An influencer who says she could “never” work a traditional 9-5 has revealed why she refuses to have a boss – and plans to spend an entire month travelling instead.
Amy Wilde, 24, from London, previously worked as a waitress but admits she was “the worst waitress on the planet” and hated the job.
The content creator, who has over 70k followers on Instagram @amyyywilde1, now works for herself and says the freedom to control her own schedule is something she couldn’t give up.
Amy plans to spend the whole of September travelling and says having to ask an employer for that much time off would be her idea of a nightmare.
Rather than dreaming of supercars or designer clothes, her ultimate goal is to earn enough to travel whenever she wants and buy a home with no neighbours where she can be left in peace.
“I’d never want to be employed by anybody,” said Amy.
“That would stress me out because I really like to travel and I travel a lot.
“The whole of September I’m going to be away and obviously I couldn’t do that if I had a boss.
“If I could make the same amount of money another way, have the same freedom and enjoy it, then yes, I would do it.
“I like to have fun. I like to go off on my little adventures and I need my freedom to do that.”
Amy’s dislike of conventional employment dates back to one of her first jobs as a waitress shortly before the Covid lockdown.
Despite earning around £3,000 a month thanks to a lucrative service charge and tips system, she admits hospitality was not her forte.
She even jokes that much of her income came courtesy of her harder-working colleagues because tips were pooled between staff.
Amy said: “I was so bad. I was the worst waitress on the planet.
“I managed to get a really good job, so I was making like £3,000 a month. It was pretty good.
“The thing was, we made all our money in service charge and tips, so that £3,000 was pretty much everybody else making that money for me because I never got any tips.
“They still had to share with me, so I was like, ‘Thank God for that.’”
Amy later began making adult content online and found an audience through social media, including TikTok.
She says it was only when her career moved online that people outside her immediate friendship circle began finding out what she did for a living.
The attention took some getting used to.
Amy said: “My life didn’t really change until I started doing online work.
“Then obviously everyone finds out and you get everyone’s opinions and stuff.
“I don’t really remember a time that I didn’t do this job, so it’s difficult to say what’s different.
“I notice it more when I meet new people because obviously my life is not the norm.”
New acquaintances are often fascinated by Amy’s unconventional career – but she doesn’t always enjoy the attention.
She claims people initially try to act unfazed before curiosity gets the better of them and they bombard her with questions.
Sometimes, Amy finds it easier to pretend she still has a conventional job rather than explain what she really does.
She said: “They try to be nonchalant about it and then two minutes or five minutes pass and it’s just a barrage of questions.
“It gets exhausting because it’s literally the same questions over and over and over.
“Sometimes I don’t feel like answering them, so I’ll just lie and be like, ‘Oh, I’m a waitress,’ or, ‘I teach English as a second language.’
“Sometimes I just can’t be bothered.”
Amy says one of the biggest lessons she has learned from working for herself is how much she values having control over her own life.
She isn’t against other careers in principle and insists she would happily consider doing something different if it offered the same combination of enjoyment, income and independence.
But returning to a traditional working structure doesn’t appeal.
Amy said: “If somebody paid me to do math equations every day with the same freedom, I wouldn’t do it because I don’t like maths.
“If it gave me the same happiness and the same freedom, then sure, I would do it.
“For me, it’s being able to have that freedom and do the things I actually enjoy.”
Despite enjoying her independence, Amy admits working online comes with its own pressures.
As her name has become more visible online, she has had to reconcile wanting a successful career with being someone who naturally prefers her own company.
She said: “I like to be left alone.
“I hate leaving my house and I hate people knowing who I am.
“So there’s definitely a conflict because I want to be successful, but I also want people to leave me alone.”
And Amy’s ultimate ambition reflects that desire for independence.
Rather than dreaming of a flashy celebrity lifestyle, she wants enough money to buy a large house and garden – ideally without another property in sight.
She also wants the freedom to pack her bags and head abroad whenever the mood strikes.
Amy said: “I want enough to buy myself a nice big house with a nice big garden.
“I just want enough that I can do whatever I want.
“I don’t really care about supercars and stuff like that.
“I want to have my house with no neighbours so I can live in freedom and peace and be left alone.
“Then I want to be able to go on holiday whenever I want and that is that.
“I feel like it’s realistic. I feel like I can achieve this. I can do this.”
