Today, I interviewed a local community college president for an upcoming feature who told me how lucky I am to be able to work from home and be with my 2-year-old daughter at the same time.

I agree! I am beyond grateful that I’ve been put in this fortunate position where I can watch my daughter grow and witness all her BIG moments, while still finding success as a freelance writer!

Two years ago I decided to let go of my full-time newspaper reporter status and try something new as a stay-at-home dad and freelance writer. The birth of my daughter gave me a reason to reassess where I was at in my career, was I happy, was I accomplishing what I wanted, was I being true to myself.

Some people were worried I wouldn’t be able to pull it off, that I wouldn’t make enough money to survive. Fortunately, I had the support of my wife, and still have her support. And my daughter continues to be a strong inspiration and motivator to pursue bigger, more challenging projects and to push myself to greater heights.

And now I’m grateful to be an inspiration to others. Already I’ve fielded questions from several people who long to break out of the 9-5 grind.

My advice to you is if you’re wanting go freelance, then don’t let anyone stop you. Be persistent and network, network, network. The work will come, if you work hard to procure it. And the payoff will be huge.

Good luck!