The Recession is Bullhonkey Gigis Story - When I Grow Up

The Recession is Bullhonkey Gigis Story - When I Grow Up This is part of  The Recession is Bullhonkey series, where I share stories of those who have gotten hired and/or started their own businesses (or sometimes both!) since 2008.  Im oh-so-glad that Gigi Griffis  reached out to me to share her mini-story: quitting her ad agency job in 2010 to freelance, and making the switch in 2013 to pursue her secret, childhood dream of becoming a travel writer. In 2010, I was utterly exhausted. I’d spent the last three years of my life working at an ad agency, building up a copywriting and content strategy career from nothing. I’d worked hard. I’d learned a ton. And I was proud of myself for making it as a full-time paid writerâ€"something I’d been dreaming about since childhood. But I was also completely exhaustedâ€"tired of the long workweeks, the weekend work, the nights I got home at 9 p.m. and collapsed into bed only to get up at 7 a.m. and start the cycle all over. This is when I decided to start my first business. I still wanted to be a writer. I still liked the advertising industry. But I wanted more flexibility, freedom, rest, and earning potential. So, against the recommendations of pretty much everyone (whose reasoning probably sounds familiar â€" “but, the economy!”), I quit my ad agency gig and took an easier corporate writing job for six months while I got my business off the ground. Why the new job? Because I knew I needed a little time to get my business all set up, but I also knew that if I was working 80-hour weeks at the ad agency, it wouldn’t ever happen. And so I spent those six months collecting clients, writing a business plan, setting up business bank accounts and credit cards, polishing my portfolio, and letting everybody know that I was open for business. I told myself that I would quit the new corporate job when I either A) had enough money in the bank to live (frugally) for one year with no income or B) I had so many clients that I literally couldn’t take on another one without quitting my day job. B happened around the 5-month mark, so I gave my notice and left job security in the dust. In year one, I broke even financiallyâ€"to my surprise and delight. And I learned that a “bad economy” is actually an opportunity for a few brave souls to make a crazy amazing life change. Because what a bad economy means in the world of freelance copywriting is this: companies that might have formerly hired a full- time copywriter are now looking for freelancers instead. Which means freelance opportunities feel pretty abundant. Of course, that’s not the end of the story. Even after a year in businessâ€"and a pretty good one at thatâ€"something still wasn’t quite right for me. So I started planning for another major change. This time, I was going to take my freelance copywriting and content strategy and I was going to hit the road, leaving my permanent address in the dust and becoming a location independent professionalâ€"someone who could work from anywhere in the world. So, in May 2012, that’s just what I did. I packed my clothes and my laptop and my small dog, Luna, and I boarded a plane for Scotland. For almost two years, I traveled full-time, building up my business not only in the US, but also abroad. I attended conferences in Europe, worked from open-air bungalows in Mexico, and juggled time zone differences with aplomb. And I discovered that not only was I capable of making a living as a freelancer in the US, but I was also capable of taking myself around the world. It was a breathtaking realization. And with that realization came another: In September 2013, I decided to take a month off from work to hike and think and relax in the Swiss Alps. It was the first really long vacation I’d taken since starting my business and I felt completely inspired. No deadlines. No client calls. Just long walks up big mountains to sit on pretty balconies and take in the scenery. While I was on vacation, I asked myselfâ€"with no work cluttering my mindâ€"what I wanted next. Was this really it? Did I want to keep traveling? Did I want to settle in somewhere for a while? Was my business what I wanted it to be? My answersâ€"which were strong and immediateâ€"were two-fold: I wanted to live in the Swiss Alps. And I wanted to be a freelance travel writer. You see, ever since I was a kid (before anyone tells you your dreams are impossible), I wanted to write books and travel stories. When I was 14, I taught myself HTML so that I could build a website about travel and educate other teenagers about volunteer opportunities around the world. When I was 7, I was writing and illustrating my own books. When I was 16 or 17, I started in on poetry. Before anyone had tried to tie me down to “the real world,” all I wanted was to be a creative writer. Now, with the confidence and joy I’d found in my new flexible, self-employed, traveling existence, I revisited those dreamsâ€"and I wondered if they were really so impossible. So, in October 2013, I jumped off the edge again. I quit my freelance copywriting and content strategy business and I poured all my energy and time into becoming a full-time freelance travel writer. (I also applied for and got Swiss residency, giving myself a home base in the Alps.) In the last year, I’ve published four travel guides, written for a handful of publications, and (very recently) become a magazine correspondent with my favorite travel pub. I’m not quite breaking even yet, but the past couple months have been a crazy growth spurt as I watched my book sales in September rise to nearly double what they were in June (when I launched my first guide). I’ve seen all four guides hit their top-100 lists on Amazon. And I’ve signed on as a magazine correspondentâ€"a role that will give me even more writing work in the year to come. So, this September, I took stock of the year. And I asked myself again if it might just be possible to support myself fully as a creative writer. I think the answer is yes. And so I gave myself another a year to prove that theory right. To publish at least two more travel guides, to write magazine articles galore, to keep on traveling like a fiend. And soâ€"from one entrepreneur in the thick of it to any other entrepreneurs or hopefuls out thereâ€"I believe we should keep on going for it. After all, in every circumstance in life, there are always a couple ways of seeing things. You can look at the economy and say it’s too hard to start a business right now. Or you could look at the economy and say that it is ripe for freelancers, that it offers unique business opportunities, and that it’s a chance to prove that your business has cajonesâ€"and you can make it no matter what. Gigi Griffis is a world-traveling entrepreneur and writer with a special love for inspiring stories, new places, and living in the moment. In May 2012, she sold her stuff and took to the road with a growing business and a pint-sized pooch. These days, she’s traveling around Europe, working on her next book (100 Locals Switzerland!), and promoting her newly launched, unconventional 100-Locals travel guides for Italy, Paris, Prague, and Barcelona. Gigi and her work have been featured at The New York Times, Married With Luggage, Miss Minimalist, International Living, Transitions Abroad, Tiny Buddha, and more. And her new travel guides are already hitting top-100 and top-10 lists on sites like Amazon.com. Get your weekly dose of travel, humor, how-tos, and inspiration at gigigriffis.com.