How to freelance the right way- Dominica Worthington

In a digital age today, anyone can be a freelancer but is there a formula of doing it right? I spoke to Dominica, who is a young female hustler with multiple career identities in the fashion industry. She is a mother of two, award-winning creative director, photographer and diplm stylist, event organiser, a professional model and an influencer. Hear her out, as she shares on valuable career advices about being able to freelance multiple jobs well.

Take a sneak peek at some of her works. Her photography was also featured in Vogue Italia and her team won the Singapore Harper’s Bazaar photography contest under her creative direction.

Here are some of Dominica’s career advices on how to freelance and juggle multiple jobs to maximize your opportunities:

Use Social Media Platforms to build up your portfolio
Dominica, who also goes by @siren.style on Instagram, shared that social media sites like Instagram has aided her largely in networking, building up her profile and serves as a contact point for her clients. While most of her clients were built through personal contacts and word-of-mouth recommendations at the initial phase of her business, Instagram is her go-to platform for new clients these days.

Seize every opportunity you have
Through our conversations, I discovered that she is an opportunist who always see new business opportunities along her way and is not afraid to give it a shot. This has led her to having a wide array of skillsets and being exposed to multiple interesting jobs. Prior to her accomplishments today, Dominica was first scouted as a model and started modelling at the age of twelve. In her line of work, she was sometimes regarded as being too tall, too curvy or even too young. She also has faced dilemmas during photoshoots as some of the photographers would want to shoot from a sexy instead of an edgy and glamourous angle that she was hoping for. Tired of not having control over what she does, she reinvented herself to be more than just a model. Taking up courses, she become a professional diplm hairstylist and eventually went on to training other stylists. She did not stop from there. She continued expanding her skills and capabilities, taking on different roles across different industries. Some other jobs include being an event organiser and a social media manager for local boutiques.

Going forth, Dominica is working on her own fashion label to sell it online. With a vision in mind of her own style and frustrated with not being able to find the right clothing of her style in the market, she decided she will design tailored clothes, particularly for mothers, like herself.

She is also organizing and styling an upcoming fashion show, “Zuger Fashionshow” in Zug which would showcase 9 local boutiques. The fashion show will take place at the lakefront by “Vorderaltstadt Zug” Check out her Instagram page (@siren.style) for more details on the exact date.

Plan your time well
Being a mother of two, and with an autistic kid, Dominica plans her time well every day in order to be able to juggle housework, different freelance duties, and tending to her kids. Time management is crucial in juggling multiple responsibilities.

“It is extremely helpful because freelancing and working online allows me to stay home as my children needs me yet at the same time, I can achieve more. I am able to connect with clients through social media and do a lot of planning in advance.” 

Grow outside your comfort zone
Dominica, moved to Singapore with her family for a couple of years before returning back to Zug, Switzerland. Living abroad has pushed her outside her comfort zone and was also the starting point where she decided to be a creative director, directing the overall styles and outfits for various photoshoots. “When you are abroad, you have to be creative in looking for jobs.”

Have a purpose for your business
Dominica hopes to bring out the individuality of her clients during her photoshoots and to encourage everyone dare to be (dress for) themselves. “There is a lack of creativity in Switzerland in the way they dress themselves. I wanted to create a style that suits my clients and that they are most comfortable in. More than often, people tend to dress in a way that they think it should be. They might own a classic Louis Vuitton bag because everyone else is carrying them. Most of my clients thanked me for helping them find their personal styles. I strongly believe that fashion is a way of showing the world who you are. It’s more than putting brands on you but rather to create a vibe around you. Everybody should dare and be themselves.”

For her new fashion label, she dreams of allowing all mothers the chance to dress up fashionably and affordably. “You should not stop dressing up just because you are a mother”.

Do not be afraid to try and keep trying
“My advice to people who wish to start a business is to not to be too scared to try out things. Most people are doubting themselves too much. If it doesn’t work out, just try again.”

Dare to ask for help
“If you have no idea, seek help and ask from experts or people with the right skillset to help you out because you can’t know everything.”

Know who you are, tap onto your strengths and sell yourself well
Personal branding is key. “ You need to discover what are your strengths and tap onto it. There is no point trying to be someone. Think of who you are, outline your skill, and sell yourself good.”

I’ll wrap this up with some behind-the-scenes footages!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxk5SLZPRxM

Dominica is a Swiss creative director, professional model, diplm stylist, fashion photographer, social media manager, event stylist and organiser. Her photography was featured in Vogue Italia. She was also an award winning creative director for Singapore’s Harper Bazaar photography contest. Ealier, she had a short working stint in Singapore. Now, she is based in Zug and working on her label as an upcoming fashion designer.