Three years ago today I sat down at my computer to start my freelance career. I didn’t have any clients yet, but I had some leads that seemed pretty good and I was quietly confident that things would go well. I was my own boss and I was free to do what I wanted to do. I now call this day Freedom Day.

Things were a bit slow to take off. The leads, that had seemed good, turned out not to be. I’ve become a lot better over time at judging possible leads, but you still can’t always tell if one will actually lead to a project.

I had a very enjoyable first month doing my own projects while searching for work. I took on a free job for some experience and I also got my first small project for a small fixed fee. The small job became a lot bigger, but unfortunately, the fee didn’t.

Just over two months in my earlier networking started to pay off and a bigger job landed on my plate. I quickly went from having loads of spare time, to being very busy. I was working in the day on my new project, and working evenings and weekends to finish my two previous projects. It was pretty intense and at times I missed the nine to five nature of my previous job.

Things did calm down though, and become more manageable. I’ve had a fairly steady stream of work ever since. There are still times when things get a bit too busy and I still get nervous at the end of a project that I won’t find a new one. Something always seems to come along though.

Over the last three years I’ve been really lucky. I’ve had some brilliant clients and some fantastic projects. I’ve also had some projects that I’ve just wanted to end. One of the good things about being a freelancer is not that you only work on fun projects, but that you are free to choose and as you become more experienced you get to know the sort of projects that you enjoy working on.

I’ve also learnt an awful lot over the last three years. I became frustrated at my last job that I knew everything I needed to and didn’t really feel challenged. The last 3 years have been a none stop learning curve and I love how much better I've become. I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning and I like that. It keeps things interesting.

I’ve also had some time to work on my own projects, such as Cardboard Laptop Stand, Font Picker and I’ve worked on FriiSpray as part of the Jam Jar Collective.

I don’t think I would have done anything different so far in my freelance career. Going forward I want to do more to push my own ideas and projects. I’ve always hoped that I could make part of my income from these projects. I’ve learnt that making something and putting it out there will only get you so far. More effort and attention to detail is required to make a good idea reach its potential.

I don’t know what the next three years will hold, but like on my first day of freelancing, I’m quietly confident.