"I think those of us who are older are also saying, holy shit, we can't afford to step aside." That sure resonates for this 57-year-old solopreneur with a 15-year-old. Your podcast is a hell of a lot more real than that NYT article about GenX creatives. Thank you!
I really connected with this episode. I am a former daily journalist, have a masters degree, speak three languages and have over 15 years of experience in media. I stepped away from dailies 7 years ago and had other jobs. Three years ago, I separated from my daughter's dad and struck out on my own, partly to be able to spend more time with my child, who I don't get to see on the weekends. I have been a solopreneur since then and have been cobbling it together with a combination of journalism, private investigator work and other writing projects. My income fluctuates and I never know what the next month will bring. It's extremely stressful because I don't have a second income to rely on and virtually no child support. I have begun applying for full time work but can't even get an interview! So yes, it can really affect your self-esteem and make you feel "irrelevant." Many journalism outlets struggling, but it's so important to compensate freelancers fairly so that they can afford the basics and not have to go on public assistance. Thanks for talking about this important issue.
I'm 55, I've been on the 100% solopreneur track since 2023 and am actively seeking an anchor, a part-time job, or even something full time so I can exhale and stop putting so much energy into creatively financing my life. I'm also a single parent who has the good fortune of a partner and a mother who are contributing to my survival -- in that way I am very privileged. I also appreciate you sharing about workplace PTSD and being unable to work in toxic environments. Same here. I often say how unsustainable my life is and that I'm willing to do something different, but even with me already looking to alternatives, nothing has changed. And yet, I've got to keep going -- not fall into despair, depression, etc, but some days it just gets to me. I'd love to talk about it if you're interested. I've always loved hearing your voice on the radio and now on Substack.
Very similar experience. Finishing my second full year as an unintentional freelance writer in NYC. Also have two degrees, turn 50 this year and spent a decade doing non-writing work in corporate America (giving me subject matter expertise in my writing niche). I had about 6 paid clients last year; the 4 most lucrative ones all concurrently dried up/ghosted me in September (one of them was a longtime client). None of them gave me any explanation. I just barely covered my mortgage and maintenance fees with what I made last year; a generous parent and savings helped fill the gap. Since February, I have been on ice with a major media company that can't tell me what is happening to the project I was told I was "the top candidate" for. Separately, I accepted a one-month contract to do research and editing for a book; they barely used me (this isn't the first time this has happened; biggest lesson I learned is that I need to have a guaranteed minimum rate if there is no billable work). Probably like you, people get excited by my background and assume they will need me. By accepting those jobs, I end up missing out on other work. There is also an emotional tax to pay when I don't get the satisfaction of feeling 'needed' and busy and I even fight a little bit of shame that maybe I oversold my skills.
I worked at a high-end department store over the winter holidays and it was the first time in a long time that anyone was genuinely excited about hiring me. It was a fun but physically exhausting job with frightfully low wages; they are in the process of hiring me back now. It is not lost on me in all this that I am somehow among the fortunate who can 'fall back' on retail experience, too. I don't see an easy end to this.
"I think those of us who are older are also saying, holy shit, we can't afford to step aside." That sure resonates for this 57-year-old solopreneur with a 15-year-old. Your podcast is a hell of a lot more real than that NYT article about GenX creatives. Thank you!
I really connected with this episode. I am a former daily journalist, have a masters degree, speak three languages and have over 15 years of experience in media. I stepped away from dailies 7 years ago and had other jobs. Three years ago, I separated from my daughter's dad and struck out on my own, partly to be able to spend more time with my child, who I don't get to see on the weekends. I have been a solopreneur since then and have been cobbling it together with a combination of journalism, private investigator work and other writing projects. My income fluctuates and I never know what the next month will bring. It's extremely stressful because I don't have a second income to rely on and virtually no child support. I have begun applying for full time work but can't even get an interview! So yes, it can really affect your self-esteem and make you feel "irrelevant." Many journalism outlets struggling, but it's so important to compensate freelancers fairly so that they can afford the basics and not have to go on public assistance. Thanks for talking about this important issue.
I'm 55, I've been on the 100% solopreneur track since 2023 and am actively seeking an anchor, a part-time job, or even something full time so I can exhale and stop putting so much energy into creatively financing my life. I'm also a single parent who has the good fortune of a partner and a mother who are contributing to my survival -- in that way I am very privileged. I also appreciate you sharing about workplace PTSD and being unable to work in toxic environments. Same here. I often say how unsustainable my life is and that I'm willing to do something different, but even with me already looking to alternatives, nothing has changed. And yet, I've got to keep going -- not fall into despair, depression, etc, but some days it just gets to me. I'd love to talk about it if you're interested. I've always loved hearing your voice on the radio and now on Substack.
Very similar experience. Finishing my second full year as an unintentional freelance writer in NYC. Also have two degrees, turn 50 this year and spent a decade doing non-writing work in corporate America (giving me subject matter expertise in my writing niche). I had about 6 paid clients last year; the 4 most lucrative ones all concurrently dried up/ghosted me in September (one of them was a longtime client). None of them gave me any explanation. I just barely covered my mortgage and maintenance fees with what I made last year; a generous parent and savings helped fill the gap. Since February, I have been on ice with a major media company that can't tell me what is happening to the project I was told I was "the top candidate" for. Separately, I accepted a one-month contract to do research and editing for a book; they barely used me (this isn't the first time this has happened; biggest lesson I learned is that I need to have a guaranteed minimum rate if there is no billable work). Probably like you, people get excited by my background and assume they will need me. By accepting those jobs, I end up missing out on other work. There is also an emotional tax to pay when I don't get the satisfaction of feeling 'needed' and busy and I even fight a little bit of shame that maybe I oversold my skills.
I worked at a high-end department store over the winter holidays and it was the first time in a long time that anyone was genuinely excited about hiring me. It was a fun but physically exhausting job with frightfully low wages; they are in the process of hiring me back now. It is not lost on me in all this that I am somehow among the fortunate who can 'fall back' on retail experience, too. I don't see an easy end to this.