Leaving the comfort and support of an employer can be a daunting experience, but for Tesse Akpeki, it was the greatest move she could have made.
In 2005 I took the plunge and went self-employed. It was a stressful experience – buying office equipment, dealing with Inland Revenue, having no support staff, working with a totally different regime and not having a pay cheque at the end of the month.
Luckily I was able to get through all that by hiring a business coach, approaching people to mentor me and joining a number of networks. Fortune was also on my side as I was invited to head OnBoard, the governance development service set up by Bates Wells & Braithwaite Solicitors, and also was asked by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations to coordinate some of its governance activities. These anchors gave me some stability and overcame my tendency to feel isolated as I love having people around me and as a sole trader I found that I was working very much on my own.
Six years has passed and I am absolutely enjoying the fun and the variety of being a freelancer. I have great jobs, meet great people and continually challenge and stretch myself. I would have it no other way! However I wish there had been a definitive resource for me to draw on in 2005 when I stepped out from the world of employment into the world of freelancing.
And now comes the good news. Just as the unemployment figures are published and the nation is considering other sustainable options, 23 November 2011 sees the celebration of National Freelancers Day. It is a day to promote freelancing as an invaluable way of working and to raise its profile. Not-for-profit association PCG is launching a new A-Z guide jam-packed with tips, business advice and guidance which is available for download free of charge. The guide can be downloaded from www.pcg.org.uk/ts.
How I wish I had had access to this back then, but I have read it and there are tips, tools, strategies and guidance that are helpful and resourceful to me even now.
The greatest tip I can give is that freelancing is not for everyone, but if that is your special call it can be fun if you know how!
