*This blog post is based on my personal experience and is general in nature. It does not consider your own circumstances or business, which is different for everyone. If you are seeking financial advice, please contact a professional.


When I decided to quit my job almost 12 months ago exactly, there wasn't much that was holding me back from taking my fashion blogging dreams full-time.

I knew I would love the job, I was secure in the fact that I could produce even better work for my clients and even having to work alone every single day didn't phase me.

The one thing that seemed to be the root of all my fear; money.

Even though I'd done the math a hundred times and I was pretty sure I could cover all my expenses (based on the previous few months), having to put a big fat question mark next to my weekly income was terrifying.

As a saver, and someone who has always made sure that being financially secure was a priority, putting a varying income in my budgeting equation was one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever done.

I quickly learned that in order to do this (and get a healthy amount of sleep each night), I needed to take some steps to make me feel in control of my finances. So here's a few ways I manage my money as a full-time freelancer!


MONEY DATES

Nothing makes me feel more in control than knowing exactly what's going in, and out, of my account. I set an accounting date with myself every week on a Monday morning to go over just that! I sit down for an hour or so and physically log my business outgoings and incomings for the week so I can see if I need to ease up on spending, hustle harder or have a bit of room to relax.
I use the ATO app, which makes it really easy to log things because it has pre-written forms that you just fill out. You can easily add things like GST, partial expenses, car trips you want to claim and even upload receipts. You can then export it into a spreadsheet which makes it really easy come tax time.

My favourite part is that it automatically summarises your income and expenses, and breaks them down by month. Checking-in with myself weekly means I can see patterns ahead of time and take steps to change them before it's too late.


UNBIASED BUDGETING

If I simply look at my gross income for the year / month / week, I'm going to get a very inflated version of what I am actually earning as a freelancer. Sorry to spoil it for you, but if you take out taxes, superannuation, GST, expenses and maybe even HECS debt, what you're actually taking home each week is significantly less than you thought.

When you work for someone else, this is all done for you before your weekly pay cheque lands in your account, so you don't really need to think twice about it. When you work for yourself, these things don't necessarily come out weekly, so you need to set it aside for when those bills are due, and only pay yourself a weekly salary that factors in all of the above.

Keeping it real with myself is the best way to ensure I'm not surprised when any of these bills come in and I have the cash flow to pay them straight away.


SETTING BOUNDARIES WITH ACCOUNTS

As soon as my side hustle started generating some serious income, I opened a seperate bank account to help organise my finances. Having a seperate account makes it really easy to track your income and spending without it getting lost amongst hundreds of other transactions.
This also sets a boundary between what I can consider my own personal money, and what is just part of my business cash flow. It stings less when I'm paying things like tax bills out of my business account, rather than my personal one.


PAYING MYSELF

One of the first, and hardest things I had to decide when I quit my job, was how much to pay myself each week. Even though my income would be fluctuating each week, I wanted to set a consistent amount to give myself a bit more structure and the sense that I was still getting that reliable weekly paycheque.

That magic number needed to be enough to cover my weekly living costs, but not too much, so that if one week I didn't make enough, I'd have a bit of wiggle room to keep up with all my expenses.

The way I do it, and this is just personal preference, is I simply pay myself the bare necessity of what I need to cover my weekly bills. As a budgeter, I already had this number worked out well before I went full-time blogging, so I knew exactly how much I needed each week to cover everything from rent, to car rego, to electricity bills and groceries.
That number is what I pay myself as 'drawings' from my business account each week. It goes straight into an account just for bills and gets eaten up, so I never see it again.

Butttt, I'm human, and I spend money on a few things other than bills. So what happens to the rest?
I transfer a little extra per week directly into my savings account, and believe me when I say, it's a modest sum. It's basically so if I want to buy something that isn't a necessity, like brunch or getting my hair done, I don't need to make a personal purchase out of either my business account, or that account that has just enough to cover my bills.

Even if I have a crazy-good week, and I still have a fair bit left over after both these weekly drawings (bills and savings) are taken out, I keep the amounts the same. Rather than bite off more than I can chew, I prefer to let any excess income sit in my business account, just in case the next week I fall short.
Then, after each financial year, and I've paid my tax bills, made my super contributions etc, I give myself a big bonus and top up my personal account (or dump a bunch into our mortgage) for the year ahead.

It's a system that works for me because setting limits gives me that financially secure feeling, which I find absolutely priceless.


GETTING EDUCATED

To be honest, I didn't spend a lot of time educating myself on how to make the most of my money until I went freelance, and I was somewhat forced to take control.
I let things like superannuation, investing, comparing banks and getting the most out of my tax return take a back seat while I spent all my time actually hustling.
Now that I've had more time, I've researched how I can make the most out of what I am already earning, rather than just focusing on ways to give myself a pay rise.

I started using a professional accountant as soon as we purchased our house and my blog started to generate income, which co-incidentally happened in the same financial year. I got advice on things I can claim, how I should track and organise my finances and other things I can do to stay ahead.

I also did a deep dive into superannuation as last financial year came to a close. As a sole trader, I don't need to pay anything into my super account, but considering I don't have an employer doing it for me, I did some research into what would work for me.
I decided to make my own super contribution this financial year, and my goal was to match the 9.5% my employer would usually put in. I did the math, and since you get taxed wayyyy less when you put your money in super than if you keep it in your account as income, putting in as much as I could possibly afford for the year seemed like the best option.
I even considered factors like putting that cash into our mortgage, or a high interest account, but since rates are so low at the moment, putting it in my super fund still put me ahead.

Making an additional, voluntary contribution was never something I'd considered while working full-time, I just let my employer put in the minimum and called it a day. Now that I know the benefits of adding additional savings to my super, when I can afford it, it's definitely something I'm going to try and make a habit of.

I love being aware of exactly where my money is going, what fees I'm paying and where I should be investing, so staying educated is a huge part of my money management as a freelancer.



I never thought going freelance would have me feeling more in control of my finances than having that steady weekly paycheque would. But there is something liberating about knowing that you are in complete control of how much you're earning and where your money is going.
I hope you find my personal experience engaging, but please remember I am not a professional so applying my methods to your own situation may not be what's best for you and your business. I highly encourage you to seek professional advice before making strategic financial decisions.

1. THE INDUSTRY IS CUT-THROAT, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE

When I first started voicing that I wanted to work in fashion, a lot of people told me that the industry was too hard. Too competitive. Too cut-throat.
And yes, it ain't easy. You don't just walk into your dream job, get a big fat paycheque on your first day or go into an interview without having to rank against a multitude of other applicants that all want the same thing. But please, name an industry that isn't the same.

Yeah, you have to work for it. Shocker. But if you truly do love this industry, you'll find that working up to your dream role is half the fun. There's so many different paths to take and even if you do have a few set backs (which you will), you'll find parts of the job you never expected to fall in love with!

Don't let anyone tell you your dream is impossible. I'm living proof that it's not. I didn't know a single person who worked in the industry when I started. I didn't even study it.

But I did love it. So if you've got that, a passion that will drive you and the patience to work and work and work until you get to where you want to be, you can do it too.


2. WORKING FOR FREE IS THE BEST WAY IN

Don't be scared of a few (hundred) coffee runs, a good internship is like the golden ticket to your career!
During my last year of uni I started an internship at Cosmopolitan Magazine and spent most of my time packing and sorting boxes and boxes of clothes. It wasn't glamorous, it was often boring but every now and then I got to go on-set, to a photoshoot or chat to one of the fashion stylists for a minute while we took the same elevator.

At the same time, I also ran my own photoshoots for Just Another Mannequin and yes, for the first few years I didn't get paid for a single one. I put in a lot of hours; styling, working with brands, booking photographers, shooting and editing all for free.

In the end I had a heck of a portfolio and a lot more to talk about during interviews, because saying you love fashion is one thing, but proving it with internships and creative projects of your own is way more impressive!


3. YOU DON'T HAVE TO STUDY FASHION TO LAND YOUR DREAM JOB

It's true, you don't need to go to a big fancy fashion university and spend a fortune on a piece of paper to get you where you want to go.

In saying that though, I would recommend you study something. Proving that you can commit to a course and complete it says a lot to potential employers. Plus, learning to juggle study, work, internships, a social life and regular life all at the same time will truly have you equipped for anything.

Just choose something you're interested in! I did a Bachelor of Communication because I loved how broad it was and I wasn't sure which area of fashion I wanted to end up in. My degree covered journalism, media and PR and I used my electives to take subjects from design (photography, graphic design etc) and marketing as well.

No matter if it's a 3 month TAFE course or 5 year degree, study something, finish it and make sure you're doing something more interesting on the side as well. Nobody wants to hear about all those hours you spent getting HDs, give them something that makes them remember your name.


4. FASHION DOES NOT MEAN DESIGNER

I don't think I've ever worn something designer in my life. Can I appreciate it? Sure. Would wearing it make me better at my job? Nope.

Don't think you need to have the latest trends or expensive clothes to be taken seriously. Let your work speak for you, not your outfits.
That being said, do always try to look polished, put together and true to your own style. That will go a lot further than relying on designer clothes to make you 'look good'.

Nobody is really going to care (or notice) if you're wearing last season Sportsgirl or this season Gucci. As long as you're working what you've got and doing a good job, you'll be fine.


5. YOU DON'T GET EVERYTHING FOR FREE

Ok so you might have heard that working in fashion gets you perks like gifts from fashion brands, invites to all the best parties and heaps of freebies. And you'd be right.

But... just because you're given a few freebies doesn't mean these brands expect nothing in return. It might be a feature in the next campaign you're styling, a better placement on your website or if you're a blogger, a photoshoot and post on your page.

Gifting from brands can be awesome, especially when you fall in love with their product or are already a genuine ambassador for them. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking that this is a fair payment for all that work you'll end up doing, or worse, let these gifts make you biased towards one brand over another.

Most of the time, you'll find it's better just to buy the $150 pair of boots yourself, rather than busting your butt or pulling a million strings just to get them for free.


*BONUS* 6. IT'S THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

I mean, name another job where it's absolutely acceptable to spend Friday afternoon arranging shoes.

I wish my story was one of those 'it just happened' ones, an overnight success type where I just got lucky.

But it's not.

It was planned, worked towards and from the very beginning, it had a very clear objective.

I wanted a job.

In fact, I remember the very moment I was inspired to start. I was studying fashion marketing during a Summer course in Italy and even though I was halfway across the world in a room full of strangers, it was clear that we had a lot in common. Capable, creative, ambitious, inspired, stylish, and clearest of all; we all wanted the same job.

I knew that when I finished studying, having the same piece of paper as everyone else in my degree was not going to land me my dream career in fashion. As much as I knew that I could do the work, I needed a platform to prove it to my potential employers.

So in 2014 Just Another Mannequin was born.

It was my way of building a portfolio before I'd even stepped foot in the industry. I used it to legitimise myself and build a personal brand that screamed, 'I work in fashion'. Even though I didn't yet.

I literally started with nothing. I created a new Instagram account, decided on a name and got to work.
The first thing I did was set up a photoshoot. I was lucky enough to know a few photographers from modelling gigs I'd done and set up my first ever 'blogger shoot' with someone I'd worked with previously.

I had no idea what I was doing but led the shoot anyway. I packed a bunch of my best outfits at the time and looked at some of my favourite bloggers for inspiration.

A shot from my first ever content shoot in 2014.

A few months later, one of my shots from this first ever content shoot got shared on the ASOS Instagram account. The repost had me waking up to over 1000 followers and for the first time, the industry started loving me back.

But... that was all for a while. So I just kept writing, shooting and slowly building up my presence online.

I realised that reposts were the best way to get my work noticed, so I tired to make content that was sharable and on brand for the label I was creating for. There was just one problem; my outfits were not current. I was a uni student working casually in retail and so I couldn't afford to have the latest collections that brands would want to share.

So one day I went around to all the little boutiques in my hometown and offered them free photoshoots if they would let me borrow the clothes from their stores. I got a lot of confused faces and polite declines but by the end of the day I had one 'yes'.

That one yes was enough for me, so I set up the photoshoot with the store and used it to legitimise myself, create fresh, current content and make a new connection.

It wasn't long before other local creatives saw what I was doing and I had a few small collaborations set up. I modelled for a friend's handmade jewellery brand, showcased another friend of a friend's fashion line and walked in a few runway shows in my area.

I also borrowed new clothes from friends and family to try and keep my content current and I always tried my best to keep my content high quality by working with photographers. I also invested in my own equipment so that I could shoot as much as possible myself. And while I didn't realise it at the time, I was soon practising photography almost as much as my photographers were.

Me wearing my mum's new Bardot coat during a content shoot.

It was never 'free' clothes or fame that I wanted out of blogging. It was, and still is, work.
So when I used my account to get my first ever internship at Cosmopolitan Magazine, I knew it was all worth it. I used my account to track down the managing stylist at the magazine and pestered her until she agreed to meet with me. She was impressed with my blog and my dedication to working in fashion and so I began working with Cosmo once a week as I saw out my final year of uni.

Me at my internship at Cosmopolitan Australia.

Before I'd even graduated I was using my blog and my robust portfolio of work to land me a job. Every interview I had was filled with questions about my passion project, not my grades and I took a full-time Content Creation and Account Management position at a social media agency just a few weeks after handing in my last assignment.

But I wasn't ready to let my blog go. While it had served its purpose, blogging had become my favourite hobby and so I allowed it to consume my weekends while holding down my job at the agency during the week.

My two years at the agency taught me a lot. I was now taking photos daily, putting together content strategies, reporting on analytics and insights, growing accounts, refining my photoshop and design skills, dipping in SEO and a range of other digital fields.

I took on everything and applied whatever I could to my own brand. I managed a heap of influencer campaigns at work and made note of what differentiated the good from the bad and what was going to get me repeat work as an influencer myself.

This proved invaluable and by the time I left the agency in 2017 I had almost 10K followers, had worked with a handful of dream clients and had a really strong fashion portfolio, which landed me my next role as the Assistant Marketing Manager at a Sydney based fashion brand.

One of my favourite shots captured while working at the social media agency.

In 2018, just a few months into my new job, my blog really started to ramp up. I was suddenly shooting every single weekend, liaising with clients every lunch break, styling shoots into the late hours of the night after work, shooting in any ounce of daylight I could before work and constantly planning, booking photographers and stressing about getting my content done. My alarm was set for 5am every single day so that I could squeeze in a few hours of blog work before my full-time job began.

By August, I was exhausted. And while I loved both my jobs, working 7 days a week was starting to take a toll on other aspects of my life. Mostly my relationships, mental and physical health. I stewed over which one to give up for weeks before deciding to take the plunge and go full-time with my own business.

By this point I had around 17K followers and a number of regular clients I created content for, meaning that in the worst case I would be able to cover the essential bills (mortgage, rent and groceries).

I figured that if I could cover that just by blogging on the weekends, the things I could do when I dedicated all my attention and energy full-time could only be bigger and better!

Even so, money concerns weren't the only things paralysing my decision. I feared failure, I feared leaving the industry and not being able to come back, I feared not having a respected career, I feared not having a clear ladder to climb, I feared the irregularity of it all.

But I did it anyway.

Now I do what I love every single day, I take weekends off to spend with my fiancé and friends, get more than 6 hours sleep every night, wake up happy and have made more than enough to cover my bills.

It started with with the objective to land me a job, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to one day become my job.

I'm so grateful for all of it.

Not going to lie, I've got a glass of Craftsman Organic Chardonnay literally in my hand while writing this post! But while a cheeky wine on a fine Friday evening of musing isn't out of the ordinary, a blog post giving myself a pat on the back totally is.

It's not often that I boast about my wins, especially the more trivial ones, but I'm all about breaking the stigma that giving yourself a compliment or owning your success is something that shouldn't be done.

Especially because these days, for the most part, I work in a team of one. Yep, just me.
I don't have anyone to tell me that I'm doing a good job. I'm not going to get validated with a promotion or a bonus or anything tangible that screams 'you are good at what you do!'.

So instead of doing what I usually do on a Friday as I 'clock off' by simply closing my computer and walking two steps out of my office, I'm having a wine.



And not just any old wine at that, I'm having a glass of Craftsman Organic Wine from BWS.
It's an Organic Wine, which means it's made using natural production processes that are kinder to the environment and ecologically sustainable (win!). Today, I'm having the fruity and fresh Chardonnay, but the Shiraz counterpart is also certified Organic, meaning I can trust they have less preservatives than some other wines!

So here goes, here's 10 reasons I deserve such a mindful and thoughtfully produced glass of wine this week:

1. I finished up my first month working out of my comfort zone with Bumble and my second event ended up being a complete 'sell out'!
2. I asked for a pay rise from one of my longest standing clients showing I am committed to standing my ground and getting paid what I'm worth.
3. I consistently exercised and have started to build a routine! This is HUGE for me as I've never felt motivated to prioritise exercise in my life!
4. I created content for over 10 different brands this week.
5. I had a top tier client book an even larger scope of work, and this week I executed it! All 10 outfits were shot and all 40 hi-res images shared!
6. I had not one, but two date nights with my finacé!
7. I recycled my wardrobe by hosting a sample sale and gave new life to my much-loved client pieces that I have shot but never had the chance to wear.
8. I said no to something I felt obliged to do, but didn't want to.
9. I got my screen time down by 20%.
10. I found the perfect dress to wear to my engagement party this week!