Why I Went Freelance
By: Chloe Tomalin
Tags: Freelance, Small Business Marketing, Creative, Small Business, London

Photographer: George Devereux, UK.

Fashion & food are my calling. I’m passionate about marketing, socials and branding and combine all these elements together to help my fashion and food clients large and small develop their brand stories and communication with their current and future customers. I care about the big plans and the little details. The blue sky thinking and the reality of turning ideas into action. I’m a digital native slashie who bites the bullet to break away from monotony and constantly seeks adventure, excitement and creativity through content creation and community building. Here’s how I got to this point and the elements that pointed me in the freelance life direction.

2020 has professionally been a big year for me. I’ve gone freelance not once, but twice this year. Amid a global pandemic and slump in creative jobs, I decided to leave my safe, regular salary behind without a massive financial safety net or trust fund, in order to follow my gut instinct and go it alone in an effort to re-ignite my passion for my job, my creativity and my personal and professional self-worth.

Back in January, the first time I went freelance, I decided to leave my creative job consulting within a fashion product and marketing agency after 3 years of being there. I was at crunch point and I knew I needed to drive change for the sake of my own value. I’d lost all motivation for the job after facing brick wall after brick wall on the career and pay ladder. Repeat work became just that, a repeat of the same thing over and over and the new ideas I had were stifled and filled away in ‘Another day’ ‘No Budget’ and ‘Time Constraints.’ There simply wasn’t space or opportunity for my skillset to truly be developed or flourish. I’d highlighted through my MA in management and marketing my thirst for digital marketing, connecting things together through communications and non-design led branding and I just had a fire lit in me to follow that path. My apathy and loss of belief in what I was creating wasn’t health for my team or my clients, so I decided to walk away.

I handed in my notice, without another job to go to and announced it to a room of 150 people at CreativeMornings London giving a shout out to see if someone needed someone in marketing, socials and branding. It was bold. It was scary but I followed my gut instinct and knew that something would come along and along it did, a few weeks later I took a management and marketing job within hospitality and settled into the role weeks before Covid-19 restrictions came into play.

Jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. I worked all through the first UK lockdown, the long hours bled into long 65hr + weeks that morphed into each other. By August I was tired, overworked and whilst I was paid well, there was no work life balance. When I was unable to make personal plans of any kind, including zoom calls with friends and family because of work demands, I knew something had to give. After a year like 2020, I wasn’t going to continue working in an environment or culture I didn’t believe in, so we move.

“We like it, but can it be the same but different.” “I don’t’ like the sound of your voice.”

Having experienced some of the most vague and brutal feedback of my life within my previous job roles I knew I needed to be tough and resilient going it alone. I also knew that if I didn’t give working for myself a go I’d regret it further down the line. I’d worked for the international retailer, the agency and the independent. I’d worked with clients in the UK and abroad. I could pull my lived and working experience together to provide a unique perspective and engage with my longstanding network of people I’d met over the years. I wouldn’t be going in cold and let’s be honest. What could possibly get any worse about 2020!?

I wanted the freedom to push the creative boundaries, not follow all the rules and help smaller businesses in a more affordable way than the agency option. So I got my finances in order and took some time off to read books, attend online events and to really resonate in my potential next steps and build my portfolio. I’d given so much time to other employers, it was time to give myself time to figure out my next cohesive steps.

Being three months in to going solo, I’m gathering new clients from all over the world, having some inspiring and exciting conversations about utilising my strengths within people’s businesses to help them achieve their goals and better their customers journey and experience and It’s super rewarding. My self-worth and value has rocketed. I have a more connected relationships with my clients, many of whom are also independents or part of small teams, who enjoy the comradery of ‘We’re in this together.’

Following my gut instinct and only taking on work that energises me and I feel I can whole heartedly contribute value to provides a positive, highly motivated mindset that’s a million miles away from my agency days. I’m no longer ticking boxes. I’m colouring outside the lines and doodling in the margin.

Feel free to share your thoughts with me, my Inbox is always open. hello@chloetomalin.com