Feedback on my Freelancing Experience

I work from home.  I also work on the road.  I work when it is convenient for me.  The things that I do range from social media updates to researching my next writing piece.  Most importantly, I enjoy what I do.  

I'm not usually the first person to try new things, but as I talk about transitioning to freelancing and writing as a career, I have found myself advising friends and family about what I have discovered.  Now, this is usually the time in social media postings that bloggers, writers, and other freelancers hook interested parties to promote their workshop, webinar, and the like.  I'm not there yet, and I don't know if I want to be. What I will do is share what I have learned about two platforms that I have used.

Upwork

Since 2011, I have been a freelancer with Upwork when it was known as oDesk.  It is a platform where clients connect with freelancers in a variety of areas from writing to translation to customer service.  You can submit proposals to a job posting or wait for the jobs to come to you based on your profile.

It has worked for me because I have discovered how much I can do that I never thought of before.  Some of my clients have communicated so well that they have continued my education while I provide them suggestions and advice from my own experience.  Currently 60% of my clients are long-term and my client feedback has been 100%.

Upwork is good for supporting both clients and freelancers.  Their Facebook page keeps followers abreast on the freelance and self-employed population from around the world.  You can read advice from others and sometimes they have contests.  My coffee mug is one of my small wins.

If you wanted to become a digital nomad or just someone who can still make money from home during a polar vortex, it is a possibility.  It may feel overwhelming at first, but you may discover that you have something to offer.  You can see more about Upwork and even customer service options from this link.

Fiverr 

I found out about Fiverr in one of my husband's men's magazines.  (What can I say?  You read what is available sometimes. 😏). Anyway, I was intrigued by the opportunity to do any gig for $5.  I was already volunteering my services as a children's book quiz writer, so why not make money off of that?  Cheap for teachers, administrators, and such, right?

Well, it worked for a long time.  I had steady work for quizzes, and it opened doors to other work.  I connected with SmartKidzClub.  After working with them on their quizzes for their-books, we are working independently from Fiverr.  Now I have my children's book series with quizzes.  Fiverr has a variety of categories that can fit your skills.  You can sell products and services.  With an account, you can purchase them as well.  There are even ways to promote passive income.  Remember what I said about freelancers who promote their work with pre-made webcasts and handouts for clicking through?  My mother and I worked together for her ultimate guide to Paris.  Just send the PDF upon request and payment is confirmed.

I don't work through Fiverr anymore, but it was a good start for me.  It can also be more appropriate for someone else with a different set of skills.  You can find out more about Fiverr at this link.

Freelance work can be primary or supplemental income depending on how much time and energy you want to put into it.  It does get easier, especially when you discover what is out there.  However, there are some important tips to heed:

Always communicate with your clients 

Never undersell yourself

If it is vague or sketchy, you don't have to sign up for it

Enjoy what you do 

Do you work as a freelancer yet? Do you have any platforms or sites that have worked for you?  Please share your experience!

Small Wins

Throw some confetti - it's a win! (Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash)

I dabble in contests.  I'll enter text-to-win contests, social media giveaways, and other similar ways to win.  There is little or no risk in it because I'm offering my email or phone number, not the soul of my firstborn.  I don't gamble.  That is not a lifestyle I wish to afford.  Sometimes I win a prize.  I can be the winner of gift cards, promotional items, and even meet-and-greets with people who are more well-known than me.  I've met Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber (nice guy, smells awesome) and then-White Sox pitcher Chris Sale (also a nice guy, taller than my husband, another great-smelling guy). 

I have scent issues, but that is for a post for another day.

They may call it a grand prize or first prize, and then someone will look at it like, "That's it?"  So some of the promotional prizes are less than "grand".  It annoys the pessimists who see these winnings in their half-empty glasses.  The optimists are a little too perky with statements like, "Well, it's a win!"  While the glass is half-full, it is not something that changes my world.

I don't enter contests with the full intention to win the grand prize of an all-expense paid trip to the Super Bowl, $100,000 to remodel my home, or the chance to spend five minutes with a megastar backstage at a major event.  Yes, they can be nice, but I'm not in it for that.  I'm in it for the small wins. 

When I was researching this idea of small wins, I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review from 2011 titled The Power of Small Wins.  Mind you, "Harvard" and "Business" are not two keywords that I look for in my reading material, but the article was actually interesting when it comes to motivation in your work.  There is a whole psychology about bosses and managers keeping their teams engaged in their tasks.  Making progress can make a difference in the workplace, even if it is a "small win".

As a college student, I was looking for ways to get my name out in the world.  A byline in a magazine or poetry journal was the only way that I knew how.  Submitting my poetry was like gambling - I was taking a huge chance that I could be accepted and published, or I could go down in flames for reasons of "not what we are looking for" or "we are not accepting at this time".  However, every time that I could publish something, it was a small win for me.  My name was out there, I was sharing a piece of my imagination and experience with readers.  If I got paid, it was small, but it was still a win.

Each "win" in writing has been a stepping stone.  It is work experience and publications on my curricula vitae.  It is also my motivation to keep going and keep trying.  These milestones are the encouragement I need to keep setting my goals for something more while I am still finding joy in them.  This kind of happiness was not as frequent in my other jobs in life.  While I had my wins and can see the results in my former students, the gratification does not feel the same.

So I will keep entering contests (maybe even start one of my own) and get my fix on small wins there.  I'll also be working on my small wins in writing.  Once I finish my landmark series for Smart Kidz Club, I'm thinking about another series with Patriot the tour guide eagle.  Maybe I'll step away from books and find my riches in other forms of writing.  If I am happy, then I am winning.


Contest prizes big or small,
try as we may, we can't win them all;
but when the win is what you do,
it is always a big deal to you.

It all started in a bar...

Nice title.  Sounds like something out of a country song or romance novel. 

Actually, it is about a hobby.

No, not drinking.  Too obvious.  Not smoking either.  Those things started earlier than that, like behind a convenience store with other teens. 

No, it's painting.

Not so obvious, right?

Seriously, today's adult entertainment is more than a smoke-filled bar with pool tables and flashing neon signs.  People of all backgrounds are being enticed with activities ranging from poker runs to zumba classes.  Even recently a nearby church advertised an adult beer and Bible study at a local tap room. 

For me, I found painting in a bar.  After writing became a career instead of a hobby, I needed another way to be creative that was different from what I did on a regular basis.  I remember watching PBS with Bob Ross and other master painters creating visions of nature using multiple shades of colors that transformed their blank canvas.

I can draw an awesome Garfield.  My palm trees look like feather dusters.

So the bar that I am talking about was actually a painting class that was BYOB - bring your own bottle.  It could have been wine or beer, they were not picky.  They only asked that you did your best not to dip your brushes in your drink.  The instructor sounded like she had some previous experience.  So I dragged my mother-in-law because she had been to painting classes before and had the best wine carrier for our bottles.  My sister-in-law joined us because she thought it would be interesting.  Wine was a bonus.

I don't know if it was the alcohol or the paint fumes, but I had a blast.  We laughed, we brushed, we made mistakes and we learned how to fix them or achieve happy accidents.  When the BYOB events became fewer and fewer, we looked into the ones set in bars.  Acoustics were terrible and we were not in control of the music volume.  Not to mention the drinks cost as much as the bottles we brought in before.  Still, I keep searching because painting gives me a kind of zen, that meditative trance as you watch and transform a blank canvas to something (hopefully) that is pleasing to the eye.  I also enjoy using someone else's brushes and paints because it takes the guess work and storage off my hands.

We did try painting at home.  Here is the result:

I know, he is quite handsome.  Those painting classes have paid off.  I get a few hours of a trance that is less greasy than a massage and I get to express my creativity in a visual medium.  Sometimes I share my work.  

It is important to try new things and follow passions.  I didn't take art in high school or college because I followed other pursuits like music or language.  Maybe I missed out on something.  Still, your hobby does not have to be related to your work.  In fact, it can be the furthest from your occupation as long as it brings you happiness and some kind of release from the daily grind.

Let me know what your hobby is.  Maybe you'll inspire my next one.

Determination

This is the first year that I have heard about one-word resolutions.  Maybe I was not paying attention since it is a concept that has been around for years.  Maybe I was skeptical.  Probably skeptical.  

I'm not big on word boards and inspiration webs.  Webs clutter my mind like they clutter the corners of my ceilings. But I always saw myself as a multifaceted individual with numerous interests that branched out in many directions. How could one word tie in my goals for the new year?

I answered a social media question of a friend of mine on whether I list goals or focus on one word or phrase.  I confessed to my list, but maybe there was one word - determination - that resonates in my mind when I think of goals.  I am determined to improve my health.  I am determined to become greater things in my writing career.  I am determined to find order in my life.

So my friend has encouraged me to make it my word for 2019.  I think he is right on this one.  It provides me with more of a purpose of why I want to do more for myself and where I am going to find the strength to do so.  Everyone can have their own word, and the members of my family have their own purpose if they set goals for themselves.  Someone may choose "determination" as their word of the year.  However, I chose it for me rather than have it dictated to me.

I still need my milestones and clear goals so that I can have something to achieve.  I have numbers that are measurable and timelines that are reasonable.  So I can keep my list to help me visualize what I can achieve.  No matter how I do it, I am determined to be more than I was in 2018.

Determination is my light

That illuminates my way

To health, wealth, and wisdom

All year or just one day

Determination can never outline

The steps that I must take,

But rather the strength and focus

To be the success I make.

Image Credits: mohamed_hassan 

Reflections

Happy New Year to you and yours.  Did you make any resolutions this year?  I do make goals for myself every year.  One of those is to be more consistent in my blog, so here is the first of many to come in 2019!

The past few weeks have been a time of great reflection for me.  There have been holidays, anniversaries both happy and sad, and reunions that have been years in the making.  Anyone who I have gathered with has me thinking about the past, present, and future.

Now, anyone who knows me personally knows I am a very reflective individual.  It shows easily on my face.  Some are patient to see what I contribute to a conversation.  I remember one professor in  college who saw that reflective look on my face and asked my opinion on a topic.  I know she did not expect my candid response with an example to back my observation.  I believe she was more cautious as the course went on.

Reflections are a good source of writing material.  It was actually the title of the self-published poetry collection I made for my family a few decades ago.  My reflections of adolescence, young adulthood, love and loss filled the pages and allowed my loved ones to understand the joys and pain I could not tell them in words.

My creative works of late has been less of reflections and more of an intellectual pursuit.  Landmarks of the countries written for kids, a day in the life for seniors, even the start of historical fiction based on stories of today's octogenarians, they fall short on my reflections.  Maybe that should be another goal on my list of New Year's resolutions.

I look in the mirror 

And what do I see?

The reflection of a writer

Emerging from me.

Her eyes have seen sadness

Yet shine with such wonder;

Her words are soft-spoken,

But her pen is like thunder.