsbysaap. We originally met at Palm Springs airport after we’d been on the same flight from Oakland. I spotted Sapna’s “Badass boss babe” pin on her backpack and figured she was probably on her way to Alt as well. We ended up spending that first morning together and running into each other a few times throughout the rest of the event.
In 2024, I was so excited to see that not only was Sapna coming back, but she was hosting a meetup called “Bay Area Baddies” for any attendees who lived in the Bay Area (and a few who were just curious to see what we were up to). This was such a great idea because it allowed us to keep those connections going after the event ended with a like-minded group of folks back home.
So far, we had a field trip to StationeryHQ (where we got to watch Ana Loves Color’s designs come to life on wrapping paper and a journal), followed by a lively lunch at FieldWorks in San Leandro. A few months later, we gathered for a picnic and crafting session at Lake Temescal. Both events left me feeling so happy to be connected with such creative and kind people!
Getting back into the CreativeMornings SF groove
CreativeMornings were a regular part of my life ever since I attended my first one in Oakland a few years ago. I started bouncing between the San Francisco and Oakland events and was a volunteer with the Oakland chapter for a couple of years.
These monthly events always leave me feeling inspired. I love getting the chance to meet other people who are involved in creative work in some way and learn about companies, events, and projects that I wouldn’t know about otherwise. I’m happy the San Francisco events have been happening regularly and really hope the Oakland chapter gets revived sometime soon!
New logo for Ms. Content LLC
Ever since I incorporated my company in 2023, I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to create a new logo. And as luck would have it, one of the ladies I met at Alt Summit was Alison Gardner, the owner of creative agency Perspektiiv Design. A couple of months after Alt Summit, I hired Perspektiiv to design my logo.
I love what we ended up with. If you’re interested in learning more, you can read all about the design process here.
Plenty of fun travel
One of the benefits of having work that can go anywhere is… being able to go anywhere! I did a good amount of travel this year, including attending a couple of conferences (Alt Summit in Palm Springs, XOXO in Portland, Product at Heart in Hamburg, and the upcoming MarketingProfs B2B Forum in Boston) and meeting up with friends, family, and clients in destinations like Paris, Portugal (Lisbon and Cascais), Japan (Tokyo, Ise-shi, and Nagano Prefecture), Seoul, LA, London, Berlin, and Hamburg.
Hopes for the year to come
My hopes for the year to come are simple. Ideally, 2025 will hold:
- More travel (I just signed up for a MAJOR bucket list item—a service trip and safari in Tanzania! I’ve never been anywhere in Africa so this will be an exciting adventure for sure.)
- More connections with creative people and inspiring partnerships with clients.
- More stability? Let’s see!
One final note: I do have some availability in my schedule at the moment, so if you’re interested in seeing how we might work together, don’t hesitate to get in touch! You can fill out this form to let me know a bit more about yourself or email me at hello AT ms-content DOT com and I’ll get back to you shortly.