Three months ago I left my office job at a Marketing agency to be a freelance account manager. Let me tell you, it was the best decision of my career.
I was already quite unhappy with my marketing job. I didn’t love what I was doing and being polite to clients who were downright rude and abusive just wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with my life. Not to mention I was underpaid and overworked. I barely had time for my personal life and I just didn’t want to be unhappy in a job that took up 80% of my time.
Flash forward to today, I am currently a freelance account manager and sales consultant. I do odd jobs every once in a while. Sometimes I get to write informative articles and create illustrations for clients. Overall, I’m happy. I’m not worried about emergency deadlines and I don’t get a panic attack every time my phone rings at 2 in the morning (my phone doesn’t even ring past 5pm anymore). So as a freelancer, life is pretty great. The work is enjoyable and the offices I visit are definitely amazing too.
Being able to freelance has allowed me to choose any place to work. I can work from home, a coffee shop, or even the beach! However, my favorite places to work in are co-working spaces. Nothing beats free coffee, super-fast internet, and a comfortable work environment.
Aside from the cool environment, co-working spaces have tons of meeting rooms and areas. I never have to fight for a spot! All I have to do is log into the meeting room booking system and voila! I’ve booked a room for my next client. Gone are the days of fighting over a room that I booked days in advance only to find it occupied the day I need it. And my clients seem to prefer the relaxed environment of a co-working space too. They get greeted at the door by a friendly receptionist and they get ushered straight into our meeting room without hassle.
Looking back, I definitely don’t regret my decision to quit my job and start on a new career path. It has opened opportunities for me that I would never have thought of. And I feel more free than I ever did in a traditional office job. I can travel when I want to, I make my own schedule, and I have time for the people that are important to me. I never have to stress about things that never really mattered to me and I get to choose the work that I want to do. Of course there are ups and downs but what job doesn’t have that? I have the freedom to choose what I want to do now and that’s important to me.
