Being a multi-hatted freelancer, with Anna Codrea-Rado

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT 

• Anna and I discuss the difference between the business of writing, and the writing of writing
• The fear that so many of us feel of showing up, and putting ourselves out there or “being seen to try”. Anna says this is “straight-up embarrassment,” and we feel this way whenever we step outside the norm (even if we are embarrassed for positive reasons, like receiving a compliment)
• But in addition to this, she says that what holds us back, post-pandemic, is “very low emotional reserves.” All of us have a lower baseline of resilience which makes pitching scarier, and rejection harder to take
• Recognising when you’re in burnout (and remembering that you don’t have to have all the answers before you’re allowed to help anyone else!)
• Defining freelancing and the many roles that freelancers need to play. Learning to be both boss and employee, and knowing when to shift between these modes
• Seeking a balance between working ON the business versus IN the business. Anna says she spends 20 percent of her time actually writing… but she’s working on increasing this!
• The bonkers (Anna’s word but I wholeheartedly agree!) system that rewards creative people for doing a good job by making them managers - a completely different skill-set and a role that a lot of creative people don’t actually aspire to take on
• Working with people in your business from a place of collaboration, rather than management
• Getting comfortable with sales (and moving on from the door-to-door salesman stereotype)
• “Dirty capitalism” versus “clean capitalism” (in other words, the conflict-that-shouldn’t-be-a-conflict of doing the right thing while also making money)

LINKS WE MENTIONED

• Anna’s book, “You’re the Business: How to Build a Successful Career When You Strike Out Alone”
• My first chat with Anna, on “Life Lessons for Freelancers” -
• The book Anna mentions, “A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload” by Cal Newport
• The quote I was trying to remember is attributed to Ellevest co-founder and former Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck, who said, “About the most powerful thing you can do to help a society and economy is get more money in the hands of women.” Hear hear!

WHERE TO FIND ANNA ONLINE 

• Anna’s podcast, Is this working?  Which she co-hosts with Tiffany Philippou
• Anna on Twitter (she’s @annacod)