The virtual PR agency: Just because you can freelance…
Time to read: 2 minutes
Sam Howard set up our virtual PR agency six years ago, and the business model is now gaining in popularity, so the demand for freelance comms proffesionals is out there. But just because you can freelance doesn’t mean you should. Here are her top tips for determining if you would be happy as a freelance PR:
Reasons to go Freelance: 1, 2, 3…
Because you want to – not because you don’t want to do something else
1) You actually want to freelance—it sounds obvious, but don’t do it just as the lesser of two evils, because you can’t find a ‘proper’ job, or because you think you will make way more money than you do now.
In my view, going freelance so you can work every hour of every day to make loads of money is a guaranteed formula to make yourself utterly miserable.
My team and I all chose to go freelance. We left great jobs to do it, so we brought commitment to the role from day one and are in it for the long haul. We are all able to ride out the occasional lean month with a shrug of the shoulders rather than a wringing of hands. It’s the virtual PR agency life, and we love it.
Don’t mistake not wanting a boss with the same as not needing one
2) You can be your own (great) boss – don’t mistake not wanting a boss with the same as not needing one. The structure provides sticks and carrots in a ‘proper’ job, but you have neither when you work for yourself. Sure, there are no petty rules, but there are no promotions either.
But if you have a big and burly work ethic combined with a very small ego, then you’re able to push yourself to get results. When you bring in that piece for the FT, be content with a ‘well done me’ cup of coffee and an adoring look from the dog.
Have two passions working and not working
3) You are actually able to implement a healthy work-life balance. We all talk about it, but unless you can be bold enough to actually implement it, you’re just going to stare at the laptop 52 weeks a year, stressing that there is not enough work.
Whether it’s kicking off each day with a long walk in the park with the hounds, weekly art classes, or the sax summer school, we schedule time off. Sure, we take advantage of the portable desk, and it’s great to be able to get in a few days’ work when visiting family elsewhere. But it’s not just about working away, it’s about not working at all and booking those amazing trips you’ve always promised yourself, for as long as you want to take them.
Our holiday calendar looks like the Conde Nast to-do list, and in the last couple of years our small crew have ticked off holidays in:
Sussex, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, France, Corsica, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria, Finland (northern lights), Spain, Lanzarote, Majorca, Ibiza, Greece, Italy, Barbados, Tobago, St Lucia, Mauritius and Uzbekistan.
