When starting this blog a little less than 7 years ago, I never thought that it’d become my job and that I’d be working as a self-employed, independent business woman. But I’ve been now for three years and it has brought so much!

 

UPS:

1. I’m my own boss. It’s cool that I’m the one who decide everything and I control my working hours, what I do and what goes on the blog.
2. I expanded my friend circle and my network with other independents, mostly bloggers, who I love ping-pong’ing with about both work and life.
3. I do what I like. When I remember that, I get quite excited. My job is doing things I think are fun. My work is a playground!
4. I learned so much! I’ve developed creatively, but my competences within the subject of running a business both practically and creatively have grown enormously!
5. I work with a lot of different brands and I get to try out loads of fun things and ideas in collaboration with someone that I like, who also think that I’m cool. Thats cool! You can see my collaborations in the category of the same name.
6. I learned to take initiative. When you’re your own colleague, you get used to being the one to call that client or to get that thing done, and that has also really made it easier for me to take more initiative in life in general.

 

DOWNS:

1. I’m my own boss. This means that I’m the only one to kick my own butt when I’m lazy and have to get something done.
2. I’m alone on the job. Sometimes when I pause from all the blogger events and press things, the blog is quite a lonely job. And also, when you’re alone at work always, no one can take over if you get sick or if you need to take a break.
3. I have to do it all myself – both the creative part but also the business part and organising, the accounting, the technical stuff and the judicial stuff. I learned a lot, but it’s sometimes hard to juggle it all when there are so many balls to keep an eye on!
4. I have to be both good cop and bad cop. whilst I can have interesting conversations with clients and think that they’re nice and sweet, I also have to be the hardcore business person who negotiated and sends out reminders with fees.
5. You’re not always taken seriously. This might be mostly specific for the blogger-job. I can’t count how many collaboration proposals I’ve gotten when the brand won’t give me an actual pay for my work. either because they think that a product is pay enough(to which I sometimes answer: So your boss pays you in shampoo, too?) or because they think that we bloggers should just be lucky to even work with them and get free stuff. COME ON GUYS!

Are some of you also self-employed? Or do you have questions about the topic? Go crazy in the comments!