Meet Oliver the Octopus

Allow me to introduce myself. Yes, I’m an Octopus. But more importantly, I’m a creative. I’m resilient, clever, and smart, and I like to have my hands in many projects at the same time — it energizes me! My mentor (and best friend), The Owl, is helping me navigate this new and exciting journey we call freelancing.

You see, I’ve always been creative, and earlier this year I was drawing on my new coconut (I like to jazz it up and use it to hide from my enemies!). I couldn’t help but show it off to my friends. They loved it, and a few of them wanted me to draw on their coconuts, too. Before I knew it, I was taking orders nonstop — I could barely keep up. Then, the Owl encouraged me to sell my coconut art. And would you believe people actually want to buy it?! Now, I’ve caught the attention of companies who pay me to work on creative projects. Thanks to Creative Circle and my lovely recruiter (and The Owl, of course), I’m building an impressive portfolio.

2022 has been a year filled with tons of questions and some answers, too. I learned the basics of freelancing — finding and navigating client relationships, building my personal brand, making sense of the hiring process, and so much more. Freelancing’s opened a whole new world for me; I’m grateful to spend my days being creative and working on passions, and often working at home alone or bouncing ideas off my good friends. It sure hasn’t been easy, but I’m more fulfilled than I’ve ever been. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Keep up with me as I navigate life as a freelancer. 2023 is going to be one for the books — or the magazines, if you will.

From the ocean and back,

Oliver

 

See more about me here.