How I Started Freelancing
It’s August 2019. I’m sitting on a balcony in Kotor, Montenegro. There’s an cheap iced coffee on my left, a very confused pigeon on my right, and a laptop in front of me that's hotter than the sun.
Oh, and I’ve just sent an email that would kick off my freelancing career.
Cue dramatic music. Maybe something with violins. Or kazoo. Your choice.
Let’s rewind a bit.
So I Quit My Job...
Back in May 2019, I did what many people fantasize about at 3 p.m. on a Monday after Karen’s sixth "just looping back" email, I quit my 9–5. Not because I had a better offer. Not because I won the lottery (still bitter about that).
I quit because I had two things: a burning desire to travel without limits, and a savings account that didn’t scream "YOLO,"… but maybe whispered it.
My husband and I had been saving up like responsible adults (ew, I know) so we could travel long-term. But I didn’t want a holiday, I wanted a whole lifestyle.
Think "Eat Pray Love" but with Wi-Fi and fewer spiritual awakenings. I didn’t just want to see the world. I wanted to work in it, from it (while possibly wearing pyjamas).
Enter: Freelancing. The Sexy, Mysterious Stranger of Careers
I’d been working in advertising at a comms agency in Sydney… (translation: I had a lot of practical online skills, some minor coffee addiction, and enough burnout to roast marshmallows over).
So I figured, why not take my skills, wrap them in a digital bow, and offer them to clients who don’t care where I am as long as I deliver?
It worked.
You don’t need an Oscar-winning skillset to freelance. You just need:
Something useful online (design, writing, editing, interpretive dance if it pays)
Internet access
A brain that says, “Yeah, I can figure this out.”
You also don’t need expensive tools. I used free stuff like Photopea instead of Adobe Suite and it didn’t make me any less legit.
It's not about the tools, it's how you wield them. Like Thor. But with more mouse-clicking and less lightning.
Montenegro: Freelancing with a View
When I landed in Montenegro, it felt like I’d been dropped into a fantasy novel, if that novel had cobbled streets, medieval towns, and surprisingly fast Wi-Fi.
Between editing travel videos and eating my bodyweight in cheese burek, I came across a video editing job. No formal training? No problem.
I sent the application anyway, complete with a list of five unique and vulnerable things about myself. (Yes, that was actually a requirement. Yes, I made it weird. Of course I did.)
They liked weird. I landed a paid trial.
Then I landed the job.
Then I landed more work.
Then I realized… holy $#!t. I’m doing this.
Cue Freelance Montage (Complete with Soundtrack)
Suddenly, I was editing videos for a client who trusted me. I was waking up when I wanted, taking meetings from mountaintops (okay, cafes near mountaintops), and working with the Adriatic Sea as my screensaver.
The job turned into a retainer. The retainer turned into referrals. I started charging $75–$150 an hour. My bank account no longer looked like a desert. I was building something. With Wi-Fi. All across Europe!
Plot Twist: Freelancing Isn’t All Aperol Spritzes and Sunsets
There were moments of uncertainty. Like:
“What should I charge?”
“Can I edit a YouTube video while stuck on a bus in Albania?”
But I kept going. I learned. I adapted. I Googled a lot. And I realised that the real magic of freelancing isn’t the freedom to work in your pyjamas (though... bliss).
It’s the control. I was the boss. I set the rates. I picked the clients. I decided when to take a break and where to take it (it was usually by a beach).
So, Should You Freelance?
Only if you:
Want to work from anywhere (even your mother-in-law’s guest room, no judgment)
Have skills people will pay for
Like the idea of growing a business in swimwear
It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. The travel. The freedom. The ability to say “no thanks” to soul-sucking jobs and “hell yes” to life on your terms.
And honestly? If I can go from advertising burnout to video editing on a Montenegrin balcony… you probably can too.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a video to edit and a beach calling my name.
Catch you on the freelance side!