2024 – the highs, lows, learnings and randoms
2024 as a freelancer has been varied, challenging, creative and exciting, all against a stressful homelife supporting 4 teenagers going through A-level and GCSE exams simultaneously.
Here’s a quick rundown of the highs, lows, learnings and randoms.
The Highs
Supporting Eating Distress North East through a comms glow-up. Everything from a website revamp, brand refresh, creating content, templates and training their wonderful staff – great to see them embrace the changes and run with it.
Preparing to launch the Charity Freelancers Connect & Co-work meet-ups – watch this space for our first event in 2025!
Giving a talk on digital marketing trends at a VONNE (Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East) Digital Day.
Sharing my love of Canva, delivering some really fun training courses to charity staff all over the North East.
Mentoring – both giving to 2 lovely people and receiving it.
The Lows
The riots over the summer – dropping everything to support Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency with emergency comms and watching events unfold in shock.
Struggling with work-life balance, sometimes clients need you all at once, that’s the nature of comms.
The Random
Writing a book for Community Action Northumberland on the heritage of village halls, plus the added thrill of giving a talk at the book launch, being asked to sign copies, and having my parents in the front row! #15minsoffame
Filming and editing 2 videos on wildflowers and wild spaces for Prudhoe Community Partnership, enjoying flexing my creative side.
Delivering workshops on how to navigate the NHS to people who have English as an additional language for Involve North East using their fantastic animated videos.
The Learning
It can be lonely being self-employed, hence deciding to set up a network of fellow charity freelancers in the North East imminently.
Starting work with a mentor Laura Smith who has helped me grow my business and set the direction for the next decade.
The power of AI, like a second brain helping generate ideas and refine work, and enjoying seeing others’ reactions when I show them what it can do!
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And that’s 2024 nearly wrapped up!
If you’re looking for charity comms support in 2025 in any of the myriad of ways I can give it, please get in touch quickly. I have some limited space for new clients, but it’s filling up.
Wishing all clients new, old and waiting in the wings a peaceful break over the holidays, we’re nearly there!
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*The relevance of the picture is I came across recently online and remembered recreating it for my Art GCSE so know every brush stroke of it. ‘Wanderer above a sea of fog’ seemed poignant!