But when I look into my notes - In the last 365 days I had

• 4 interim assignments with satisfied customers, whereof 2 assignments are still ongoing
• 5 events I joined to extend my network and being up-to-date
• 4 events acting as a speaker
• Created my personal branding and my homepage
• Developed new skills
• Improved existing ones
• Tried myself out in new fields and know also knowing what I will avoid in the future:  especially working without people or teams really bothers me
• Gained knowledge how different company cultures really are
• Celebrated success for my clients like cost reduction, stability, KPI improvement, Transparency etc…
• Disappointing and hard days – yes, and there were more than just a handful!
• Many days where I just enjoyed what I was doing, no matter how hard the tasks were like
• And tons of fun!

While reflecting the last year I am more convinced than ever that doing freelancing is the right path for me. Why is that?

• I decide the next steps, when and where I do my tasks
• I never would have had that fast learning effect in permanent assignments

Lessons learnt:

• Each company has a different DNA, including culture, IT environment, operative processes
• Every task is unique and needs both – focus on detail but knowing the whole framework
• As a freelancer especially there are always surprises waiting for you, because of the flexibility in the nature as a freelancer
• Network is key – no matter if buddies, potential customers, knowledge/market  experts and also the right suppliers are needed all the time
• Never think you are perfect, even in your core competency. Reality will teach you different!

So – first year passed extraordinary successfully - and I will go on to further develop MWI!