It takes a (freelance) village
Fellow freelancers are your colleagues, not the competition
I used to think that I hated working with other people. I disliked offices, networking events and – to be honest – working on something as a team. So, when I started working for myself, I assumed that I’d be working by myself.
At first, I was happy in my bubble. I worked completely alone from home. I wasn’t even interested in working in a coffee shop, let alone a co-working space. I quickly learned how shortsighted that attitude was, and indeed how different it is to work with other people as a freelancer.
For starters, fellow freelancers are your colleagues, not your competition. I realised this when something went wrong with a client in the early days; I panicked and looked around the room for someone to help me. My dog stared back at me, blankly. I grabbed my phone, but had no one to call.
In that moment, I realised I needed someone on my team. Thankfully, now I have an army of freelance buddies, who are a voice note away; ready to calm me down, pep me up and help me put things into perspective. People who just get it. What I know now is that it takes a village to freelance.
When I look at the projects I'm working on right now, the majority of them involve another freelancer. Everything from my co-hosted podcast and co-founded freelance writing awards, to even the ads in this newsletter, which are now run as a collective. And the projects that give me the most stress are the ones I’m working on by myself for a client. What’s different now, however, is that while I’m doing that work alone, I definitely don’t feel alone anymore.
I even consider many of my sources as freelance colleagues! Most of the people in my niche operate as indies and while they may not “get” the writing part they understand the media and outlets we all rely on as part of this niche (recreation birding and birding travel).