22-25 April 2026 
SQLBits 2023
My story as a data viz freelancer - ups, downs and lessons learned
Choosing freelancing is a journey full of ups and downs but mostly, full of many invaluable lessons.
There are a lot of things that keep me on track and motivated every day, a lot of lessons I learned, and in this session I want to share it all with you.
All my life, I worked for a single goal... I wanted to get my dream job. I thought I was doing everything right, at least according to the common societal concepts of success: I got the good degree, moved to the UK, and eventually, I got my dream job working as a Cloud Solutions Architect at Microsoft. Life was good.
However, I soon realized that I was trying to live "someone else's dream". After reflecting on everything I achieved, even though I really enjoyed my job, I decided to finally follow my gut.
Fast forward a few months, I set up my own company and started working as a Power BI freelancer.
But this has not been an easy journey. It's a journey full of ups and downs but mostly, full of many invaluable lessons.
There are a lot of things that keep me on track and motivated every day, a lot of lessons I learned, and in this session I want to share it all with you.
However, I soon realized that I was trying to live "someone else's dream". After reflecting on everything I achieved, even though I really enjoyed my job, I decided to finally follow my gut.
Fast forward a few months, I set up my own company and started working as a Power BI freelancer.
But this has not been an easy journey. It's a journey full of ups and downs but mostly, full of many invaluable lessons.
There are a lot of things that keep me on track and motivated every day, a lot of lessons I learned, and in this session I want to share it all with you.
Speakers
Mara Pereira's previous sessions
Focusing on the why - Power BI User Journeys
In this session, I'm going to share with you all my secrets about defining user journeys in Power BI. By understanding the journey your users will take when they open the report, the first place they will look at, the first click, and so on, you can build data products that will delight your end users, answer their business questions, and provide the insights they need.
My story as a data viz freelancer - ups, downs and lessons learned
Choosing freelancing is a journey full of ups and downs but mostly, full of many invaluable lessons.
There are a lot of things that keep me on track and motivated every day, a lot of lessons I learned, and in this session I want to share it all with you.