I own my time now
Sophie’s story
If I asked my network who is absolutely killing it at the moment, I know for sure a certain name would be chanted back at me…and that is Madame Sophie Cross. Let’s take a look at her inspiring story and she has become a mega-star of the freelance community.
I think we’ve all been there – sat in a meeting about the meeting you are about to have, which will be followed by a debrief of the meetings you just had. That is Sophie’s overwhelming memory of employment – ‘Meetings for the sake of meetings for the sake of meetings.’
Add in the office politics, the frustration of never actually being able to get any decent work done, having to play it safe for fear of negative responses, and the creativity became non-existent. She managed about 7 years before managing to make the escape.
‘Everything was driven by profit and it didn’t even seem that the decisions we were making were good for long-term profitability. Always short-term gains and focus. We never seemed to be able to plan ahead, even a few weeks.’
In a reflection that echoes my own, Sophie says she only ever stayed in a job for a couple of years at a time usually stating “I needed a new challenge.” In reality she was just so frustrated with the structure by that point that she needed something new and moving was the only way to get a decent pay rise (which also seems illogical). Physically she wasn’t in good shape, mostly thanks to a very long commute and quite an unhealthy lifestyle. Mentally, she had to move on before the frustration got too much. And now was the time.
‘I always wanted my own business and had a light bulb moment that I could set up my own marketing business on one of my commutes. I think if you’re one of the most proactive people in your workplace then you should probably be doing it for yourself, not somebody else.’
But Sophie’s leap story is very different from any others I have heard. ‘My husband and I both hated our jobs at the same time and our lifestyle had become sedentary and stressful because of it so we quit our jobs and went to India for six months.’
Now that’s the proper way to do it - why didn’t I think of that? (I feel the need to do it all over again now).
And how does she feel about self-employment now, over 8 years later?
‘I’ve never looked back from having the freedom that working for yourself brings. It’s given me the freedom to take my own path, to be more creative and have more ideas. I love my lifestyle now. I feel like I own my time.’
Though previous employment experiences can linger somewhat Sophie tries to direct it in a positive way - it has made her more careful of who she works with now and how she works. She uses those experiences to make sure that she is working with people aligned with her values and strengths.
However, this awareness also provides the biggest benefits of self-employment for Sophie, “Owning my own time. Having more flexibility over the work I do and who I choose to work with. I love working from home in my own space with no office politics or distractions.” And her biggest challenge? It’s a common answer for many of us - saying no to work.
I’ve really seen Sophie blossom over this last couple of years of semi-stalking her, it has been fascinating to see how she has faced challenges and getting her name out there. After losing most of her business in the tourism industry overnight when the pandemic hit, Sophie’s response and determination was steely as she (dare I say the word) ‘pivoted’. She created courses to great applause, and if that wasn’t enough, to smash her Kickstarter goals to start up Freelancer Magazine. The response has been incredible, and quite right too.
So, does she feel she can be herself? ‘I would’ve said yes before, but in the last year things have really changed so I really feel like I’m being myself now and in hindsight I wasn’t before.’
As for whether she would ever go back to working for someone else? ‘I use to say never say never, but now I’ll just say never. I’ve been doing my own thing for too long and I would literally do pretty much anything working for myself now as opposed to going back to employment.’
With the way Sophie has changed her business in the last 18 months, I’m pretty sure she could do anything too.
We can all learn a lot from Sophie.
Check out her profiles, link to her, follow her, and if you haven’t read Freelancer Magazine yet, get it sorted. You need it in your life.
Sophie Cross - Freelance marketer and writer at Thoughtfully and editor of Freelancer Magazine