Ideas , Words , Trouble

Female , 41

I worked in the graphics/web/brand/marketing/e-learning industry for 15 years. I do ideas. And words.

I left my job in October 2008 to set up a site which is going to cause some trouble in the charitable sector. Yer know, like wot Apple did with computers. I want to be the Steve Jobs of charities.

I'm doin bits of freelance consultancy and writing to keep going, including making cheap films on the fly which I'm really enjoying.

I was a trustee of a homeless charity for a few years before co-founding a hugely successful spoken word night. It regularly pulled in 80-100 people. Even on the first Tuesday in January. Mental.

Also do a spot of DJin but don't bother mixin. I'm sure i could if i tried, but for me, it's all about content.

I'm a fellow for the royal society of the arts too (FRSA) if you're into that kind of thing.

I have my own house and my own hair - though much of that's falling out due to hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). I can share experiences of that too.

Learning to love you more

Can you help someone to love themselves? I dunno. But I'd like to try. It's taken me 30-odd years to start treating myself the way I would treat someone I was indifferent about, no matter a good friend. So if you're one of those people who, no matter what nice things people say about you, and no matter what you've achieved, you still never really believe it - I've picked up a few tips along the way that may be helpful.

Earning a living through words

If you love words, don't let anyone try and talk you out of studying them or pursuing a career in them. There are loads more opportunities than journalism or becoming a novelist. I've made a living from a few of them, and can give you some good pointers to develop a good career out of words.

Goin it alone

I bit the bullet and left my job to follow my dream of setting up a social enterprise/charity/not sure quite what it is yet;-)

I'm writing a blog of the journey of becoming a social entrepreneur as I'm already making some interesting discoveries about myself, working solo and trying to juggle my time between pursuing my dream project, and earning a crust.. overcoming panic and overwhelm and discovering why contemplating failure can be a good thing.

Be quick though. My memory's shocking.

My careers teacher laughed in my face when I said I wanted to be a writer. And she didn't even know I couldn't spell. I say, do English and you can do anything, not least, learn about yourself and the world around you. If I can help people into a career that they're passionate about but didn't know it even existed, that would be a good thing. I'm also interested to learn from others who are venturing out on their own. Safety in numbers I reckon.

Groups you have created.