Diary of Team Honest - Part 4

In celebration of the second print run of Diary of a Freelancer, six members (some past & present) of Team Honest — Holly, Vashti, Mary, Oli, Molly and Maddi — have reflected on their own freelancing journey and shared some stories with us. Celebrating everyone’s unique creative path is a vibrant cornerstone of The Honest Jones and hopefully something that gives you inspiration and encouragement in your living your dreams.

Conversation PART FOUR —

What do you think are the big challenges to a creative career / freelancing? How have you navigated it?

HOLLY :

The biggest challenge to a creative career for me is all the hats I have to wear! So many hats. Only so many Holly’s! Oh and self motivation. That’s a hard one. If I’m honest I still haven’t nailed it, I still ride the creative personality wave of ups and downs (pretty sure everybody does) it isn’t helpful when you don’t have a boss to get you in trouble when you don’t turn up to work on time. Lol.

MADDI :

I think a few of the big challenges a freelancer would face are frequent work/clients, getting a name for yourself, and doing a lot of unpaid work. This is all a part of the journey and learning how to navigate every situation differently. Whether that be clients or editing a film. My future aspiration would be to have my own brand, travel the world, and be creating all the time.

VASHTI :

Hmm, thinking that everything needs to be instant. Which is pretty contradicting for me as I now work in social media but on the other end, I also see what is completely missed when everything is instant and needs to be out ‘now’. I’ve  learnt and seen while in The Honest Jones studio, all the beautiful things that are birthed out of embracing the process. Which if I’m being honest, isn’t something I’ve had to just learn for a creative career but even as just a human navigating life. I’m currently working for an activewear brand as a content creator / graphic designer. I create graphics, shoot, make films, on set for photo shoots, collaborate with other creatives, work on campaigns and so much more…and till this day, I catch myself asking “how would I do this with Amanda”.

MARY :

The big challenge for a creative career is always the start. I didn’t know where to start, or if I was on the right page. What was a great change in my young career was to seek professional help. As an advice I would say, you are never alone, there is an awesome community of creatives that are always happy to guide you. Another lesson learnt, Good things take time. It's okay to pause, go back to restart and take a new direction

MOLLY :

For me, the biggest challenge is the business side of things. I often under-value my work and feel bad for charging people money for it. I’m also not very good at setting my own deadlines. Amanda has been a MASSIVE help in these areas. A little while back, we sat down and made a list of all the freelancing things I struggle with and figured out the barriers and then came up with practical solutions to each barrier. It made the process so much easier for me and gave me a sense of freedom to do what I love and do it well! At the end of my degree, I’ll be qualified in design, art and education and I’ll have all my experience with THJ in film too. I’m hoping to teach high school art and maybe pass on some of Amanda’s wisdom to the students I teach. I’d also love to continue other projects outside teaching as well!

OLI :

It’s really interesting, career choices are often used as social currency, professions like law and medicine are valued highly, but other careers (usually the creative ones) just aren’t seen as worth as much. They’re seen as a risk, and just not as important. Everyone I know (including myself) have come up against some opposition when leaning into that. To actively make the decisions that advances that is important, because not everyone will necessarily see what you see for your future. The real trouble can start when the critic is in the mirror. To quote Ru Paul ‘we are our biggest inner saboteur’, for me that’s the biggest challenge of a creative career. Imposter syndrome is a very real thing. I’ve learned that the people you choose to surround yourself with can make or break you. I have so many cheerleaders to thank, and one of those is Amanda who saw me for me all those years ago. 

Since then it’s been a wild ride, I worked in design and studied and interned with Amanda, graduated and shortly after & finished up my design job. Then I moved to Melbourne (full disclosure, it took me 5 months to land a job down here). I’ve met some of the most damn incredible people, learnt more than I’ve ever learnt before & got a few new tattoos. I tried my hand at agency work in digital marketing (not for me), freelanced for some ** chefs kiss ** clients (all who I’m still in touch with), worked in coffee, then in corporate (also not for me) and I’m now just about to start a new job as Creative Specialist for Clothing the Gaps. A dream role in a really important space. 

If you asked me in the THJ days whether I’d be here now, I’m not sure what I’d say, probably no, I had big ambitions, but didn’t know where they would lead. I’d be lying if I said I’ve carried myself with the same ambition throughout my career, there’s been high highs, and very low lows, but that’s the essence of life, it’s messy. I believe that you meet people when you need to meet them, and you never know where that will lead. In this world relationships are everything, the industry here in Aus is a very small one, everyone knows everyone. I’ve met so many people at random gigs who I’ve ended up reaching out to and working with down the track, random chats at a design market have led to amazing creative relationships, I cannot stress the importance of building great relationships and putting yourself out there. 

For anyone reading this who is thinking you want to start leaning into your creative side as your job, to you I’d say, lean hard & work hard (despite what people say, it’s not the ‘easy’ path). Learn as much as you can about the world you are creating for, I’ve done this by consuming a lot of material, across so many genres; politics, fashion, film, pop culture, music, art, philosophy & reality TV. Knowing what is, and has been, in the zeitgeist is one of the most valuable tools a creative can have. The things I’ve learnt, are not to be too fussed about following a traditional path for it to work. It’s taken me a long time to be ok with my path being different to other people. A massive one for me has been to know when I’m in an environment that fuels my creativity, and when it doesn’t, to work my way out, even if it takes a little while. It’s just not worth it, and in hindsight I’ve never regretted just getting out of a creatively stifling space. One of the best feelings a creative can feel is to find people on the same page. People really see you for you and you see them for them. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Take stock & celebrate your wins when they happen no matter the size. It’s worth it because the world needs more authentic creatives who stand for something now more than ever. 

PS — all these women are incredible artists doing amazing creative things…I’ve linked their work so you can take a look!