Issue #25

September marked 5 years since I went out on my own as a freelancer.

And I nearly packed it all in out of fear.

For 4 of the 5 years, I’d been working with this one agency in some capacity.

It was “easy”, comfortable and the work was good.

But I knew one day it would end (everything does after all).

In August, they offered me a full-time role, one that on paper might even be considered good; ok salary (for an agency), commission and equity in the company.

But, compensation aside, it just didn’t sound like a role I wanted, and the thought of going back to a 9-5 didn’t fill me with joy.

So I turned it down – with the reassurance that they’ll have work for me either way.

But no less than a month later, the work was gone.

I think this was legitimately the case, and well, they don’t owe me anything.

But in that moment, I realised I had to bet on myself now.

I had enough work lined up for the rest of the year, but I knew I was holding myself back.

All this time, I feared stepping on their toes – keeping marketing minimal and not sharing as much as I could.

Things wrapped up 2 weeks later and at the end of September I sat down and set myself a single goal:

Land a project worth £20k for 2026

I knew I was going to have to show up every week – market myself and reach out to contacts.

And no more than 7 weeks later, it paid off.

I landed a project for £19k – updating their visual identity, and launching a new site.

On top of that, a £4k monthly design retainer.

And I’m kicking off that project this week. Looking back now, I’m so glad I listened to my gut and bet on myself.