Time for a change
Do you
remember that feeling when you had that lovely squishy newborn baby in your
hands and you were about to leave hospital or home for the first time? That
unique mixture of emotion: exhaustion, relief, excitement and nervousness at
the prospect of venturing out of the security of the hospital, away from the
attentive care of midwives and taking on the responsibility of that little
bundle all on your own?
That. That is exactly how I’m feeling today but instead of a new baby, my emotions are bubbling all over the place because I’m venturing out on my own into the world of freelance.
I’ve never
been someone keen to jump at the chance of change, in fact for many years the
prospect of any change would bring me out in a cold sweat (I remember one
instance when my brand of bread was out of stock and had a mini-breakdown in
the shop – a tad over the top I know, I know). I dreamed of the world of
freelance but it seemed way out of my grasp. When I had my little girl I spent
a lot of time on Instagram during night feeds and that’s when I came across the
marvellous Mother Pukka. I owe her a massive squashy hug (or the less creepy
option of a large glass of wine) because it was one of her posts that
introduced me to Digital Mums. This idea of an online course that hones your
social media skills, essentially turns you into a Digital Supermum and gives
you the knowhow of how to hustle freelance struck a cord with me. This. Was. It!
So what next…
I’m certainly going to miss the Digital Mums safety net, the open-all-hours G+
community. But I’m looking forward to continue working with Mamazou. I’m
looking forward to meeting my peer group face-to-face later this year (it’s
gotta happen). I’m looking forward to checking out the DM collective. Social
media doesn’t sit still, it’s constantly changing, so I’m embracing change (get
me!) and ready to take on the world freelance social media services.
That. That is exactly how I’m feeling today but instead of a new baby, my emotions are bubbling all over the place because I’m venturing out on my own into the world of freelance.
I’ve loved
social media and was lucky to bring social media into my work as a well-paid
Communications Manager in the NHS. It evolved from only a small amount of my
time to about 75% of what I did. And over that time I evolved too. I had a
little boy and took 10 months off for maternity leave. I returned to work with
some flexible working arrangements in place (thanks NHS) but soon enough took a
full year of maternity leave for my little girl & after that returned to
reduced hours.
But, even
with these flexible arrangements, it just wasn’t enough. It wasn’t
#WorkThatWorks for me. Sure I was well paid, I had a great childminder, I had
flexible working arrangements, I had a great boss - I had stability. But I felt
stuck in a job where I wasn’t in control of my workload, my own progression and
after 8 years of negotiating NHS bureaucracy I’d had enough.
So I ditched
the job, the childminder, the stability and started the course. I didn’t really
think too much about what the course would involve and immediately thought I’d
made a mistake in the first week when they mentioned a ‘peer group’. But true
to form Digital Mums were right – this peer group, collection of 5 random mums
stuck together and forced to talk to each other every week for 6 months was the
best support & motivation to help me get through the course. They were
funny, honest, inspiring and so generous with their time. Our WhatsApp group
was flat out often from 6am until after midnight. These women are brilliant and
will take the freelance world by storm. I don’t see them as competition now,
they are friends, people I want to do well & will help in any way that I
can.
There were
frequent moments of sheer panic during the course, looking at all the lessons
and assignments to complete each week. Juggling parenthood with two kids felt
hard enough without this added pressure and there were moments when I doubted
whether this was going to give me the flexibility I wanted. The course was
rammed packed with so much social media expertise and was perfectly paired with
practical real-life application. My Programme Partner Mamazou and the wonderful
Jenny have been an absolute dream to work with. I was nervous to take over her
channels, especially because they were already established but I can honestly
say I haven’t had any difficulties with her or her wonderful community. It’s
amazing how attached I’ve become to Mamazou in such a short space of time. I’ve
loved working on the parenting campaign, biggin’ up the
#PerfectlyImperfectCrew. Maybe her honesty and passion for supportive positive parenting
has rubbed off on me…?
There have
been a few memorable moments of the campaign: I’ve had a surge of utter pride
when I’ve checked my phone to see a few big influencers share content. I’ve had
a blissful time on the beach with kids happily playing while I caught up with
emails and scheduling. Instead of being resentful for working on a Saturday, I
thought, this is what it’s all about. And at the end, I’ve had a little
running-man dance celebration in the kitchen with my kids when I realised I’d
stormed my KPIs and I could officially say my campaign was a huge success.
Thank you Digital Mums – I’m ready to live out the dream of my version of #WorkThatWorks.
And if you're reading this and are a parent... why not check out Mamazou! I hear they've got an awesome new freelance social media manager helping on their channels 😉
Absolutely love this. Beautifully written, honest, inspiring and forward thinking. Just awesome Gail. You already have smashed it, so onwards and upwards. Huge congratulations. Jenny A
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