Begin Again, Lady, with Grace

I have parted ways with my current employer. All about the math.

Revenue needed, clients can't commit, salaries to be paid, time ticking, I was most exposed.
And...there you go.

Not entirely unexpected, which is why I've been entertaining freelance opportunities. I will admit my heart has not been in it lately at work...slowly, slowly realizing after having a second child that priorities continue to tilt and spin as life evolves. And that what seemed "good enough" perhaps wasn't.

Don't get me wrong; I am grateful for the flexibility I was allowed. I'm thrilled with all that I learned. It's made me significantly more qualified for the current day. I am much more valuable now than when I walked in that door.

I am lucky to have remained in contact with good, smart people. It's time to make a change and do something that is more fitting. In other words...I'm not going back to an agency.(Okay...maybe on a project basis, to make some cash...hey, we have bills to pay!) But not in a client-management, day-to-day role.

This is my opportunity to change for good, to get more time at home with the kids, to never have to feel stressed about my priorities being in the right place.

I'm ready to crack the code somehow. Wish me luck!

Dream a Little Dream

So the fishiness factor at work is way up there, and boy, am I just over it.

I've decided I don't want to fill this space with my gripes...because really, how fun is that to read all the time (it's not). So I'm going to do a little dreaming here while I have some hot chocolate. Oops, no I'm not, because G is screaming and it seems I've got to feed the little munchkin. 'Scuse me.

I'm back.
In the last week, I've had a realization. I don't like what I do, I don't want to continue doing it, and mostly importantly I need to get a move-on to, well, move on.

For the uninitiated, I have been working in "Account Management" in "Advertising" or "Marketing Services" forever, it seems. (In fact, only since 1996. Holy crap, that is only slightly less than 1/3 of my life. Lord help me.)

For the most part, Account Management involves client-wrangling, negotiating, selling strategic and creative ideas, getting stuff done/produced and keeping the bus on the road. With whatever client personality type you're given.

As you may assume from the above, I can hold a conversation with a brick or a crazy person at any given moment if I need to. This is part of what makes me good at my job.

So I want to write. To get into copywriting for ads and marketing communications...which would be the easiest transition, at least at first, from what I do. Familiarity with the creative process, briefs, being presentable to clients, business-savvy...and now experience in digital...hell, I have a lot to offer.

Called a pro, a friend, someone I have oodles of respect for with regard to writing. We used to work together and she knows the business inside and out. She made me feel a lot better...in other words, not crazy. That a "crossover" has happened before, and she was encouraging about my odds of success. (Thanks, my dear, if you are reading.)

I am now embarking on the process of creating a portfolio, a set of writing samples to shop myself around. I'll still have to find a position to keep me paid, but this will hopefully evolve into what I want it to. Will keep ya'll posted on how it comes out. Root for me, please.

Here's that dream I was talking about:
I write copy to pay the bills. I write articles for fun, and local entertainment. I keep this blog. I get to start a business with my dad for something we've invented (see, paying the bills has to come before that in order to start the business--I'm still a bit grounded, even in my dreams), and I get to go on QVC and sell it. Success happens like the Spanx chick, and life is comfortable. Not crazy, just normal, and comfortable. Then I get to work from home as my kids enter the getting-into-trouble years.

Sweet.