You need to change as a person to go from a 9-5 job to freelancing

Hello! 👋

Welcome to She Got You!, a newsletter in which I document my conversations with women professionals. I also cover themes related to women; Women in Public is one such piece.

Today's conversation is with Meenakshi Girish, a journalism graduate and freelance content creator who is currently working on her debut book.

I’ve been following Meenakshi on LinkedIn for about a year. She’s candid, full of energy, and reads a lot (I mean, she reads more than 120 books in a year).

At 22, she left her corporate job to become a full-time freelancer, but I’ll let her share that journey and how she’s got you.👇

Sunaina: Please tell me about yourself and what inspires you to do what you do.

Meenakshi: I'm a 24-year-old freelancer and I use my journalism degree as a skillset because it taught me to read better, write, interview people, observe things, listen and research. I apply these skills no matter where my work takes me.

I decided to be a freelancer at an early stage of my career when I realised that a corporate life didn't work for me.

What inspires me to do what I do? I love writing and have been interested in the English language since childhood. I was an expressive child — I wrote many stories and narrated them to my parents. So, persuading people through stories and people skills came naturally to me from a young age. Monetising my innate talent helped me, inspiring me to do this every day because it doesn't feel like work. This has been my whole life, and I was born with it. Plus, I won't kid around; there's good money in content creation.

I also read a lot, and about 120 books in a year. I’ve just finished Beth O'Leary’s The No-Show. Occasionally, I post my book recommendations on Instagram.

Sunaina: What made you choose a freelancer life?

Meenakshi: I didn't like my corporate job. I was expected to work every weekend, and I lacked a work-life balance. I felt disconnected from friends and family, and I didn't like the work.

You know, on most days, I barely looked at my mom's face when she opened the door for me after work; I'd look at the floor, exhausted and never had an answer to her question: how was your day? It wasn't a fulfilling life because I worked nearly 24/7 against my will for a shitty salary.

One of the main reasons I switched to freelancing was I realised most corporate jobs functioned this way. I don't generalise as I say this, but my job didn't work out for me. Things won't change if I move from one corporate job to another, right? That's why I broke out of this to become a freelancer.

Becoming your boss is hard, but working in a corporate job you don't enjoy is also hard; a freelancer's life is not an escape from responsibilities or corporate jobs. It's a choice, a hard life, but I chose it and don't regret a single day.

Even when I work on weekends or long hours because I choose to, and by working those extra hours, I gain something — be it monetary, professional or personal growth. That's more important to me than being in a rat race.

Sunaina: What does your day look like?

Meenakshi: I'm a late riser and usually wake up around 10 or 11 am. Starting my day with music or podcasts is the norm, and usually, my mind retains stuff better at that time, so I ensure it's a good podcast or an audiobook. I log in at around 12 pm and work distraction-free for a solid two hours; I get meetings done, and on Mondays, I plan the entire week.

Then, I power through the work, starting with smaller tasks. Because I'm a nocturnal, I prefer doing the bigger tasks towards the end of the day. I also read for 2-3 hours daily, spend time with my family, and do chores together. 7 pm is my yoga time; I've been doing it for two months, and it has transformed my life. After that, I have some meetings with global clients, and then I finish the biggest task of the day.

At midnight, I send myself a detailed email with the following day's tasks and the sequence of execution. I divide them based on the hours they take so I have better control and clarity over my day.

Sunaina: A freelancer's life can be pretty lonely, right? Have you experienced this, and how do you navigate it?

Meenakshi: Yes, it can be. I'm an ambivert but a homebody, so even during my corporate job days, I waited to get home after work. During the lockdown, when everyone was homebound, it didn’t bother me much or seem different.

But the loneliness thing is true, and it crept up on me unexpectedly. Although I'm a team player, I usually work in silos — especially when it comes to writing; I prefer to be in my space and take time for the research. I never wanted support to get stuff done, but I did feel lonely when I saw the employees at the companies where I freelanced enjoy activities together.

For instance, something as small as Diwali gifts or birthday celebrations would spark envy because I couldn't access those perks or friendships. Or when I see my former colleagues travel together. These things make me feel lonely sometimes, and it'll take time to bounce back from these problems because when you're in a full-time job, everyone around you shares mutual concerns, like client or manager problems. Everyone gets you and your issues. However, as a freelancer, although I share my problems with friends and family, nobody gets me; my problems are mine alone. But I eventually got over these problems.

Sunaina: Right, got it! So, moving back to work, what are some trends you've been noticing in the content space?

Meenakshi: People prefer skimmable content a lot more now. Some of my clients who require SEO articles with 2,000-3,000 words prefer each paragraph to have 2-3 lines, making it easy for someone to read. Most don't realise they're reading as many words because they skim through it quickly. Plus, bullet points and multimedia work well.

When I wrote only content on LinkedIn, I wasn't going far. They began performing better when I started including multimedia, such as links, images, statistics, videos, and infographics. This applies to blog posts, too. How you structure your content matters!

Sunaina: Okay. Has your gender ever been a disadvantage at work? If yes, can you share an incident and how you dealt with it?

Meenakshi: I was never discriminated against at work, nor was work held back from me because of my gender.

But there has been one incident. One of my clients didn't clear my invoice, and when I held him accountable and called him out on LinkedIn by tagging him, he threatened me and posted something awful on his LinkedIn page.

Without tagging me, he wrote, "I've always wanted to make a documentary for a long time; it's called Meenakshi, the untold story of a prostitute."

I couldn't even report his threats and posts to the Cyber Crime because he didn't use my full name or photos. But I reached out and said, "I didn't realise this is your nature. Targeting me personally just because I hold you professionally accountable isn’t right."

That's when I realised how alone I was and that I didn't have a manager or team to rely on.

Sunaina: I’m sorry you had to go through it.

Meenakshi: When you're a woman, some people think it's okay to threaten you so you'll back down, but that hasn't worked in their favour. I've always managed to stand up and not let these things bog me down.

Apart from this incident, I receive unsolicited DMs on LinkedIn, like all women out there.

Sunaina: Got it. You're working on a book. Can you tell me more about it?

Meenakshi: Yes, I am working on a book around the theme ‘A freelancer’s mindset’. But I don't want to talk much about it and jinx it. I started writing it a year ago, and I realised most books cover making a 6-figure income as a freelancer, how to work with international clients or how to sustain and scale up your business. But nobody talks about the mindset shifts that come along; you need to change as a person to go from a 9-5 job to freelancing.

My book is about this mindset shift, and it's entirely anecdotal; apart from my experiences, I've also interviewed around 20 people. The idea is to convey that you should change a person to become a freelancer, solopreneur, small business founder, student trying to pay off education loans with side hustles, or even a retiree who wants to maintain their cognitive senses.

Sunaina: That sounds amazing. Last question: Which two books should every content marketer read?

Meenakshi: The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib and The Freelance Bible by Alison Grade! The former is great for marketers and content writers and guides most people in figuring out marketing. The latter is basic but powerful; I found myself nodding to many things the book said. However, it's better for those getting into freelancing or beginners, as it discusses figuring out a niche, finances, and the ocean of the freelancing world.

So, that was my conversation with Meenakshi. Please follow her on LinkedIn to keep up with her work.