Seven Tips For Aspiring Young Freelancers
by Jonathan Kalan
Every week I receive emails from young aspiring journalists or photographers in the U.S., asking me to offer tips and advice on “how I made it” in Africa.
First of all, I definitely wouldn’t say I’ve “made it.” Yes, perhaps I’m slowly on my way — I write a column for BBC, recently had a front page photo on a major newspaper, and have published work in some well-known publications. But seriously guys, I’m still 25. I earn an unexpectedly decent living freelancing in Africa, but I still don’t think I’ve really made it.
But their questions are not pointless, and the curiosity and drive of these hopeful freelancers is not lost on me. I didn’t land in Africa and establish myself overnight. Where I stand today has been the result of a heady mix of a tremendous luck, hustling, and incessant networking — an experience probably worth sharing, if for any reason other than so that I stop getting these emails.
The initial question I receive, “how did you get there?” is most easily answered by a rather feathery, in-the-clouds, and occasionally self-indulgent piece I wrote for Revolution.is, titled “Open up to the endless possibilities of the world,” which chronicles a series of random twists, turns, and chance encounters that shaped my life and eventually brought me to East Africa.
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