Read This When You Are Ready To Quit Freelancing
Like most college kids, I was dead broke.
My dinner switched off between microwavable E-Z Mac and Cup of Noodles. I remember looking at my friends, who hadn’t gone to college, and seeing how much more money they had than me. Instead of spending their time in class, they were spending their days working and their banks accounts showed it. These friends weren’t particularly aspirational and they all worked the same jobs they had in high school.
I’ll never forget my Dad explaining to me,
“These people are making more money than you now, but once you have your degree you will catch up to them, and then surpass them. This is a temporary.”
I didn’t fully understand it at the moment, but now I can see it. While they still work the same jobs they had in high school, earning $0.25 raises per year, an entry level position catches up to their hard earned compensation immediately. If I were to be bumped up one position, I’d blow through the glass ceiling of their income.
I’ve been remembering this more and more lately.
A year and a half ago, I quit my job as a waitress and started to travel the world. I’ve been making a living by ghostwriting for entrepreneurs, writing podcast show notes and helping with operations of a client’s business.
And it’s been really hard.
The amount of self development, support and strength I have had to muster these past 18 months is nothing I could have imagined. Being a solo traveler and a solopreneur has been challenging and at times left me questioning why I would choose this job over those of my friends in corporate.
They don’t live through the feast or famine cycle of a freelancer.
They don’t have to learn how to write, market, admin and scale a business while balancing their health and personal life.
Each time I even dabble with the idea of quitting, I remember my Dad’s words.
“This is temporary.”
This time, I’m not working towards a degree. I’m putting in the grunt work and I’m doing my time on the bottom. I’m working hard, I’m learning every detail about running a business and I’m making sure that I don’t go insane throughout the process.
If I quit now and started working a corporate job, my bank account would love me…temporarily.
But what happens after I’ve put in these starting years of grunt work?
I blow past the glass ceiling of corporate.
And I’m willing to put the time in to have the opportunity to do so.
