As we know, the state of the United States is pretty…how do you say?…not good. The economy is a sneeze away from fully collapsing and that means that a lot of highly qualified people are probably going to be looking for new work soon. That was me when the pandemic started. I was in rehearsal for an amazing show featuring all women (mostly women of color, too!) and, in a moment, it was all over.

There I was: a 27-year-old actress with a very expensive degree, staring at my eggshell bedroom walls for hours because what else could I do as my career was put on an indefinite halt?

I started writing (again).

I’m going to make a YouTube video that goes into detail about how EXACTLY I started my freelance writing career but, for now, I want you to know that ANYONE can be a freelancer and no, we aren’t all broke!

Here are some of the benefits of freelancing, especially during this tumultuous time:

-you get to make your own hours
-you name your price for every project
-you choose the projects you want to work on
-you have more time to live outside of an office
-you can only work on the projects that you’re passionate about
-you’ll be working remotely most of the time (depending on what kind of freelancer you are)
-freelancers, even with higher rates, are generally less expensive for companies than hiring a full-time employee so there are always people who are very excited to work with you
-there are endless kinds of freelancers (even for freelance writing)
-The tax write-offs (immediately swoons)

While I do love freelancing, it’s not a perfect science. Because I would never lie to you, my gorgeous and sexy reader, here are some of the downsides of freelancing:

-if you don’t have good time management skills, this will be a rough way for you
-it can take a while for your freelancing work to pay the bills
-it can take time to build a solid network of clients
-because you aren’t working for an employer, you are in charge of your own healthcare, investments, etc.
-learning how to file my taxes was the bane of my existence (say hello to a lot of 1099’s and goodbye to your W2)
-it forces you to be more extroverted and interact with different people on a more regular basis (for some people this is a positive but thoughts-and-prayers to my more introverted friends)

For now, that’s all I could come up with but I think you get the jist. I do really want to emphasize that freelancing will probably become a lot more popular and a more continuous stream of income if there are a massive amount of layoffs during the recession. So, if this is something that interests you, then come along for the ride!

Also, thank you to all of my TikTok and IG followers who gave some input on what you’d like to read more about! I greatly appreciate it and this is for you <3

For my HTA Baddies (aka paid subscribers), I’m going to share with you an NYC restaurant review that….well….you’ll see. Basically, keep an eye out for that! And if you’d like to be a Baddie you, you can join here:

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UNTIL NEXT TIME!!

Heart To Arts

Freelancing 101: My intro for all aspiring…