Redundancy and Freelancing

Yesterday I read this interesting blog post via The Professional Copywriter's Network. It poses questions about the "fear" of freelancing. And it made me think about the choices I have made.

Freelancing for me wasn't brave, risky, heroic or any of those worthy things. I ran at freelancing after being made redundant. No, *I* wasn't made redundant, the post I carved for myself was made redundant. Though I wish I could, in all honestly, say that I felt that at the time. But I can't. At the time it felt very personal. That I was somehow redundant. That I could no longer offer anything of value to the company. I blamed the choices I had made in the past on the decision that management made. I am pragmatic and impulsive. When I decide to do something I, more often than not, go ahead and do it and hang the consequences. When things go wrong, and they do, I don't let people say they told me so but I draw the positive and move on to the next impulsive project. I don't know whether my decision to move out of London and work from home affected the choice to make me redundant. I never will, but I knew, almost at once, that redundancy had to become something positive. If I didn't make it positive then life would become very hard.

The skills I had built and my natural tendency to put pen to paper meant that finding the "perfect" job was never going to be easy. And that process was never going to be complete in rural Devon during a recession. I am naturally well organised, obsessively driven by detail and thrive on going from project to project so offering myself as a freelance copy writer and web co-ordinator seemed to be the solution.

One thing that I noticed about redundancy - and maybe I ought to blog about that on it's own - was the lack of support from governing bodies. The Job Centre were uncaring - I was middle class, educated, could run their computer software better than they could and they had no intention of helping me. The council were unsympathetic as I didn't fit the quota of having "dependents". My GP just wanted to give me antidepressants in lieu of my anxiety. In the closer community it was different. Friends and family rallied around in a way that I didn't think was possible. People showed up for a cup of tea bringing real milk, veg boxes, bottles of wine. One friend even gave me a leg of lamb "it's just sitting in the freezer, and we don't really eat lamb". Good job too as the benefits take forever to come through and I was redundant minus two weeks wages. The Daily Mail view of the "benefit bums" in this country is skewed at best!

Freelancing was my easy option. Ok, so I am struggling, I won't deny that. But something is better than nothing. I've learnt so much about how I work, what I can do and the legalities involved. The "fear" of freelancing wasn't financial for me but about failure. But I'd already failed so what had I lose?

The people who go into freelancing having voluntarily walked away from paid employment, secure in the knowledge that they can afford the rent, have annual leave, sick pay... they are the ones who are brave, worthy and taking the risk.

I am not that risk taker; I am just positive and try my hardest.

MOO Business Cards

Any company called MOO gets my vote.

I was poking around looking for free business cards to promote my smiley self and webby services. I desperately didn't want generic images. A load of templated to death Vistaprint business cards would do nothing to enhance the creative vibe that I am trying to get across.

This is where Moo came in. Not only did I get 10 free cards and the freedom to design them myself but also I didn't have to pay hidden postage costs and I could choose to have them printed on recycled paper.

Looks good, doesn't it?

New Moo

It wasn't only the product that I was impressed with - the whole brand and way they communicate pleased me as well. Look at the cute mail I was sent:

Moo Mail

Companies that bother and care with customer service and good PR are few and far between in my experience*. So, instead of ranting about companies with shocking customer service I thought I'd wax lyrical about a company who are getting it right!

Granted, I didn't actually *pay* for anything. But if I ever earn enough to spend on marketing/promotion of Elizabeth Dyer - Web Services I will be starting with Moo.

*If you are lucky I might blog the transcript of angry emails between myself and the rubbish British Gas house move mess!

Embedding Audio on Website/Functionality Rant

I am not a web designer. Nor am I a web developer. However, what I am is ambitious and project focussed*.

I created (with a little help) my own website to highlight my skills. Granted, it is a little restaurant menu in style. Incidentally, if you *run* a restaurant and would like help designing your site/menu, get in touch!

When my brother approached me with a request to build him a website I was filled with fear. He knew the score, no blagging on my part, and he just needed an online business card to highlight his wares. His "wares" (ware? wares? I have no idea of the correct syntax) happen to be creative in tone and would need audio. Would that be hard? NO, of course not. To embed video you use youtube/vimeo and you get the code snippet and link to the file. Easy. Audio will be fine.

Yeah...No. It won't. I found, after having a little google, the Google Reader Audio Player. Simple, you copy and paste the code and amend the URL to reflect your file. It works!

Google Reader Audio Player

Well, it *did*. Then, around the 7th June it just stopped. Nothing. After more googling I realised that google changed the URL and corresponding code. Not only could I not find the new code but did I really want to use a player that would be likely to change without so much as a by your leave?

No. Sorry, Google.

Apparently there isn't an audio player that you can embed that offers a simple, clean layout and that will work (without odd plugins needed) across platforms and browsers.
It is no longer acceptable to ignore functionality.

Audio files need to work on Grannie's PC in IE6 as they do on Nephew's tablet in Chrome, stranger's iphone in Safari and my own humble HTC. You would no longer accept a site where the content text wouldn't render in anything other than FF on a Mac? Why should audio be different.

Functionality matters, more than ever in a time when you just don't know what platform is going to be circulating the masses in the next couple of months.

A site needs to be functional and - again, forgive the cliche - organic.

I know all this but don't necessarily have the requisite code experience to be able to solve the issue. However, if someone out there could provide a solution that would be great!

There must be something somewhere that I am missing - meanwhile I am using the working (though not aesthetic) yahoo player. It is doing the trick for now but I think I need to get back to searching for something that ticks all the boxes.

Yahoo Player - Slide Out MP3 Player

*And, contrary to the evidence, against wanky corporate "buzz" words.

Slugs

Yay! It's July! That means outdoor eating, peeling shoulders, flip flops and the first of the new potatoes.


Oh, it's still raining. Well, if not raining then mizzling. The kind of rain that gets you drenched without penetrating your clothes. The kind of rain that means you are perpetually walking through a cloud. The kind of rain that never lifts long enough to dry clothes, eat outside or wear flip flops.


In fact, since you asked, I am wearing thick warm winter boots. 


Since hacking the herb garden to death I've been waiting and watching to see if the runner beans will climb the wigwam I've lovingly built for them. Should I be watering them? It really is very wet out there. But they are looking less healthy than when they were given to me. 


I ventured out.


I wish I hadn't. Death and destruction met my eyes. Slugs? But I'd been so careful with my lettuces in the veg plot. Pesky slugs. Right, that is it. I shall give in and sprinkle (liberally) blue scary pellets all over the soil. And add more compost. And water. Then I shall walk away and wait like a patient James for my beanstalk to appear magically...

Wigwam and watering can

Whether or not we'll actually get any beans this year is yet to be seen. However, I am pleased with the slug free lettuce. It may be raining but I shall eat salad!

Homegrown lettuce and spring onion