A New Beginning

It is possible to change careers from a job that you are doing now to something clear on the other side of the spectrum.  For instance, I used to be a floral designer and also manage the shop I worked in.  People think that all florists do all day is “play with flowers” but the actual job is a lot more difficult than that.  You are working fourteen to sixteen hour days on and before holidays, just when you don’t want to be.  You develop an intense dislike for the smell of pine (I still can’t stand the smell after 6 years away from it) and Mother’s Day gives you the twitches.  Forget about even celebrating Valentine’s Day!  By the time you’re home for that, you’re asleep on your feet.  Plus being the manager, well, you do have to be diplomatic even when you don’t want to be.  After all, the customer is always right.

So after ten years, I decided to call it quits.  But what was I going to do now?  I had been writing in my spare time; poems, a couple of short stories, things like that.  But could I actually make money writing?  How did freelance work, well, work?

I found out that you can get paid money to write. There are a lot of companies that need freelance workers for different jobs.  You can find a lot of these types on job sites, Craig’s list, and other online sites.  I now write blogs for a living while writing my novel (most writers have a novel in the works). I had to send in a sample of my work which had to be approved.  Once it was accepted, then I signed a contract with the company.  I really love freelance work. I get paid a decent amount, I don’t have to leave home and I can work in my PJ’s if I want.  Also, I don’t have to work Christmas, New Years, and Easter, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day.  The topics are varied so I don’t get bored writing about the same thing all the time.  I’m free to find other freelance work while writing for the company I work for.  Sometimes I get an offer to write something extra which means extra pay.  In fact, one of my articles was just chosen to be published in the company's monthly newsletter.       

It’s funny; I use my skills as a floral designer now to make silk arrangements for friends and family.  I find I enjoy it more than I did actually putting in the long hours in the shop.  My arrangements make great gifts and I can decorate my house inexpensively.  So now what I did as a hobby is my job and what I did as a job is now my hobby.  It can work that way for you too.       

If you have a hobby or something that you think you can do and make money at, take the chance.   If you’re burnt out at the job you are doing, then try doing something else, we only go around once in this world!

What new career have you tried?