The Contra Bootcamp Experience ✨
Yes, Chef! Studio
Contra Bootcamp changed my POV on freelancing! 💯
When I started the Contra Bootcamp, I was a freelancer with severe imposter syndrome who believed: “you get what you give” is a trope when discussing any life ‘happening’. Whether it be a course, a project, or career move, etc.––it’s certainly a nicer way of saying: “this is going to be a lot of work that you won’t enjoy for some unknown result, and because it’s self-regulated we can remove all accountability of failure from the ____ itself.”
While the Contra Bootcamp proved to be a “you get what you give” experience, I couldn’t be farther from the truth if I said it wasn’t the most influential course I’ve yet to take. This course is a virtual safe space for continued education that strengthened my work ethic and helped me establish a foundation for the rest of my independent career…because I put in the hours to make it so.
Clarify your process for growth 📈
Each week we covered a different pillar: find your niche, establish yourself within it, find clients, and reach out to them (I’m paraphrasing, of course), and my confidence bloomed with each day. While my expectations for topic coverage were met, it was the depth of work in each pillar that had me thinking “this was exactly what I didn’t know I was missing.” It guided me through a process I thought I had already done for myself, except this time I was offered support and structure.
A new approach to creative education 👨🏻🎓
Having graduated from college 4ish years ago, I’d forgotten what the intensity of learning environments can feel like. I wasn’t always the most prepared student and I certainly didn’t strut down the stage at graduation with an agglomeration of honors ropes. Day 1 had me pedaling backward with that “ I am majorly in over my head” mentality, but it quickly dissipated after I internalized an important discovery: most of us (freelancers) have no clue what’s going on like 99% (+/-) of the time…and there’s a lot of community to be found in that shared fate.
Find community in your independent career 🏘
I think it’s necessary for survival as independents to keep our eyes and ears open to adapt to our industry, but it is especially exhausting doing it all. When you work in the seclusion of your bedroom for roughly 12-14 hours daily in a small suburb of LA, it's easy to forget that there are real people out there to connect with who aren’t clients, or your nosey parents (who still don’t fully understand what you do). Week after week, I was and still am faced with the radical idea that I have new connections with whom I can share experiences and grow.
This course was the first time since I began my independent work journey that I invested in myself, my passion, and my career––and Contra did too. There’s a validation that comes with receiving access to information that is for some reason gate-kept by many vets. To be gifted a framework for success and the nudge needed to really test your own discipline for seeing it through is invaluable. I pushed myself further to utilize every resource offered and uncovered my own strengths and weaknesses.
No regrets, just gratitude 🙌🏼
Of course finding our niche, writing elevator pitches, client outreach, etc, is important textbook work, but the determination to learn more about who we are as entrepreneurs is the golden ticket. Contra Bootcamp had me reevaluate my stance on “you get what you give.”
If you want anything to be impactful, you’ve got to do the work and believe that you’re doing your best. After 4 weeks of soul-searching and skill-building, I now only have mild imposter syndrome. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a huge win but as a freelancer? Unmatched!
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Posted Feb 23, 2022
Contra Bootcamp changed my POV on freelancing by Nick Ashkenis
