I’m Finally Self-Employed ✨ Here’s a Week in My Life
Hello friends ✨ I love hearing about the behind-the-scenes of other people’s lives — especially creative ones. The quiet routines, the doubts, the small joys that don’t always make it into polished highlights. So today, I wanted to share what a regular week looks like for me now that this is finally, officially my job.
I don’t really consider myself a content creator. That label feels a bit narrow. I prefer the term full-time creative — a concept I first read about in one of Kelsey Rodriguez’s newsletters, and one that immediately clicked. It finally gave a name to what I do, and to the way I move through my work.
This is not a story about quitting everything overnight and magically making it work. It’s about the long, slow road that brought me here.
How I Became Self-Employed (The Long Way Around)
Everything really started almost five years ago.
At that time, I had a very secure job in the communications department of a government-run tourism office. It was, honestly, a good job. Stable salary, generous vacation time, and all the benefits you’re told to want.
But after more than five years there — plus the pandemic and several losses in my family — I fell into depression.
I would wake up dizzy from stress and cry almost every day. Eventually, I did the one thing that truly changed everything: I started therapy.
That decision taught me something fundamental. I wasn’t setting boundaries — not with my boss, not with my colleagues, and not with myself. I didn’t know how to take up space. I lived to serve, to please, to adapt. And it was exhausting.
After about a year of therapy, I finally felt brave enough to leave that safe job and take a part-time position at a non-profit organization working for a social cause.
The change was terrifying — but also incredibly freeing.
For the first time in almost a decade, I had time. Time to breathe. Time to look at myself. Time to reconnect with what I actually enjoyed doing.
That’s when creativity quietly entered my life again.
Discovering Creativity (And YouTube)
Around that same time, I started attending crochet and sewing classes at a local community center. Creating with my hands felt grounding in a way nothing else had.
I spent afternoons experimenting, learning, and slowly rebuilding confidence. Eventually, I decided to share that process on YouTube — not with a big plan, but with curiosity.
Two years later, YouTube had become more than a hobby.
For a long time, I did both: my part‑time job and YouTube.
But eventually, my regular job hours started to feel endless. All I could think about were my projects — filming, editing, creating.
Unsure of what to do, I asked for a leave of absence and traveled for a few months. At that point, I had zero income from YouTube, but I had saved money specifically for that time away.
That distance gave me clarity.
I came back feeling braver, more secure in myself, and deeply grateful for my support system.
I knew I wanted to work on my creative projects full‑time — even though the income still wasn’t stable.
So I took temporary jobs. I was unemployed for a while. Slowly, income from my creative work started to feel real.
That’s when I did the official paperwork to become self‑employed.
A Regular Week as a Full‑Time Creative
My weeks now are a mix of filming, editing, sewing, crocheting, writing, and planning future projects. Some days are deeply creative. Others are more practical — emails, invoices, editing timelines.
What I love most is the balance. I can move between crafts, follow my energy, and build a rhythm that supports both creativity and rest.
This life isn’t perfect or effortless — but it feels intentional.
Becoming a full‑time creative didn’t happen overnight. It took years of self‑reflection, fear, small steps, and trust.
I’m still learning as I go. But if you’re dreaming about self‑employment, creative work, or starting a YouTube channel, know this: there is no single right path.
Sometimes, the slow way is exactly the right one.
Best,
Estel
If you want to know more, here's how I managed to live in a low income for many years:
