Thread by @sharongoldman

Hi! 👋This 👉is a THREAD about how the #PROAct will negatively affect tens of millions of US freelancers, but it's also about how freelancing was more than choice for me. It was what I wanted from the start of my career. 1/

Seriously, I ALWAYS wanted to freelance. The year after I graduated from college and moved to NYC, I took a class at NYU Continuing Ed on "How to Get Started in Freelance Writing." The year after, I sold an article to a local newspaper for a whopping $75. I was thrilled! 2/😃

It's true that I did end up getting my real start in journalism at staff editorial positions, and I was VERY grateful 4 those jobs. But I NEVER stopped freelancing on the side. Honestly, it probably got me fired from 1 staff job. I just couldn't keep myself from a side hustle! 3/

But my eye was always on becoming a full-time freelancer. I was even jealous of the freelancers I edited while on staff! I tried several times over the years to go full-time & worked tirelessly to make the #s work for me. 4/

Ultimately I even changed the kinds of writing I did to make it easier for me to go full-time freelance. I became highly specialized. I hustled BIG time. I treated my work as a business. I pored over contracts, tax forms & accounting software. 5/

In 2012, I finally made the leap to full-time freelance & have never looked back. Well, once in a while I have seen a full-time job that is SO tempting and I've had offers. But I love what I do and I do it well. I feel lucky. 6/

Why do I dig freelancing so much? I enjoy working w/clients. I don't like being an employee, told when to come in and when to leave (this was before remote work became a thing, ya know!). I love working on multiple projects. TBH, I like the hustle. 7/

I also support unions. We've all had friends stuck in the "permalance" life & there are so many workers who should really b employees & get benefits. That is not my kind of work. Freelancing has been a standard in writing, journalism, advertising & marketing for decades. 8/

These days, I appreciate it even more. Since the pandemic, I didn't get laid off. I could be flexible during stressful times. I was already working remotely. I'm SO lucky to have clients that were still able to hire me. 9/

The #PROAct, as written, like AB5 in California, would negatively impact my freelance business big-time. I highly recommend going to @Freelancers_USA to read more about these issues and to think about all the independent contractors in your life who would be impacted. 10/

I'm sitting in my NJ house right now, a happy and productive small business owner and successful freelancer. I don't want that to change. I hope our leaders will listen to our concerns: @FrankPallone @RepSherrill @Malinowski @LeaderHoyer @HouseSmallBiz #NoPROAct #NoABCforUSA END/