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The Year I Bet on Myself
A journey from corporate to freelance.
It’s that time of year… when The Internet is rife with lists like “Here are 22 things I learned in 2022!”
I hate long lists. And did anyone really learn twenty-two new things in one year?
I usually write some type of year-end reflection. Could I top 2020, the year I decided that I would quit a job I’d been at for 15 years? Or 2021, two new jobs later, thinking (mistakenly) that I’d found a great company to work for?
Turns out, something was stirring inside me. And this year, I made the leap from corporate to freelance. Could I have anticipated this at the beginning of the year? No. Was it the right decision? Absolutely.
I’m not going to list twenty-two learnings about the year. But here four things that stood out to me about 2022.
I can depend on myself.
For most of my career, I worked at jobs that tried to make me feel small in some way.
I was brushed aside by a self-important CEO. Overlooked by a dysfunctional company. Micromanaged and undervalued. No way to shine in a way that I knew I could.
After repeated disappointment with employers, I was just… done. I’m sure there are wonderful employers in the world. But I didn’t have the energy to keep looking. And even the best employers have seen layoffs this year.
But I knew that I could be successful on my own. I’m confident in my skills and expertise. I’ve been freelancing for a few years on the side and knew that I could scale up to full-time without a lot of logistical headaches.
I can create the working conditions that make me happy. Pursue work that I want to do.
A niche is valuable.
There are a lot of writers in the world. I had to ask myself: what sets me apart? What writing do I like? What’s easy for me? What’s hard for me?
Turns out, the work I enjoy the most and are easiest to do are closely related: they’re well within my areas of expertise (fintech, product-led content, tools + automation).
When I was a child, I wanted to be a writer. I went into banking instead, then banking…
