I had dinner with my friend, Amanda, last night. She and her husband, Jordan, are my sages of freelance work. For all its lovely and numerous benefits, being a freelancer can leave you feeling like the 3 ring circus is a cakewalk. We juggle multiple clients, completing all of the work in front of us ahead of schedule and under budget, while also seeding the ground for future work. Dr. Seuss must have been channeling his inner freelancer when he wrote “life is just a great balancing act.”
The keys are to keep breathing and do the best you can every day. On Monday I was feeling a little down-trodden by the endless treadmill of excavating leads and today one of those leads hit big-time and I’m starting a new short-term contract with great people doing great work. Amanda explained that the nature of this freelance beast is sometimes you’ll have so much work that you need to turn some of it down and before you know it you’ll be knocking on 100 doors just to get 1 to open (maybe). That’s the gig and to thrive in it, you need to understand it and relish every step of the way, whether those steps involve feast or famine.
My yoga practice helps. My yoga teaching helps. Writing helps. Dear friends like Amanda and Jordan help. To keep your sanity, keep breathing and keep working. That’s the game. Play it as it lays.
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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2 thoughts on “Leap: Riding the Waves of Freelance Work”
Christa Avampato 
That is wonderful news Christa.
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Thanks, Leanne!
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