I hit a milestone yesterday, and I don't know who to announce it to, aside from DH, so I'll celebrate with you guys.
Thirteen years ago I quit my job to be a full time qualitative specialist, hiring myself out to market research companies and directly to pharmaceutical companies.
Yesterday I booked my 300th project. Kind of crazy. I remember wondering if I could make it as a free-lancer, and before I quit, I called a few moderators I had hired to advise me--I asked them, I need to make $XXX a month--do you think I'd be able to do that? They said yes, and with their votes of confidence, I threw away my secure paycheck and went it alone.
I get crabby sometimes because I'm turning 70 next year and there will probably be a 330th project in my future, but that's OK. I need to be grateful, not resentful. I work from my home on a lake in Vermont. I make good money. I even enjoy a good portion of it--my job is intellectually challenging and I'm always learning something. And I get to slow down and work less or not at all between projects--no "looking busy" while on the clock. My time is my own. All I owe my clients is a project well-done.
I'll probably send a thank-you card to the client who booked the 300th project. Ironically, this client happens to have been my very first boss and mentor in market research way back in 1998 when I went from being a broke, desperate word processing supervisor to a market research analyst with high hopes for a decent income to enable me to get out of the crapper, raise my kids and send them to college. She was the best mentor and manager a person could have, and I'm sure I owe my career to her. I'm so glad she wound up giving me my 300th project.
Thanks, y'all, for listening, and being part of my journey!
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