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Sean Cheong, a TV director/writer/producer/lecturer/course developer, was 17 when he began freelancing in the media industry on a part-time basis and 29 when freelancing became his primary occupation. Now with seven years of full-time freelancing under his belt, he tells LUCK-IT how freelancing in the TV/advertising/radio industries of Singapore really works.

“Always have a back-up plan, or a diversification in your industry. ”

Q: How did you end up freelancing in the media industry? Why didn’t you get a full-time job instead?

A: It was not really a conscious choice. I think it is the nature of the industry. Most of the work is freelance and full-time jobs are limited. So I started to freelance and then one thing led to another and it just happened naturally. So now I’m full-time freelance and have been for the last ten years.

What were the early days of you being a freelancer like? How did you get jobs? Did you think you would succeed or fail? Or did you have no idea what to expect?

The main thing it taught me was to treat every job that I do as if it is my last job, because sometimes it literally is. You won’t know where or when your next job will come. So this means that:

a) I do the best I can.
b) I service the project/client the best that I can.
c) I have to be frugal with every cheque that I get.
d) You have to rely only on yourself. It’s up to yourself to hustle to find the next job, etc. Don’t expect it to come to you so simply.

How long did it take for you to end up with a sustainable income from freelancing? Did you have any setbacks or wins along the way?

If by sustainable, you mean stable, then it’s still not. It never was and I wonder if it ever will be.

What was your daily routine like in the early days?

It’s been so long ago, but if I remember it correctly, it was a lot of getting myself out there to try to find a new gig to do if I was not already on one.

What about now? What’s your current daily routine like?

Mostly hanging out with my wife and baby. I don’t see the need to be enthusiastically getting myself out there to try to find a new gig. On that front, I think I’ve reached a point where either people know me enough to know where to find me or they don’t know me/are not interested to, and as such, that won’t change very much.

How do you presently spend your weekends?

Again, hanging out with my wife and baby.

What advice do you have for someone thinking of becoming a media freelancer in Singapore?

1) Always have a back-up plan, or a diversification in your industry. I’m glad to currently have two other diversifications while still doing media.
2) Find a way to make your money work for you through investment or dividend revenue instruments. As it is, we work hard for our money, harder than perceived sometimes. It will be a waste not to make it work hard back for us.

Can you map out a recommended path for people who want to be media industry freelancers in Singapore to follow?

There is no such thing as starting out at the top from the start. Start from the bottom, do everything, do anything. If you move higher to the top, that’s good on you and that’s a bonus.

What are the key things/people/situations that enabled you to become a media industry freelancer, in your opinion?

I honestly don’t know because I am still finding it. But if I were to guess, I would say being reliable and positive is important. I have, at no point, let any project down (in terms of delivery schedule) or given up, no matter how tight or poor the conditions are.

If you could go back and replay your entire career all over again, what would you do differently?

I would have made some better decisions on some of my jobs. People have longer memories than we expect.

What were you like as a child? What about as a teenager and young adult? How did you change at every decade? Or did you not change

I don’t know about changes. I always wanted to work in television. I just grew up into a young adult and am doing it so, I lived the dream somewhat (and still am).

Which major event in your life has made you who you are, in your opinion? Why do you think so?

Getting let go from a dream job (it happens) which I was convinced I could do until I was in my sixties, for reasons that is not related to my skill and competencies in the media. Other than the shattering of a dream, it made me realise the only reliability is me, myself and I.

Which 3 objects/people in your life can you presently not live without and why?

Family. Family. Family.

Of all the objects you bought in the past year, which has most positively impacted your life? Why?

I have not bought anything in 2018, unless it’s for my daughter so…

Which person do you wish Luck-it would interview for you to learn from? Why?

A stock day trader. It’s something I would be interested to know more about. It’s also a skill that I am currently learning, that I wish to improve on.

What’s the worst career advice you’ve been given, or have heard people giving? And what’s the best?

Worst: (It was not given to me, but it is done and I have heard of people doing it.) “As long as you participated in it, just put it in your C.V., write ‘you directed/shot it’. You are not lying. You did participate in it.” As a means to make your C.V. look better. It has also been done to me when an intern on one of my productions said they directed a particular production when applying for the job. There are ways and things you may need to do to get ahead, especially in the early days when you are starting out fresh, but this is not the way. It’s actually stupid.

Best: “You can’t control what others think, but what’s within your control is to keep your nose clean.” I do that all the time.

Sean is presently still a full-time freelancer and TV director, busy with his 11-month-old daughter, managing his stocks portfolio on NASDAQ and the SGX and running two other businesses on the side. You may read more about him on his website or ask him questions about becoming a media freelancer by dropping them into the comment box below.

The above interview is sponsored by:

And supported by:
The Amateur Trader

Photographs courtesy and copyright of Sean Cheong. Interviewer: Sy
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