So I never returned from maternity leave, instead choosing to pursue freelancing.
With Katie Quirk from Katie Quirk Communications
This week we sat down with self confessed “PR agency girl for life” now turned freelancer and one of our members, Katie on her motivation for joining the gig economy and why she’ll never go back to the ‘9 to 5’.
Q. How and why did you start freelancing?
A. Prior to having my daughter, Madeleine in January 2018 I thought I’d be a PR agency girl for life. However, it’s funny how actually *becoming* a mother immediately shifts so many preconceived notions, infinitely challenges your “hierarchy of important things” and what your priorities looked like BC (Before Child).
In saying this, it became pretty clear to me early on in the parenting piece that going back to the craziness of agency life wasn’t going to offer the work-life balance I need and want at this point in time.
So I never returned from maternity leave, instead choosing to pursue freelance and subcontract work which helped to dip my toes back into the professional realm.
Fast forward nine months and I’d found enough confidence and clarity to launch my own PR consultancy, Katie Quirk Communications.
Since going out on my own, I’ve discovered that this way of working not only allows me the flexibility I’m after and a greater choice when it comes to the amazing people and clients I collaborate with, but it’s 100% made me a better mum. And I genuinely believe that becoming a mum has made me a better PR professional – I’ve always been good at multitasking, managing my time efficiently and effectively and being hyper organised and reliable, but I have found my work ethic has been elevated to new levels.
Q. Who is your dream client?
A. Does Rafael Nadal need PR?
To be honest, I don’t feel there is a specific brand or business I would say is a “dream” client. I’m very open minded and some of the most enjoyable and rewarding clients I have worked with over the years have been the most unexpected ones.
As a person and professional, I’m extremely cause driven and it’s important to me to work with clients whose overall ethos aligns with mine, who has a story worth telling and whose end goal goes beyond money making.
I do really enjoy working with NFPs and community (i.e. education, environment, arts etc.) driven campaigns because the time and energy I put into them translates to something more than just numbers on an invoice.
But essentially, there has to be that natural synergy and “gut feel” within my client-consultant relationships.
Q. What is the most recent business win you’re celebrating?
A. I’ve just clocked one year running Katie Quirk Communications, which is something I’m really proud of especially because two-thirds of that time has been in a COVID climate.
The first thing a lot of businesses scale back on in the wake of economic crises is their marketing-comms budgets so I knew it would be a bit of a challenge to find new and retain existing clients.
So enduring the brutality of 2020, and even growing in several ways, is something I don’t take for granted. My thoughts have always been with everyone who is doing it really tough right now.
Katie is just one of the rare Freelancing Gems who have taken the plunge into the gig economy. You can connect with her in the Gem Directory.
