Oct
13th
Thu
13th
No doubt today’s economy is why I’ve had questions of late from recent college graduates interested in freelancing. I begin with the positives – that I’ve spent the last 40 years doing fun photo shoots for active-travel tour companies, travel-article research (much of it from a bike saddle) in 60 countries on five continents, and scribbled more than 300 articles and 13 books.
But then I tell them assignments are like raindrops: They come when they want to, not when you’re thirsty. That usually brings questions about staying alive as a freelancer, and I reply that it couldn’t be simpler – just marry somebody with a real job. If that isn’t in the cards, I continue, the best advice is the oldest for this business: Keep your spirits high and your expenses low.
But then I tell them assignments are like raindrops: They come when they want to, not when you’re thirsty. That usually brings questions about staying alive as a freelancer, and I reply that it couldn’t be simpler – just marry somebody with a real job. If that isn’t in the cards, I continue, the best advice is the oldest for this business: Keep your spirits high and your expenses low.
— Of all places, the Subaru Drive magazine. Owner Spotlight: Dennis Coello
