There’s been some radio silence going down across my sites lately. Which isn’t like me.
I’ve been working to reorganize my thoughts. I had become mentally scattered. I was being pulled in too many directions. I was unhappy and it was being noticed at home.
When I really delved into the process asking why, I found the answer was pretty clear: I was absolutely bored and frustrated at work.
I knew I was lucky to have a job. I appreciated it. I have people to take care of, so like everyone else, having an income is important to me.
I also care very deeply about healthcare. Working with Johnson & Johnson brands was a great experience. I believe that the brands my former agency works with has employees that honestly care about their customers and want to help people improve their health.
But any big business gets layered in bureaucracy. There are so many meetings over the smallest of things. Doing work that was geared towards messaging and helping millions of people was enough to keep me motivated for a long time. But, caught behind the fence of internal politics, I began to feel too far removed from actually being able to help people.
Fortunately, I’m lucky. It was an easy thing for me to diagnose and treat. I would quit my job, start my own freelance/consulting business and start seeing patients again. (Aside from being a writer and web strategist, I’m also an acupuncturist. Yeah, it’s a long story.)
For several months, I put it off. Even after it became increasingly clear that my position wasn’t going anywhere and that the things making me miserable weren’t going to change. Then one day in August, I finally couldn’t take it anymore and gave my notice. I had no idea what I was going to do. I just knew for sure I’d be better doing it on my own.
I was offered freelance work every single day of that week. Can’t say how good that felt. I had been applying for freelance work for several months with no real success. As soon as I made myself more available to it, there it was.
To share my chronically believed but newly enacted perspective, I wrote an article for FreelanceSwitch.com titled 10 Reasons Why Freelancing is the Best Job Security. It was heavily retweeted and commented on. That positive feedback has been really encouraging.
I know leaving a “secure” job in this economy is not supposed to be a smart idea. I can certainly appreciate that sentiment. But there are people that I need to provide for, and other people I would like to provide for. To do that, I really had to leave my job and go on the big hunt.
Was it scary? Yes. But the emotional and creative death I was suffering was scarier. I certainly didn’t just jump into quitting my job. I put months of planning and thought into it. I didn’t want to simply quit and go work for another agency, even though that would have been okay. What I really wanted was to be and grow my own brand.
I’m happy to report that my last day was August 31, but I’m happier to report that I found several great clients to work with in very little time. Now, I’m not just saying they’re great because they’ve decided to work with me. I think they’re great because after 3 years of working with slow-moving Fortune 5 medical and Fortune 500 technology brands, I’m super excited to be partnering with quick, agile start-ups. Their responsiveness and openness has been really refreshing. (Plus, being empowered to tell a potential client with a bad attitude “No, this isn’t going to work” was an especially happy moment.) Each one has good shot at making a big impact in their field.
Of course, if a big brand comes knocking on my door someday, I won’t turn and run away. But for now, working with these start-ups is the jolt of fun I needed. I love what I do, so it shouldn’t be as tortuous as it had become.
Setting up DeeJayDog Productions, my own tiny agency composed of myself and my merry band of freelance friends, hasn’t been easy. Eventually, it will become part creative/consulting services, part online media developer, and part publisher. It has a long way to go. Hell, I don’t even have a proper website set up for it yet. That’s why I haven’t had much time to post here or elsewhere. Yet, having the opportunity to do what I’ve dreamed about is all I’ve ever wanted. Now that it’s here, I feel like I’m back. Both interweb-wise and mentally.
I feel I owe several people a big thank you for helping me in my transition.
First, I’d like to thank Mr. David Henderson. Reading his book The Media Savvy Leader confirmed some things I think I was fingering out for myself about agency life — but then opened up my eyes to a whole lot more. David, thank you for your work and also for the friendly emails. Sometimes you need the reinforcement of someone who you can only conclude is much wiser than you to see things for what they really are.
Speaking of which, to the Old Man and the Sea, (I’m not sure you’d want me to mention you by name) the best part of my experience was having the chance to glance at your approach to work, communicating, and remaining human first and ever foremost.
Lastly, to my homies like d, the Sandman, and CC, thanks for your ongoing help and support.
This post wouldn’t be complete without a plug. Sooooo, if you need some branding, copywriting, web, or social media work done, I know just the guy to help you pull it together.
