Growing Baby & Business: My First Year of Self-Employment

It’s hard to know where to start this blog. It has been quite the year! I finished up a contract with the Arts Council around a year ago and, after struggling to secure a job, I thrust myself into the world of self-employment (by force rather than choice)! And thus began a real year of adventure and discovery as I started to grow my own business - oh yeah, and a baby at the same time. My lovely little boy arrived in May and my pregnancy happened to coincide with the first 9 months of self-employment. And so, I’ve separated my experience into the three trimesters I journeyed through, and the postnatal period I’m currently in. Read on to find out what work I got up to, and how I managed growing a business and baby.

First Trimester

In these first three months I picked up my first few bits of work, launched my website and had my first taster of the self-employed life. I submitted my first proposal, secured my first few contracts - one for a podcast discussing my research on arts activism, one preparing financial statements for a grassroots group and another setting up a grant management system for a CIC. I began building new relationships, sending out a flyer I quickly put together on Canva to people I had worked with before, asking them to share the word. One connection invited me to deliver a lecture at the University of Cambridge (of all places) - one of my scariest but most rewarding gigs to date! I was also able to support London Recruits on a social media campaign to support the people’s release of their amazing film - I recommend a watch if you can make any of their future screenings.

This was one of the more quieter periods of the year which I was very grateful for as I was in the depths of first trimester tiredness and nausea - like, napping before and straight after video call meetings vibes. Somehow I managed to get through and deliver on those first few contracts, and they led to further work over the next few months…

Second Trimester

Having had an initial taster of what it is to secure and deliver on contracts, the second trimester saw me start to reap the rewards of all my years of hard work previously, and the many wonderful people I’d met building my career so far. I was offered a medium-term contract, offering operations services/consultancy to Kinfolk Network CIC and supporting them to recruit a permanent Operations Manager. I also sent a proposal for and secured a contract with the lovely Faith & VAWG team, working with them on a monthly basis, delivering workshops to upskill them on all things budgeting and financial admin. I even managed to wangle in an in-person workshop with them in February, which was wonderful! I also started supporting a grassroots group with monthly admin and finance support after a they’d been successful with a grant. We’d previously met to discuss what support I could offer and they’d included my proposal in their application - a process that seems to be quite common in this field of work. So , naturally, I was delighted to hear they had been successful!

In addition I was excited to be commissioned to deliver a research report, evaluating a pilot funding programme. This involved interviewing arts organisations, conducting a literature review and data analysis and presenting my findings in a written report. It was so joyous to make new connections, and stretch my social innovation research muscles, having completed my Masters at the University of Cambridge in 2023.

Alongside this build up of an exciting variety of work, I was enjoying the extra burst of energy and decreased nausea the second trimester brings. We found out we were having a boy, and had a 20-week scan where he actually looked like some form of an actual baby - it was all very exciting. Things started to become a bit more real, although May still seemed far enough away that I didn’t have to start thinking about becoming a mother too soon…

Third Trimester

The third trimester was patterned with continued and renewed work contracts. I found myself at full capacity, and officially full-time self-employed. For the first time I had to turn down work(?!) which broke my heart a little, as I always want to help as many people as I can. It was great to have all the work set-up that I needed in advance as with the third trimester came the onset of physical discomfort and tiredness. It made me appreciate the flexibility and autonomy I have through working for myself SO much.

As my due date approached, I started to wrap things up and think forward as to when I might be back at work. I was very sad to step back from my Non-Exec Director role at Rising Arts Agency until November, but needs must! It was a bit of a mad rush in the end as my little boy decided to show up two weeks earlier than planned (he’s impatient like his mother), which meant I didn’t get to write this blog in time for finishing. However, it’s almost better to do now, when I’ve had a little space and time to start adjusting to motherhood, and reflect on the year I have had.

Postpartum

And now we’re here! In August I will start checking my inbox again and looking for work opportunities. I’m excited to pick up a couple of contracts that were put on pause as well - with big thanks to those clients who have let me take a few months break and have a flexible return. 

Over the pregnancy I grew a whole human, which I can now hold, cuddle, feed every day. In a similar vein I feel the business I have grown, which started off as just a way to get some quick income, is really starting to thrive. I have so many ideas of where I could take it, and things I could do, and I’m excited to start implementing them as I begin a return to work.

If you or anyone you know is an artist, activist or community organisation looking for some ‘back office’ support, do reach out. You can find more out about me here. I’ve shared some examples in this blog and I share some more on my website but one of the best parts of my work is being able to offer a bespoke service, so feel free to reach out for a chat if you want to explore our potential working relationship. I’d love to hear from you.