Take a RISK Trying New Things. Open A Paid OPPORTUNITY Door.

If you're willing to put yourself out there, be vulnerable, and take a risk, you never know what opportunities might open up.

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, I truly didn't know what was going to happen. I had been freelancing since 2014, and I published my book, "Path of the Freelancer: An Actionable Guide to Flourishing in Freelancing," in 2017. Three years into my freelancing career, I was unsure how my clients would react and how their businesses would be affected.

Navigating the Pandemic's Impact

Thankfully, the pandemic didn't have a significant negative effect on my business. While I did lose a client or two, I also gained some and secured new projects with existing clients. Generally speaking, it was a positive development, though I didn't know that while it was first unfolding.

This was also the year I started my podcast and became more active online. One of the things I did was host a free crisis event for freelancers. I took the content of my book and recontextualized it for the COVID-19 pandemic, offering advice to freelancers. I promoted it online, on Eventbrite, and my website. It was a free webinar, something I hadn't done before, but I had valuable content to share, so I took that step.

Unexpected Opportunities

The cool thing about that event was that, while I had done speaking events for my books and various topics throughout the years, I had never been paid for one. However, as a result of hosting this crisis event, a company found me, saw what I was doing, and reached out. They wanted to hire me to give the same speech to their customers.

This company was an interesting business based in London. It was a co-living facility, similar to a co-working space, where people had small private living quarters but shared communal environments. During the pandemic, these residents were isolated, locked in their rooms because they couldn't access the communal areas. The company wanted to hire speakers to share and teach those living in their facilities. They ended up hiring me, and that was my first paid speaking gig.

Embracing New Paths

This opportunity came my way unexpectedly; I would have never sought it out. But the pandemic pushed me to try new things and, in some ways, reinvent myself by adapting. This mentality is something I've always leaned into:

"What's something I can do to take that next step and move forward?" 

You just never know where the next opportunity might come from, or how a pivot might change the direction of your life, freelancing, work, or business.

My encouragement to you is to be willing and open to taking risks, trying something new, and seeing what opportunities it opens up for you.