From beauty branding to freelancing in Spain: Hannah's story

My story starts off the same way many escapees' stories do. You go to school and do pretty well. You go to university because that’s what you’re supposed to do. You get yourself work experience and a decent job because that’s what’s expected of you. But then... That’s not quite enough anymore. You crave something different. You daydream about leaving the stress of corporate life behind. 

After university, I’d been working in brand marketing within the beauty industry, and in many ways I loved it. I enjoyed learning how products worked, the process of taking a brand from its guidelines into a living, breathing being. I also worked really closely with the founder of the company, which was an incredible learning experience. But there were many days when the stress simply wasn’t worth it anymore. I would get calls late at night and on weekends, and looming deadlines would send everyone into a frenzy. I regularly reminded myself that it’s just moisturiser; we’re not saving the world. 

After working as part of a huge company rebrand, I was on the verge of burnout. Then one cold morning on the bus to work, I saw two of my best friends posting on social media about their travels and I decided there and then to quit my job and join them a few months later. 

While I was travelling, I was privileged to have the time to reflect on what I wanted from my career and from my life more broadly (I also travelled with a life coach for a few days, very handy!). I realised that I value helping others and having more time to do things I enjoy more than working 24/7 and trying to be ‘successful’ in my career. Although I’m very driven, I understand that work isn’t everything.  

I still wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do by the time I got home 6 months later, but I knew I wanted to start by working in an industry where I could have a more tangible impact. I landed a job at a mental health charity, a cause I’m very passionate about. Although I loved this job, I had found myself in a similar position of responsibility and stress to my corporate job - just on less money! 

While working at the charity, I joined a network marketing company. This was a huge turning point in my professional career because it opened my mind to alternative career paths. I was also exposed to personal development, which helped my confidence in so many ways, and hearing inspirational stories from people who took charge of their lives and changed something. I wanted to do that too.

When the covid-19 pandemic hit, my job went completely virtual. My boyfriend and I were working from our small flat in London and realised that if we could be working from anywhere, why do it from here? We both love to travel and wanted to live abroad at some point - so why wait? After months of planning (and a stressful countdown to the move date with a constant threat of going back into lockdown and our plans being scarpered) we jumped on a plane to Spain with our two cats. We figured Spain was far away enough to get a culture change and enjoy a slower pace of life, while being close enough that we could get home easily when we wanted to.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to keep my charity job while living in Spain as they felt I needed to be in the UK. This felt like a perfect opportunity for me to go freelance and try doing my own thing. I knew I had my network marketing business for additional income, and I thought I could always get another job if freelancing didn’t work out. I was very nervous, especially once my last day at the charity rolled around, as I hadn’t had much time to line any freelance work up as I was so preoccupied with planning the move to Spain. 

I spent some time building my personal website, which I could use as a CV and portfolio for potential clients, and signed up to lots of different freelancing sites, like Upwork and Fiverr. But I quickly realised this kind of work wasn’t for me. I found it to be time-consuming and not very fruitful. On those kinds of sites, I couldn’t charge what I thought I was worth, and I didn’t think my skills lent themselves to this kind of very short-term work.

The first freelance job I got from a freelancing platform was truly terrible - I was writing marketing emails for someone who had written a vegan cookbook. I’d done a lot of email marketing in the past, and I’m vegan, so I thought it was the perfect gig. But once I had been sent a copy of the book, I saw that half of the recipes weren’t vegan, and the book was so poorly written and put together. As a brand marketer with a keen eye for detail, this was not ideal. 

After this experience, I decided to look for part-time remote work so that I could have more long-term impact on projects. I also wanted the security of some steadier income yet with the flexibility of working from anywhere. I was over the moon when I got the Social Media and Content Manager role with Escape the City for a few days a week. Joining Escape part-time worked well for me as I gained the social element of being part of a team that I had been missing while working remotely and from a new country while in lockdown. Through contacts at previous jobs, I also gained other work and projects and was eventually working 5 days a week. 

It’s now coming up to 1 year of moving to Spain and going freelance. It’s been a wild ride. While I’ve loved all of the work I’ve been involved in (minus the non-vegan cookbook), it’s been a steep learning curve. I’m still the super ambitious person I was when I was working in beauty, but this doesn’t always fit in with the side of me that wants to have an adventure and enjoy a slower pace of life. I’m not sure I’ve got the balance quite right yet, but I’m working on it. 

Learning how to think like a freelancer rather than an employee has also been a big adjustment (I wish I’d read more of Escape’s great advice before taking the leap!). Being stricter with my time and more ambitious with my prices would have allowed me to enjoy more time off early on. I’m very aware that if I’m not working, I’m not getting paid, so I have felt the need to work 5 days a week still - Not exactly the slower pace of life I’d pictured for myself, but soon I’ll be working 4 days a week which I think will be better for me.

Moving to a new country where you don’t know anyone mid-pandemic was also more difficult than I anticipated (surprising, I know). And being away from family and friends for such a long time has been challenging. I’m fortunate that I have a supportive partner who thinks similarly to me. We get helpful career and life advice from each other regularly!

My freelance career is still evolving, and I can’t wait to see where it will be in a few years time. I like that my situation changes every few months depending on projects and jobs, as this means life isn’t the same for too long, and I can change anything that isn’t working for me pretty quickly. This also means my career is advancing faster than it may have if I had been in full-time work.

My top tips for anyone thinking about going freelance, working remotely, or moving abroad:

1. Just go for it. There’s never a perfect time to do anything, so just pick a time and figure out how to make it happen. You’re in the driving seat, and you get to choose how to spend your time. There are very few decisions in life that are final, so you can always change your mind. 
2. Consider whether being freelance or having part-time roles would be better for you. I’ve personally preferred having part-time jobs so that I’d have the security of income, but this does mean sacrificing some flexibility.
3. Consider multiple streams of income. Being part of a network marketing company has been an excellent backup for me, a great source of personal development knowledge, friendships, and professional satisfaction.
4. Keep in contact with people you enjoy working with. Thanks to the great relationships I made through the previous jobs I’d had, I’ve been able to get a lot of work. People pass my name on to other people thanks to those relationships too. 
5. Keep an eye out for opportunities everywhere. Social media is a great place to find work as well as mentors. You can join groups to network in - I’ve had some great jobs just from replying to people’s Instagram stories and offering my services.
6. Surround yourself with things/people that inspire you. Reading books, listening to podcasts and meeting people who have done what you want to do is so valuable if you want to make a change.