The "Why" Of Becoming a Freelancer: My Path To Entreprenuership

For a long time, career success was measured by titles, responsibilities and how much you could take on. Freelancing became an opportunity to redefine what success looks like for me, including how I spend my time, the work I take on and the life I build outside of it.

I graduated from college in 2017 with my bachelor's degree in communication studies. I focused on public relations and minored in business advertising. I also participated in the General Honors program as part of my undergraduate curriculum. Four years of taking 12-18 units every semester, joining the executive board of my sorority, hosting mixers with my fellow PR students and local agencies, plus the part-time jobs in restaurants, and as a gym attendant and bartender, I needed to make it on my own between the ages of 18 and 22, got me across the stage and into the full-time, 40-hour-a-week desk jobs I dreamed of.

It went something like that, but with some major realizations thrown in along the way. In 2017, I don't think it was common knowledge among most graduates that you could create an empire by sharing your work online. Sure, I hosted a WordPress blog that chronicled many facets of my education and early career achievements, but what I knew about making money on the internet came from YouTube accounts that had "made it big," like Alexis Ren, Amber Scholl, Bethany Mota and Michelle Phan. I had no idea that what we know today as the massive ecosystem of influencers, micro-influencers and user-generated content would be flooding TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and countless other platforms widely used today.

Working at a local advertising agency, I quickly picked up how to handle change orders and host client meetings, as well as the business acumen necessary to work between agency owners, partners, department heads and senior managers. I worked for an agency that had been founded by a woman and spent 60 years in my hometown as a premier source of television, radio, print, out-of-home and other campaigns. My first job came to a quick end through no fault of my own. A different department in the agency lost a massive client, and my department had the highest billable hours.

Guess which department had to lay off the most of its workforce?

When I tell you I sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed some more at losing this job and being laid off from my first "real" role after getting my degree, I don't think I can adequately explain the immediate sense of disillusionment that came over me. Isn't everything supposed to be easy after you graduate college?

I landed a role that lasted two months, which I ended up leaving because of a horrible commute, unclear job expectations and chaotic managerial rosters. I honestly struggled to find the "right" next job. This is something I don't think everyone fully understands. A "job is a job" mentality has never satisfied me when I've hunted for roles, or even today when I take on new clients.

I didn't fully understand this at the time, but today it's one of the biggest reasons I don't constantly look for full-time, salaried positions anymore. The catch is honestly selling your soul a little for medical benefits, a corporate holiday calendar and whatever weird rules your employer has about how dark your jeans need to be on Fridays to be accepted as "casual" workwear.

The next leg of my career launched me into the nonprofit sector, working for the California Restaurant Association as a digital communications manager. Before landing this role, I hadn't known I wanted to specialize in digital content or that I necessarily had a talent for managing it beyond running the social media pages for my sorority and other clubs in college. Very quickly, my specialties became social media across platforms, email marketing, website development, and the digital marketing and promotion of events.

It's here that the building blocks of my current business started to take shape. I knew the inner workings of advertising agencies very well by this point. I was also developing a personal strategy as an in-house marketing professional that could be transferred to many business settings. But something was off because, even though a lot of my career was "lining up" for me, much of what I was experiencing was deep dissatisfaction with monotony, perceived career ceilings when it came to promotions, and a developing fear of being pigeonholed professionally for the rest of my life.

Fast-forward through another four years of working in a new industry as a sales and marketing professional in the burgeoning California cannabis market from 2019 to 2023, which is going to need its own blog post entirely. I knew that a singular job wasn't where I wanted to find myself at this stage in my life. Not to mention the volatility of California's cannabis market and the fact that no matter how much you dedicate yourself to a business, you might still end up being let go when it goes through corporate restructuring or mergers.

After distributing and working with nearly 100 individual brands to drive sales, build branding decks, rock trade shows and make retail partnerships flourish, I knew I could help not just cannabis brands but many other businesses do the same.

Sometimes a career shift doesn't happen because you have everything figured out. It happens because you recognize that the way you've been working no longer reflects where you want to go. Freelancing gave me a way to start building something different, even while figuring out the details along the way.

My background in communications, advertising and brand development taught me how to bring ideas to life. I wanted to create more space for the creative side of my work, from shaping brand identities and telling stories to helping businesses communicate what makes them special. I've always been interested in the relationship between a brand and the people who believe in it. I wanted to work more closely with founders, small businesses, artists and community-driven brands that understand the value of genuine connection, not just visibility or sales.

I enjoy getting to know the people behind a business, understanding their vision and helping translate that vision into something tangible. Freelancing allows me to build more direct relationships with clients and feel connected to the people and projects I support. My interests span wellness, beauty, hospitality, food and beverage, the arts, and creative entrepreneurship. I wanted the freedom to bring my experience across different industries rather than confining my skills to a single position or company.

I'm also currently just five weeks away from finishing my yoga teacher certification.

Last month, I added two independent fine artists to my client roster, and I also started working with a plumbing and HVAC business earlier in 2026. There are parts of me that don't fit neatly into a job description. I'm interested in art, movement, wellness and community building, alongside marketing and brand strategy. Freelancing offers the possibility of building a career that can evolve alongside all the other parts of who I am.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, depending on how you look at it, a lot of employers don't want to hire a freelancer with a successful roster of clients. It's a red flag for hiring teams because they worry that instead of working for their company, I might be looking to steal their clients. This is just a reality of job searching if you've taken the leap to pursue independent projects professionally in today's world.

I've found that when I've sought out those unicorn jobs with a fair salary and work-life balance, there's always a catch.

I don't think the job market has really changed too much since I was a college senior, but I know myself a lot better these days. I'm also not so wide-eyed and hopeful that my skills will be appreciated, my growth supported or my personal life respected.

I wanted greater ownership over my schedule, more intentional use of my energy, and the ability to prioritize the relationships, practices and experiences that make life meaningful. Flexibility isn't about caring less about work. It's about making work sustainable within a full life.

Ultimately, freelancing is about more than choosing clients or setting my own hours. It's an opportunity to create a body of work, a reputation and a business that reflects my values. I want to build something that feels like mine, that grows with me and that allows me to contribute meaningfully to the people and communities around me.

Freelancing asks you to become more than the person executing a strategy. You have to find opportunities, communicate your value, make decisions and take responsibility for the results.

I wanted to challenge myself to trust the experience I'd built and learn what I could create independently. I'm proud to run my own business these days even if on the surface it has its colorful challenges.

I'd rather paint my own picture with many diverse clients, than find myself painting by numbers behind a desk.