Alice Catherine Alice Catherine

For a long time, I struggled to understand where I fit in the career world – I’ve never really been motivated by money, and was always driven by the fact that I didn’t want to sit in the same office space all day long. I bagged myself numerous retail jobs when I graduated, and remember being endlessly frustrated that it was all about convincing customers to by pieces they probably didn’t need, endless sales figures, and copious amounts of stress over the festive period…

It all seemed too much. I wanted to work in fashion as far as I could tell, but I just didn’t know where I slotted in. I didn’t know if it was possible to be creative in the real working world, it seemed like every job I had hope for slowly crushed my dreams… 

Then I kind of accidentally fell into blogging. After following numerous bloggers for years, I never thought that people could possibly look to me for the same kind of inspiration. It still blows my mind when people message me, that people even follow me. It’s given me the biggest platform for creativity – writing, photography, brand collaborations, and a whole realm of other possibilities in the future. It really has shaped out to be my dream job – although stressful and imperfect at times, I wouldn’t change it for anything else right now. It’s taught me self discipline, and to believe in what I stand for as a person, along with so many other transferable skills for whatever the future might hold.

Content creating is my biggest passion – curating thoughts, sharing images, connecting with people that on the same wave length, it all makes everything worthwhile and fulfilling…

However, what I never really fully considered when I quit my job was how challenging the business side of freelancing would be. I’m rubbish with numbers, and I’m horrible when it comes to selling myself. It’s hard to switch into business woman mode when you’re just constantly excited to work with new brands – knowing my worth has been one of the most valuable lessons learnt when it comes to being my own boss. I’ve had to teach myself that saying no is sometimes a positive thing, and sometimes you just have to teach yourself the less fun things like admin, google analytics, and the dreaded tax returns even though it’s less exciting. The more you understand about your own business, the more it starts to feel like a real one – it’s starts to feel like less of a hobby, and more of a real job title that you can start taking seriously. It’s all a learning curve, and often one you have to figure out for yourself as you go along…

What was once a weekend fling is now my very own business, and sometimes that can be a strange transition mentally. It’s kind of exciting never knowing what the next month has in store, but it can also very incredibly daunting at times. I’ve had to teach myself to be better with money, to save, to invest responsibly. I sometimes feel as though I’m too soft to be a business savvy – I’m driven less by numbers and more by connection. I’d rather create something beautiful, than be paid for something that looks forced. I feel so lucky that I have so many wonderful collaborations under my belt, but I’m also really picky about the work that I do. 

In the beginning this was difficult – I was basically living off nothing, but I just kept creating content that I was proud of, and clung onto the feeling that it would pay off eventually. I guess this would be my greatest advice to anyone who has a creative vision that they’d like to transform into a full time occupation – don’t sell yourself short, don’t sell ideas that you don’t believe in, and above all, don’t lose faith in your ability and what you have to offer the world…

Alice x


Photographs by Adriana

T-shirt – Vanessa Seaward

Trousers – 2Mood Store 

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16 Comments

  1. Eleanor says:

    This was exactly the inspiration I need. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, as always! xxx

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thank you, really means a lot xx

  2. Great essay. Read this article to my husband as I have been juggling with my freelance work and full time job for a few years now. I never know how much I’m worth and I always feel ashamed of asking to be paid how much I feel I should. It’s tough when you love what you do and feel grateful by just being able to work in a project you like. Thank you for the words of encouragement <3
    Camilla xx

    http://camillanelsonn.com

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Aww thank you for reading, so glad it helped you in some way! Don’t feel ashamed, I was very much the same during the first six months – you’re offering your time and services, and they wouldn’t be asking for your help if it wasn’t worth something. Also, for any jobs that don’t work out or won’t pay what you’re worth, there’s always another one around the corner xx

  3. Seyi Adejori says:

    Beautiful words, I can only hope to be in your position one day with blogging. Thank you for sharing!

    http://www.seyioa.com

    Seyi x

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Thank you! And there’s literally no reason why you couldn’t be – it all happened very much by accident for me xx

  4. Seyi says:

    Beautiful words! Thank you for the advise and words of encouragement. We just have to keep at doing our passions with everything we have.

    http://www.seyioa.com

    Seyi x

    1. alicecatherine says:

      So true! Thank you for reading xx

  5. Evelyn Evans says:

    Referring to the final paragraph:

    So we should capitalise our beliefs? and sell ourselves?

    1. alicecatherine says:

      I think you’ve completely missed the point I’m trying to make. Not what I’m about, nor the message I’m trying to convey.

  6. Holly White says:

    You’re an absolute super woman Alice! Your content is incredible and so worthy of all the success that comes your way! xxx

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Oh you’re the sweetest ever! Thank you darling xxxx

  7. Summer Read says:

    Thank you for sharing, it’s really inspiring and encouraging! I’ve been blogging for so long now but I find it difficult to imagine it as a career – thank you for sharing your advice as always! I love your content and your blog always inspires me to be more creative and to pursue what I love x Love the outfit too!

    Summer, http://www.thetwinswardrobe.com

  8. Andrea says:

    That´s exactly what i needed to read today..i want to start my third (oops!) blog for so long now and i always think i am not good enough,too old,too late to the party..but hey i just do it and see where it takes me 🙂 Thank you <3

  9. Ehylimar Márquez says:

    I found you on Instagram and fell in love with your style. This is my fisrt time in your blogg and it´s amazing how this words that you wrote speak to me, and I´m sure to others who feel the same way. It´s a journey of finding a job that can make you feel that your doing something meaningful. Loved it! definitly an inspiration!

    1. alicecatherine says:

      Aww, thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to read it, and I totally agree with you – I think most of us want to feel like our work holds some sort of meaning x

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