Getting pregnant made me terrified I'd lose my freelance business. Here's how I persevered and became even more successful with less time in my day.
Crystal Cox/Business Insider
- Allison Landa started freelancing at 24 and has been covering business and personal finance for more than two decades.
- Neither running her own business nor managing money came naturally to her, and six months into her freelance career she used her savings to go on a month-long trip to Europe.
- After finally getting settled into a groove with her business, she found out she was pregnant — and feared that the news meant she would lose her paying clients.
- Instead, having a baby pushed her to get organized and set up calendars and budgets for herself. Now says she has "mastered" what could have been disastrous.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
I started my freelance career at the age of 24. It was less aspiration than a desperate move away from offices, which just two years out of college I had already realized I could not stomach. The small talk, the insipid jokes, the banal daily existence in the same cubicle one day after the next — this seemed so far removed from the professional life I'd imagined. It felt like a game I couldn't win, an equation I continually failed to square. I broke free and went out on my own.
Running my own business didn't come naturally. I seemed to specialize in mistakes, miscalculations, and missed deadlines. Then I grew more accustomed to the rigors of satisfying client demand, more fulfilled by my successes, even challenged by the difficulties. Work was good. I was happy. See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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