What a year 2022 has been!
It’s had more twists and turns than an episode of The Traitors!
The end of 2021 was quite traumatic for me. On this day last year, my husband broke his shoulder and ended up in hospital over new year. It resulted in him having his arm in a sling for three months.
That meant I saw January in on my own, with the kids asleep upstairs. In fact, if I remember rightly, I was in bed before Big Ben struck midnight!
It also meant the start of this year was pretty full-on, because I was doing the job of two people at home, while also doing the job I was paid to do during the day.
(I’m hoping we have a better start to 2023).
February hit and I got Covid for the first time. With my husband still out of action, it meant I wasn’t able to rest up – there was still dinner to be cooked, washing up to be done and two kids to be bathed and put to bed. Thankfully I didn’t have it too bad, and I recovered relatively quickly.
At the end of March, I received the incredible news that I’d been successful in my application for a grant, courtesy of The Marketing Meetup.
I got introduced to some awesome people who gave me top-notch advice to help grow my confidence and make a go of my freelancing business.
Without this helping hand, I’m really not sure I’d have been able to get where I am now.
In April, I rebranded my little side hustle and became The Grammar Mamma. I was still doing my day job and then I’d spend the evenings working on my own stuff, once the kids were in bed and I’d had dinner. Some nights I wouldn’t log off until 11pm.
I worked with a fab brand photographer in May to help bring my brand to life. She gave me loads of great advice and I decided to invest in having a professional brand photoshoot done, which would see me pose for photos with my two girls on one of the hottest days of the year.
In June we had our first family holiday abroad as a foursome. It wasn’t quite as relaxing and rejuvenating as I’d hoped, but with a five and two year old, I’m not really surprised! It was like we’d just moved our house to Malta for the week – there were still tantrums and battles over food, as well as early starts and constant competition for attention.
I got made redundant from my job in July. It came completely out the blue. I’d been with the company for almost eight years and had forged some strong relationships with many of the senior leadership team.
I felt let down and betrayed that a company I’d given my all to for so long could get rid of me without so much as a thank you.
But I decided to turn a negative into a positive, and in August I officially became self-employed as a freelance content writer.
Being my own boss also meant I was able to spend time with my daughter during her school summer holiday. We had days out at the farm, the beach and the zoo, which was great.
Once my daughter went back to school in September, I was able to get stuck into being self-employed and gained some awesome new clients, as well as fantastic support from fellow freelancers.
In October I put on my big girl pants and attended a networking event on my own for the first time since the pandemic. What’s more, it was the first event I’d been to where I was representing myself.
I met lots of fellow freelancers and content writers IRL at Copycon – many of whom I’d admired from afar for ages. It made me realise there are lots of people in the same boat as me. And being self-employed doesn’t have to be as lonely as it sounds.
Then it was November and I had introductory calls with two big-name brands, which I had to pinch myself about. I’m excited to be working with them both in 2023.
And now December is coming to an end, it’s all about planning and pushing myself as far as I can.
I’ve been blessed that this year’s ups have far outweighed the downs, and I’m hoping that continues next year.
So far, freelancing has been the best move for me. It gives me flexibility that means I can put myself and my family first, while still allowing my ambitious side to shine through and reach for the stars.
Here’s hoping I’m still saying the same thing this time next year!
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