Читать книгу The Freelance Mum: A flexible career guide for better work-life balance - Annie Ridout - Страница 27

At other stages in this book, I’ll talk about the importance of learning to say ‘no’, but when you’re starting up, the big word is YES. Yes, I’d like to tell you about my new freelance business. Yes, I’d like to have a coffee with your sister who’s an editor of a women’s magazine and might be interested in doing a feature on me. Yes, I’d like you to take some flyers and leave them at your work. Yes, I’d like you to wear one of my tote bags to the networking lunch you’re attending. Say yes, and watch where it leads … And if you think it might be a good opportunity, but you’re not sure how, respond as quickly as possible and say: I love the sound of this and it would be great to talk more about it. It’s a way of saying ‘yes’ without saying: let’s do it right this second. Sometimes, you’ll need time to think about what you want, or can (with childcare limitations) commit to. You can ensure that you don’t let opportunities slip away, without making an immediate commitment.

Sali Hughes was working freelance before giving birth to her two sons, so she was already one step ahead in that she was being commissioned for work as soon as she was back at her desk, post-birth. However, she still felt a certain pressure to always say ‘yes’, in order to keep her position as the go-to for all things beauty. ‘The thing about being freelance,’ she says, ‘is that if you’re a successful freelancer, you’ll be fine for work. But there’s a degree of accepting work because you need to be the person who does it. So I’ve always taken on too much; to cement a position. I’m prone to taking on more than other people – than men, than people on desk jobs. But I’ve never missed a swimming gala or school concert, so you take the rough with the smooth. I work much harder than someone at a desk job but they don’t get the benefit of that flexibility.’ So say yes to the opportunities, but decide where your line will be drawn in terms of family commitments.