On the first day of lockdown, a year ago, it was the quiet that was most unnerving.
I live in South West London, opposite a small park, and there is always the sound of a ball being kicked or bounced on the sports pitches.
An aircraft flying over, a car going by or someone talking loudly on their phone. Even on my relatively unpopulated street.
My neighbourhood had been switched off. But friends and family sprang to life; Zoom calls were organised, regular Whatsapp messages sent to check in on each other.
In contrast, being self-employed, there were no colleagues to rally around and huge uncertainty about what would happen to business.
I had enough work to see me through the first few weeks, but regular writing gigs started to dry up.
Negotiations about new work stopped.
There were debates on LinkedIn about whether it was appropriate to be marketing during a pandemic. How else was I get work if I didn’t stay visible?
Visibility campaign
I adjusted my approach but threw myself into a visibility campaign. In those first few months, I was never in a position where I didn’t have any work; it was just small bits and pieces.
Continue reading “Self-employment survival in a pandemic”
