I recently unearthed a 2010 interview I did with Joe Grimm of Poynter. Only five months into the full-time freelance life, I was cautiously optimistic about leaving my job at Newsday to pursue self-employment. Here’s an excerpt:

This new gig is: Great — at least for now. I’m not making as much money as I was previously, but I didn’t expect to at first. I love the freelance lifestyle and working for myself, but I’m waiting to see whether I can make a living on it long-term. I’m giving myself about a year before I reassess the situation. I think it takes about that long — maybe longer — to really set up a freelance writing business and get regular clients and steady work.

Four and a half years later, I’m proud I stuck with freelancing even though I didn’t earn the equivalent of my previous salary until several years in. (Now I do, and then some!) The cost of living was less in southern New Jersey than in New York and — more importantly — the ways freelancing improved my lifestyle were worth more to me than a few thousand dollars.

You can read the full interview here.

Image by Ritesh Navak