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The Pros and Cons of Working From Home

April 13, 2016 / Writing / 6 Comments

I’ve been working for myself as a freelance writer, blogger and marketer for about two years now, and it’s been quite the ride. I’d always dreamed of this type of life, running my own business, and it’s exhilarating and exhausting in equal amounts. If you’re thinking of quitting your day job and trying to work from home for yourself, here are the ups and downs to consider first.

Pro: Make your own schedule
The main reason I decided to pursue this path was for the lifestyle. I wanted flexibility to be around my daughter rather than put her in additional child care. I decide what days and hours I want to work. As a result I get to drop her off and pick her up from school, take her on playdates, to fun activities like ballet, and still keep my career going in the right direction.

Con: People don’t respect the schedule
Even though I let clients know the days and hours I work in advance, the work isn’t contained to those days. I sometimes find myself scrambling for additional child care on my non-work days when requests come in that can’t wait, or if clients don’t lock me in in advance during the school holidays so I don’t put my daughter in vacation care. Extra care = extra cash outlay from me, so I don’t schedule her in unless I have guaranteed work – which isn’t something people in full-time jobs think about. I’m thankful for the work, oh so thankful, and I try to be as flexible as I can to keep the clients happy – which means I end up working late into the night, on weekends, and early mornings before anyone else wakes up. Yaaaawn.

Pro: I can work anywhere
I didn’t know the term “digital nomad” when I started working like this, only that I didn’t want to be locked into an office to restrict our travels. My hubby also works remotely so we can travel anywhere we want and work remotely if we like. This comes in handy particularly with hubby, as we have travelled the the US a few times and stayed with family and he has worked while we were there so it didn’t come out of his leave.

Con: It can get lonely
Not having a team or people to socialise with every day can definitely get lonely, particularly in a business that is a pretty hard slog with lots of rejection. I try to meet up with other people working similarly as much as I can for a coffee or blog function so I can get the socialisation.

Pro: I set my rates
I can charge whatever I want for my time now, and all the money comes straight back to us (minus the bit that goes to the government, of course!). When I get too busy to take on more, I can up my rates – and amazingly I still can get more work at the higher rate from clients who really need work done. It’s a great feeling to feel like I am using the skills I love to get paid.

Cons: Sporadic pay
One of the hardest parts of this business is not having a regular pay check coming in. Regular writing gigs are rare as hen’s teeth, so in the mean time I try and organise work ahead of time so I have money coming in regularly. I pitch more when I don’t have many requests coming in, for example.

Pro: Perks of the job
I do get some amazing opportunities as a result of this work choice. Events, tickets to shows, products, discounts. I appreciate everything that has come my way and am really lucky that I’ve been able to experiences so many places and shows that otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to afford if I’d had to pay for them outright. I do want to point out here that people love to ask what “freebies” I get as a blogger, and I cringe at the word “freebie”. The truth is I don’t get anything I’d class as a “freebie” and I feel like that word really makes bloggers, writer and influencers in general sound like they are just after free stuff rather than running a business. If I am sent to an event or show or given a product, I’m expected to write about it promote it. There’s nothing “free” about it.

Cons: Requests to work for free
I receive requests to work in return for products, or to write at a fraction of what market rate is for an experienced writer – or for nothing! It can be frustrating and demoralising, and I feel like saying, “Would you do your job for a new book?” when my requests for payment for advertorial work gets a reply like: “Sorry there isn’t budget”, when obviously the person who has contacted me is getting paid in cash and not books! I’m getting better are saying “no” however, and moving on to projects that do pay actual cash!

Do you work for yourself? What are some of the pros and cons that you find?

Freelancer Diaries: Etiquette and Playing Nice

February 18, 2016 / Writing / 4 Comments

Making a living as a writer, as opposed to just blogging my little heart out, has been such an interesting learning curve. In my previous full-time roles I was representing big businesses who people wanted for their own business’ success. Being a writer is basically being on the other side of that business model. I’m now the person reaching out to big publications wanting their exposure or profile for my resume, or wanting to be paid to write for them.

As such, I’ve discovered how important etiquette is when balancing the fine line between being just the right amount of assertive, such as when introducing myself and pitching story ideas, and polite, because no one wants to work with an aggressive ego maniac.

Etiquette will get you a long way when working with editors, who can get hundreds of pitches and queries a week from writers just like you. I wanted to share a few tips on how to build relationships that will last and bring you repeat work.

Be polite
First rule of life, as far as I’m concerned: be polite. Thank people for their time. Remove weak words out of emails, like “just” and “think” and keep the tone strong, but at the same time polite. It’s a fine balance. It will be likely you’ll need to follow up with most editors various times as they are some of the busiest people you’ll ever meet. I suggest waiting at least a week between following up between the first email and second, then 2 weeks between the next email, and then, after another two weeks, sending a new email with new pitches. All very politely, of course.

Do your homework
Before pitching ideas, look at their site/publication. What have they already covered in the last few months? What topics do they focus on and avoid? Sending over pitches that are not in line with what they do is a waste of both their time and yours.

Be assertive
But not rude. Never, ever rude. Never harass repeatedly with frequent follow up emails, or demand responses. That’s a surefire way to have your emails send to the trash.

Be 100% professional
Nail the word count. Run spell check. Get your article in BEFORE the deadline. Fulfil the brief exactly. Keep questions to the editor to a minimum (questions = extra work for them). Be easy and pleasant to deal with. Build a name for yourself as someone who delivers what the publication needs with zero fuss.

Deliver clean copy
Get a friend to read over your copy to make sure you didn’t miss anything. There is no better feeling than filing copy and seeing it published soon after with zero changes made by an editor. Your editor will also love you for this as it means no additional work is needed by them.

Be thankful for feedback
Writing can be subjective and highly personal, and therefore hard to know how to respond to edits requested by editors. While my first reaction might be, in my head, that the piece was great as it was, that’s only my pride speaking, not the truth of the situation. The changes my editors suggest always improve my piece, as well as helping me better my writing skills in general. I always, ALWAYS, thank editors for their time giving me suggestions on changes to be made.

What are your tips on building a lasting relationship with editors?

Four Resources Every Freelancer Needs

January 12, 2016 / Writing / 10 Comments

Being a freelancer is tough, I won’t sugar coat it. With no boss to keep you on track and focussed, I find it hard to be organised and stay motivated. There are a lot of highs and lows that come with being a freelancer – the big wins that feel better than any win at your old job, but then there the lows, that can destroy your self confidence and plant seeds of self doubt.

I find these four resources have really helped me to keep my confidence high, present myself and find work, and manage the limited time that I have more efficiently.

Podcast: Being Boss
Being Boss is a podcast for creative entrepreneurs by Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon. These ladies know their stuff. Thanks to their podcast I’m feeling more confident that I can “make bank” (as they call making money) with a small business. Emily and Katherine have also started a Being Boss Facebook group that is great for inspiration and advice. When do I have time to listen to podcasts? When I’m driving to and from school drop off/pick up, grocery shopping or taking a quick walk by myself.

Freelance website: Contently
I’ve found Contently useful for getting well-paid work with big brand clients, as well as invaluable info on working as a freelancer with their blog. Their article on payment rates was particularly helpful. Their site can be use purely as an easy place display your portfolio in an attractive way, or you can join their freelancer network and get paid jobs.

Career and Business Coach: Lisa Kate
Lisa Kate is a successful entrepreneur, digital strategist and a career coach, who has been giving me invaluable guidance for almost two years. I find it extremely helpful to have an outside person help cut to the quick of what I really want and how to achieve it. If being coached isn’t really your thing, you can still benefit from Lisa’s helpful blog content, such as her free ebook “The Golden Triangle – The 3 key steps to creating a successful online business”.

Organisation: Passion Planner
There are so many amazing planners out there, but I love my Passion Planner. It’s an all-in-one weekly appointment calendar, journal, goal setting guide, and to-do list log all bound together in a pretty cover. I use it to block out time each day and keep myself on track.

What do you find invaluable to your freelance business’s success?