How does an ad agency producer [digital] get flexible remote work?

September 6, 2017 9:11 PM

I'm a producer who has been working for ad agencies in NY and LA for several years producing and project managing digital marketing campaigns. I manage creative teams [art directors, writers and developers] creating websites, emails, display campaigns, social media content, and video for brands. Last October I had cervical fusion surgery which has had out me out of work for almost a year, and have recently learned that I will need a revision surgery to correct a hardware issue that is preventing my bone graft from healing. My savings is drying up and I need to figure out how to generate income. How do I translate my knowledge/skillset into work that is flexible and doesn't require me to sit/stand at a desk for hours?

Factors:

- Because of my on-going medical condition I can't work a 9-5 in an office because of the neck and back pain that takes a toll on my ability to concentrate and complete computer based tasks [I have all the ergonomic tools in place - sit/stand desk, good chair, monitor arm etc].

- I will be scheduling my revision surgery soon.

- I'm engaged. My partner is a university prof in Central PA, I plan to move out there once we get married [religious pressures from her family have kept me from moving in pre-wedding]

- my fiancé travels often for research and conferences and I would like the flexibility to work remote so that we can travel together.

- I don't know the first thing about starting my own business, sales or business development. If I were to start some kind of consultancy, how would I find clients?

- I have a camera - a Canon t5i [not pro-grade by a very long shot, but it's something], some led light panels and other camera gear and am learning how to use it to shoot interviews. I thought maybe I could shoot small corporate videos, and hire someone to edit as an optional income since it has me up and about rather than sitting or standing still. I'd love any advice on finding clients for small scale video shoots.

- I have very basic wordpress and css skills. I took a short coding bootcamp this summer.

- I have a website and portfolio of my agency work I can send in a private message.

posted by idshift to Work & Money (5 answers total)

I would talk to advertising recruitment firms and ask them how it works and see if you can get a work from home position through them. Then if that doesn't look like it's happening, I'd try setting up your own consultancy.
posted by Jubey at 9:22 PM on September 6, 2017

That kind of work is done remotely all the time. I work in web design and our entire company is remote, and I know social media marketing / web design project managers / producers that work remotely for all sorts of agencies. If you are good, getting a new job that is mostly remote shouldn't be big deal at all.
posted by COD at 4:47 AM on September 7, 2017

Shoot video for Youtube
posted by leo cat at 8:16 AM on September 7, 2017

Best answer: I actually just saw someone recommend Thumbtack to a friend as a way to reach potential social media clients. I believe you have to pay to post, but she said that she got in contact with a lot of quality clients that way.
posted by helloimjennsco at 8:32 AM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your advice. I am currently pursuing starting my own consultancy. I'm trying to drill down and focus what my offering would be.
posted by idshift at 2:51 PM on May 22, 2018