As coronavirus grips the nation, we’re all under house arrest and as someone I know told his girlfriend, it will make us or break us…
I, like everyone else on planet earth, have been affected by the virus. The project I was working on at the time that calamity struck was Soccer Aid for Unicef, a huge charity football match set for the beginning of June. As soon as the news reels started whirring I think we all quietly admitted to ourselves that it was game over, and none of us were particularly surprised when the whistle was blown on the decision to halt proceedings for safety reasons and postpone the event until later in the year. Obviously it’s disappointing as we were all excited to be working on such a great project, however, it will be back bigger and better than ever and be the success we know it can be, both as an event and as a great fundraising opportunity for Unicef. On the positive side, I really enjoyed working with the team, I’ve made some great contacts and added another huge client to my client list, and you never know, come the relaunch I may get a knock on my inbox door 🙂
I had probably accepted my fate as a reality before most people in society as I sensed that my workload was going to disappear and as a freelancer I was somewhat prepared. Periods of quiet are something to be expected and to me a time to be positive and look for something new.
What will be will be, I know that there’s always design work out there if I look hard enough…
On the flip side, and this is something that nobody was expecting, was the entire closure of the UK and the knock on effects that we will feel for months (and probably years) to come. We all watched it unfold day by day on the news channels, and across social media, and my LinkedIn feed was lit up with more and more redundancies and job losses.
How we choose to spend our new found inside time would be an interesting social study. I as a freelancer am able and happy to work from home, and have done for years, I am just carrying on as normal. Albeit it’s a weird new normal, but I’m able to crack on and help my clients as if the world was a normal and healthy place.
That said, in the downtime I do have I have plenty of things to keep me occupied. A little self promotion here and there, plus those website updates I’ve been meaning to do for ages. I’ve also started to revisit my old client list too, and am already working with new and exciting clients due to being remembered from previous projects. Good things come to those who are proactive, and although this situation has proved a massive curve ball for the nation (and the world) I will not let it be the reason my freelance business fails. It will make me. Not break me.
On that note, a little self promotion….(!) If you need any design work doing, be it big, small or somewhere in between, just drop me a line. I’m available every minute of everyday (that’s an exaggeration) but what else can I possibly be doing? It’s not as if I have any plans to go anywhere!
Keep safe how ever you are spending this time. Whether you’re in furlough or if you’re a magnificent unsung hero keeping the country going through our hours, days, weeks and months of need. I only hope that more recognition is given to these wonderful people once our current situation is over.
#StayHomeStaySafe