Interview - Velvet Garvey
Velvet is an ambitious editor and copywriter with energy to burn. She’s always got some sort of side hustle going (after some advice she got in her 20’s) but still manages to set boundaries and switch work-mode off to focus on family. We caught up with Velvet to talk about her journey to full-time freelance.
Tell us how you ended up here as a freelancer? Where did it all begin?
I started freelancing in my early 20s when I had a ‘real’ job. I was feeling impatient with the rate I was learning at - I wanted to progress faster. An old colleague got in touch and asked if I’d like to be the editor of a new magazine he was releasing. “But I already have a job”, I told him. “How will I find the time?” His reply: “You’re in your 20s. You make time and work your ar$e off while you’re still young”. Sage advice, really 😂
I never looked back from that. Even when I had a full-time job, for the next 10 years I ALWAYS had a side project, whether it was a personal blog, feature writing for mags, whatever. I love work so I was more than happy to be doing it all the time.
Then I had kids and tried to go back to working in-house but I just felt really wrong. So, since 2016 I’ve worked solely as a freelancer. There are many times when I’ve thought it would all be much easier if I just had ‘a job’, but I love the freedom of my life and my interactions with clients. Work days are fun and there’s no one to ruin that for me!
What was your last ‘real’ job?
My last real job was overseas. I was the managing editor for a sports medicine journal that was published by a hospital in Qatar, in the Middle East. I was recruited over there to put it together from scratch and then launch it. I was made for that job. It was the best.
What inspired you to start freelancing? Was there a ‘moment’ that made you realise it was time?
I always loved freelancing on the side because it allowed me to progress faster, and experience more than just my day job.
And then once I had my first baby, it became evident that there was no way I could have a ‘job’, mostly because I tend to give too much to work, and so I knew that I would put myself under so much pressure to be the perfect employee, which in turn would put pressure on my family. What I needed was something that would fit around my lifestyle, and that thing is freelancing!
How did you prepare to start working for yourself?
Reading lots of blogs and listening to a lot of podcasts!
What was your biggest fear before you started freelancing? Any tips to overcome these fears?
When it comes to editing and proofreading, I have no fears. I know I’m amazing at my job and there aren’t many people with the combination of my niche technical expertise and all-round publishing skills.
Copywriting is a different story. I’ve pulled back from copywriting recently. Since I started, I’ve had this fear that someone could do it better; that other copywriters have a particular formula or skill or trait that makes them wildly better than me and even though I know I’m a good writer, I’m still get scared that a client won’t like my writing.
I also live in fear that someone will call me out for being unproductive when I’m in a funk 😂
In three emojis, describe your life as a freelancer…
🤔🖍👯♀
Walk us through a typical work day?
AM
Right now, my mornings revolve completely around my kids. They wake up between 5-5.30 am so I’m straight into parenting before it’s even light, trying to keep the vibes as fun yet fast-moving as possible so we’re not all late 😰
I arrive at my coworking space at around 8.30 am after kindy and school drop off, grab a coffee at the onsite cafe and set up my desk. (I actually managed to quit coffee last year, but the stress of Coronavirus sent me straight back!). Then while I drink my coffee I often check emails and socials really quickly, and possibly do some Insta stories, which I know everyone says you shouldn’t do but … well ♀
PM
I cowork at a surfboard factory so there’s an endless stream of interesting people to chat to and watch. I feel like this contributes to a productivity surge in the afternoon which, sadly, is abruptly ended by school pickup.
EVENING
In 2020 I committed to not working at home at night anymore, and it’s been great. I don’t even bring my laptop home from Tues - Thurs. I try to switch off my devices by 8 pm and then stretch/chat to my husband/read until I fall asleep at approximately 8.35 pm 😂
How as COVID-19 impacted your everyday life?
In terms of work, initially, I really struggled to focus. I’d sit down to work and just end up scrolling Twitter for hours, working myself into a teary mess. My motivation dipped to an all-time low, I lost my direction - it was terrible! I had to leave my coworking space, obviously, and I found that very hard - the loss of human connection, the creativity injection of the people around me and the temptation to constantly snack was not ideal. Which is weird because I used to be great at working from home.
One big upside though, was that I got back into learning photography which I love. In terms of my everyday life, I’m one of those annoying people who didn’t experience much change. The stress and fear was hard, but outside of that, I tried to take as many positives from it as I could.
Name three qualities you need to succeed as a freelancer?
Healthy boundaries
Financial literacy
A learner’s mindset
I know we’re not supposed to have favourites, but can you share a favourite client project of yours?
My current favourite would have to be Many Small Things. They build sustainable brands. Laura is a gun at what she does, and does a great job of looking after the team who work for her. I think people often see freelancers as an extra expense, and therefore they’re expendable. Laura has never made me feel like that. Plus she sends me super long technical reports to edit which is my favourite type of work!
Best thing about freelancing?
Ooh it’s a tie between flexibility and variation. I have become a subject matter expert on the most random things - sports medicine, sailing, makeup, midwifery, yoga, real estate -I could go on and on. I love getting a little glimpse into all these different worlds. And, of course, there’s nothing like being able to work as much as you want, whenever and wherever you want, with whoever you want. The freelancing cliche is indeed a wonderful reality!
Suckiest thing about freelancing?
The guilt of not being productive when it’s just not flowing.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out on their freelancer journey?
Start an unpaid passion project to expand your knowledge. You need to try a lot of things before you know what you like and don’t like, so create a project for yourself that makes you learn and execute a bunch of different skills. It might be a blog, an interview series, a podcast - whatever. Certain skills are hard to teach - things like ideas generation, research, contacting people and publishing - so I’d advise you learn them ASAP yourself. There’s nothing stopping you!
What’s next for you in business?
I’m launching a new business called Train My Mate in July 2020. It’s a training platform that teaches men in relationships how to do the everyday domestic tasks that go into running a home. Think fun, practical video lessons that aim to upskill you quickly. I came up with the idea in 2015 but it’s only now that I’ve been able to find the space and time to actually get it started. I can’t wait to launch it!
This or that
Tea or coffee? As someone who recently quit coffee, and then fell off the wagon, I guess I’d have to say coffee.
Introvert or extrovert? Extrovert - give me all the people all the time.
Earlybird or night owl? Earlybird. I’d love to stay up late but I’m a better parent when I’m well-rested.
Home office or coworking space? Coworking has changed my life. I’m obsessed.
Emails or calls? Calls because they’re just more efficient. I’m also getting my clients to send me voice memos which is working really well.
Paper or digital to-do list? Can’t choose a favourite child.
Books or podcasts? Podcasts. Books are my one true love but I only have time to read right before bed and I just can’t absorb the info!