I saw no escape and decided to pave my path to success
When I was 20, I struggled while studying physics. A LOT.
In fact, I wanted to quit and once I even failed a year. The peer pressure and complexity of topics I was learning were too much, coupled with depression and financial problems.
There was a point in my life where I feared my entire family and I would be homeless because we couldn’t afford the electricity and utilities bill.
One day while studying for an oral math exam, I realized that I had to make some money.
I heard that many people worked as freelancers, in our poor economy, they felt like secret superheroes who persevered despite the odds and created the life of their dreams.
I quickly grabbed my 2010 Asus laptop with a weary i3 processor and started searching what I could do.
I created an Upwork profile, analyzed my competition, my skills, experiences, and niches in which I could contribute.
I didn’t have enough coding experience to build apps, I knew nothing about AI or data science back then, but I was really good at writing.
I started writing smaller tech reviews, and slowly propelled myself towards more complex topics and industries like SaaS, Real Estate, Marketing, Business, Tech and many others.
I wrote hundreds of professional reviews, wrote copies, emails, developed sales funnels and much more. Here are my 5 personal, backed tips for starting a career freelancing.
- Don’t be afraid to start. You don’t need to have high-end equipment or budget to become a freelancer, you just need to bring some patience, creativity, and politeness.
- Being a freelancer is more about how you sell yourself than how good you are. Sure, there’s a lot in skillset, but the ability to sell and market yourself is becoming the multiplication of the corporate world.
- Watch out for the dead seasons. September, October, November, December, March, April, and May are generally considered great seasons for running your freelance biz. Budget wisely for July, August, January, and February because it’s hard to find clients at this time. I started in July, and the unavailability of good clients nearly made me quit.
- Patience is the key. You won’t get what you want at the start, but that doesn’t mean that you should give up. You are investing in your career, personal development and future, and that takes time.
- Invest in your knowledge. When I started my journey, I realized there was a lot of that I have to learn. Mostly completely unrelated to what I was doing, but it eventually helped me grow my freelance career.
I’m no longer a tech writer, but working as one for years helped me shape my future and develop, not just as an entrepreneur, but also person.
If you’re looking to start a career as a freelancer, I’d love to help you and guide you along the way. If you have an Upwork profile, I could even audit it and give you feedback.
Warmest Monday wishes,
Danica
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