This episode recaps of some stuff we have touched on in our previous episodes, some new revelations, and a bit of a story time.

Ben went back and listened to all of the episodes before starting to record this one. Firstly, I would like to apologize for the echo happening in Episode 2. I listen to a lot of loud music and my headphone volume was at its maximum level so I could hear Sophia, but my mic picked it up. Second, its been nice to be able to reflect on the journey of self employment so far. I feel like I am out of the honeymoon stage and its now a reality. I want to suggest that our listeners keep a journal of their highs and lows of self employment and read back and reflect often. All week I have been second guessing my choice to be self-employed, and listening to how excited I was when it first happened helped me to get excited about it again, but also be more realistic with my expectations.

Here's what we talk about:

1. It's hard to not take it personally when things don't pan out, but you have to remember—it's just business. The people that I have reached out to and said they were excited to work with me has not panned out exactly how I wanted it to, but its important to remember their projects probably aren't panning out the way they want it to. They have clients to answer to, budgets to meet, and bosses to get permission from. Remember that your relationship at work and outside of work are two different entities with a little bit of overlap.

2. I am back from my vacation, and surprise—I didn't work! Instead I read a great booked called Run Studio Run by Eli Altman, Creative Director of A Hundred Monkeys. I won't give away too much, but its an easy read and gives some great advice on how to run a small creative agency. It does specifically say that it is not meant for freelancers, but don't let that discourage you from reading it. If you are working with small agencies, it gives some great insight on how they run, and there is some advice that you can apply to self employment.

3. New revelation (sometimes I am naive). It's not personal, its business when it comes to me too. Sitting around waiting on someone to give you work because they said that they "might have something coming in hot" doesn't mean that you actually have work. Continue to reach out, network and let people know you are available. If you are lucky, you will be so busy you will have to politely turn down work.

4. The Email Story: That time I got burned via email and fired from doing free work.

Show Links
Find Sophia at @ridiculouslyhappyppl / sophialemon.com
Find Benjamin at @benjamin_edward / benjaminedward.ca
Find KYSP at @kindofsortofpro
Find Run Studio Run at @ahundredmonkeys / runstudiorun.com