So, I wrapped up my wonderful womxn-first series just before I wrapped up for the year and now I’m easing myself into work after a lovely chilled two weeks off.

I’m now getting back into the swing of things and thinking about what the new year has in store. 2021 is my fourth official year as Specky Scribbler, so I guess that’s a thing? It seems so soon, and it also seems like I’ve been doing this for a very long time.

I thought I’d kick the year off, very lightly and slowly, by saying a few things about what 2020 taught me, and what my goals are for the year ahead.

There is no ‘perfect time’ to do something

This is what holds so many people back from taking risks. It’s what held me back from sending emails, starting a newsletter, writing blogs. I always thought that the ‘perfect time’ would come. Well, nothing is perfect. No time is perfect so if you want to start a new project or hobby or idea, just do it. If it doesn’t go as amazingly as you planned, then okay, you learned something.

I don’t regret jumping into things, but I do regret not starting my newsletter earlier, not sending the emails sooner, not putting myself out there a bit more. I was always ‘waiting’ but you can spend your whole life waiting and then miss the chances that you never took. Go for it. Do the thing. You’ll enjoy it. And you’ll have a story to tell.

Equally, there is no such thing as perfection

I mean, I’ve known this for a while and my partner always says, when I’m posting something online or working up to the deadline second, ‘there’s no such thing as perfect, just no more time’. He’s right. As a self-employed perfectionist, this is something that absolutely kills me all the time. It ties into the waiting for the perfect time storyline above but they’re all the same really.

This blog won’t be perfect when I post it. Even if I spent weeks on it, it wouldn’t be perfect when I posted it. The main thing is to commit to doing something: sharing a blog, writing a poem, whatever it is - and just do it. Done is better than perfect. Completion is obtainable, perfection isn’t.

This year, I want to share more knowledge

That means I’m going to be running more workshops. Workshops about blogs, workshops about strategy, workshops about basic communication. I’ll start small, and pick one, but we’ll see. I’m a strong believer in the idea that knowledge should be shared. Some people think that sharing knowledge means that people will ‘steal’ their tips and ultimately their clients, but that’s not the case.

I know that not everyone is in a position to pay my rates for a project, so why shouldn't I give them a bit of info about where to start? If they have a foundation, then I can come in and finalise the work. It cuts down on all time and cost. It also helps new copywriters with the basics because we all had to start somewhere, and we often forget that.

I’ll be writing more blogs, too

Along with more workshops, I’ll be sharing more blogs containing things that I’ve been through in my career and how I navigated them. Difficult clients, when to say no, how to get started. I’m not an expert, but I’ve learned a lot from doing in the past four years and if I can save someone some time and tears then I’m glad to.

I already have a couple of blogs about how I work with clients to develop a tone of voice but also, I want to be authentic here. Blogs are meant to be web-logs, a place where people can share their personal thoughts, etc. I can always spot when there’s a disconnect between professional and personal (it’s my job) but it also feels disingenuous, so 2021 will be more authentic Specky… so brace yourselves.

Freelancers are perfectly suited to ‘unprecedented events’

As a self-employed person, I am used to the uncertainty that lurks around every corner. I know I need to have financial reserves, I know I could go from having no jobs to being booked up. I also know that this means nothing when we’re faced with panic, recession and the empty calendar spread out ahead of us. But equally, our freelance, self-employed nature means that we’re used to keeping an eye out for opportunity. We know where to look and how often. We know that it’s peaks and valleys. Feast or famine.

In one sense, we’re also fairly comfortable; we know we can’t lose our stable, pensionable job. We’ll have quiet times (I myself had a solid 6 months of quiet in 2020), we’ll have busy times but ultimately we’ll have our time. We know what to do in the downtime: update website, sort out the spreadsheets, write some blogs, faff about on Twitter and LinkedIn. And, in a bizarre twist: we’re also cheaper than employees. We’re not entitled to benefits, holiday pay, pensions. We pay our own taxes and know where we stand, so, inevitably, we’ll be okay.

That’s all for now

I mean, this was a rambly, opinion-filled blog to start us off and you can be sure I’ll be writing more rambly, opinion-filled blogs this year. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to cover and I’ll do my best!