Life as a freelance

I have been working for many years in hotels, starting when I was a young boy, working slowly but surely my way into management as I grew up and accumulated more experience.
Life in hotels can be very fullfilling and rewarding, but at the same time very draining, with wages that at least at the beginning won't afford you a lot of comfort and buying power. Not to talk about the time requirments, split shifts, early mornings start and late night finishes. This can put a strain on your family life as well as on your social life.
A valid alternative to this is to work as a hospitality freelance, working for one or more catering staff agency. I have been doing it myself for quite a while and although it's hard work and you need to travel all around the place (and have good map reading skills!) it can be very rewarding both financially and in terms of being able to manage your own time. You just need to work for agencies that share your own philosophy (for example agencies that offer a very high level of service and the best waiting staff for hire in london). Because the relation with the agency is based on trust, on the agency offering you good and frequent work and on you performing well for the agency, I found that usually one ends up working with professionals, with catering staff that have got a lot of experience and because of various happenings in their life have taken the decision to work as a freelance, either for just a limited period or (very few) as a choice of life.
Before setting up my own event staffing agency (Salt&Pepper Events) I had the fortune of working for two very distinguished london agencies where I learnt a lot about outside catering and about being a hospitality freelance. I met some wonderful people and struck some good friendship. Since taking this route life has been very sweet to me and I would never go back. The time I can now spend with my family and my beloved dog is priceless.