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Like many people, I was once broke.
I started out doing low-paying jobs. I am ashamed to say it but I once worked for peanuts.
Success online was a fable to me at the time.
I was not sure that I could accomplish becoming a success online even though I had the skill sets.
The little I earned could not pay my bills and I hate to admit it, I was still in the rat race.
Although I hated the rat race, I could not get off the hamster wheel. I was in debt, I struggled to pay bills, and I dreamed of the day my life would become better.
I dreamed of a better day but the vision of where I was going was unclear.
I was hopeful.
I believed in God for a better day.
The big break was freelance writing.
It's been five years of full time freelancing. The glory belongs to the Lord.
I got my dream to start freelance writing in 2013 but finally found the college to let go of corporate life in 2018.
Ha ha.
After I got fired. Read the post here of how I got fired, and started my freelance writing business. (It was not easy).
Freelance writing has opened to door to a better life for me. I have reached the levels I only dreamed of.
A warning...
Many come and go in the world of freelance writing. Not everyone survives their first year. Few make it to the second and even fewer cross the 5-year mark.
How do you survive your first year as a freelancer?
Let me act as your coach and deliver a few ways you can survive your first year as a freelancer.
1. Set Some Money Aside
Your business will grow.
It may take off immediately or it may take some time. Your business needs time to grow and it needs to be nurtured like a plant.
The smartest business men start small, yet have big dreams and plans.
One free tip is, don't quit your job if you have a stable one. Start saving money monthly, a nest egg that will save you on rainy days ahead of you.
There will be some hiccups in your business, it will be less stressful if you prepare for them.
2. Learn a skill that works for you.
I started writing as early as 9.
I was the assistant editor of my secondary school's magazine. So it was only natural that I chose writing as my major online skill.
It was the skill I used to make money at any time. When I worked in my first job. I wrote one 300-word article every week. I made an extra N5000 every week. I used it as my snack allowance.
Ha ha!
There are other skill sets online. The most popular ones are:
- Article Writing
- Canva Design
- Blog Writing
- Lead Generation
- Social Media Management
3. Hone Your Skill
Remember I said, I was the assistant editor of my secondary school magazine. I was responsible for spotting spelling errors and arranging the content.
It was an advantage.
But...
It did not eliminate the work I needed to put in to become a better writer.
I had to learn, unlearn and relearn.
A lot.
When you discover your skill, you need to hone it.
So I got my first client and I wrote for them like I used to write in secondary school, it was a disaster.
I had a great client and so he gave me feedback on the type of content he wanted.
There was nothing wrong with my writing. I just had to tweak it and learn to create scannable content.
I was under pressure but I began researching for the kind of content people online wanted to read. I learned about target audience and relatable content and how to put myself in the readers shoes.
Online is a whole new world and you have a lot of new things to learn, the good thing is, if you are curious, you have every day of your life to learn new things, starting today.
I would advice you to check out Google and YouTube daily. It's like the finishing school of the 21st century.
Check out the competition and learn from them with the aim of doing better than them. Brush up your marketing skills or learn new marketing skills.
The internet has a lot of resources of every subject. Those are your tutors and you are in school every day.
4. Write Down Your Career Goals
You grow very fast on the internet.
If you put in the work.
One of my coaches in the university always used to say, you are either going up or going down.
You do not pause some place and continue growing.
Everything about you is growing or stagnant.
For example, see the career path of a freelance writer.
1st Quarter - Begin your writing career
- Get a one month training and become a freelancer
- Join freelancing websites and start applying for job
- Start cold pitching for external clients
- Move from a freelancer to a contractor
- Buy your laptop and have constant electricity and internet connection
- Select the kinds of jobs you prefer doing and only target those kinds of clients.
- Build a team of writers and vet them. Then feed them jobs for a 20 percent cut off the top
- Start a blog where you share about freelance writing, the tools you need to be a successful freelance writer. Create a good following.
- Create a freelance writer's training and charge newbies $50 to learn freelance writing in a month.
- Write a book on how to become a freelance writer and avoid the bottle necks and the threats in the business.
- and the list goes on….
5. Do your book keeping.
If you live in Africa, online freelance writing is exciting!
It is different.
The fact that you can get paid every day and anything is exciting.
Getting paid every week is exciting. Getting paid random is unexpected pleasant surprises.
You might lose track of your earnings.
You could even spend it all up. Don't make the mistakes I made when I started making money in my freelance writing business.
Do your books.
Keep track of your spending, and expenditure.
Plan.
Plan your expenditure. Make wise investments offline and online. Plan to grow and earn a stable income.
6. Direct Clients Acquisition is a goal!
I was stuck in Upwork for more than three years.
I was making good money on Upwork and even Fiverr but it was nothing compared to when I started netting foreign clients.
The goal of freelancing on the freelancing websites is to grow enough that you can grow your business without them.
I still get jobs via Upwork but I have tasted the freedom of working for my direct clients.
Some of the benefits of working with direct clients are:
- They have empathy and don't work with extremely tight deadlines.
- They pay better and don't guilt trip you for paying well.
- They don't reject your work and later post it on their websites.
- My blog
- Emailing companies
- Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
- Referral from your direct clients
- Friends and family who need work done.
- Job board
7. Network
Meet people.
Meet other writers.
Talk about what you do. Share on blogs, social media and on forums. Help people.
Help people. Organize trainings and teach them on freelance writing or your strong point.
Do free and paid trainings. Do as many free trainings as possible. Monetize some
As you give, you will receive loads of helpful information. Be teachable.
Learn from everyone you come across daily.
Listen to others. Truly listen.
Make as many people as possible successful.
Build strong friendships online with people in your networks. When you have real friends, they will do anything for you.
Successful people always build solid networks. These networks then result in a greater growth for them.
8. Persevere
Running a business is tough.
It requires a good degree of doggedness on your part.
Let it sink deep.
I nearly sank many times. You need to be willing to stand up when you fall.
You need to be willing to invest your all in this business.
You can't predict the future. Although challenges will come, trust that the breakthrough will come too.
Some challenges you will face:
- Not having a computer
- No power supply
- No reliable internet access
- Being scammed online.
- Time off because you are under the weather
- Poor planning
- Not investing in yourself
- Confusion
- Burnout
There was a day I was so tired from being scammed week after week after week for six weeks in a row.
I just lay down in bed from three days. When I got up from the bed, I made up my mind that I would never do any job without a 50 percent commitment from the client.
It took that amount of loss to help me make up my mind that I would not work for anyone who would not commit financially to their business.
No matter what happens, FOCUS!
Take snack breaks, walk breaks and re-energize daily.
Improve your skills daily and increase your charge as your skill sets, work experience and output improves.
Get the tools needed to make freelance writing or any other online skill easier.
Survive the sunny and rainy weather.
Your perseverance will be rewarded.
9. Stay Teachable
Learn daily.
Your success as a freelance writer depends on your ability to learn.
Learn something new daily.
Learn about freelancing. Learn about internet marketing. Learn about business.
Learn about managing clients remotely. Learn about making online payments. Learn about what works best for your country.
Share new insights.
Learn about what the best freelance writers in your industry are doing.
Replicate and make it better.
Final thoughts
You will succeed in this if you put in the work.
It won't be easy but it is possible.
It will be hard. But if you follow the tips, you will survive and thrive.
You will mentor others, and help others grow and become successful in this profession.
What helped you survive your first year
Please share this post using the sharing buttons and share your thoughts too, I would love to meet you.
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