#01 – 🤔 Why did I decide to do freelance?
Hi, Jimmy here!
Welcome to “The Freelance Journey” – the newsletter where I share my insights as a new freelancer.
Consider freelancing, and afraid to take the shot? 🤔
Today, I share my story of how I decide to start freelancing. You may relate to it if you want to do the same!
A bit of background:
My name is Jimmy, and I have 6-year SEO experience. I work full time as an SEO Manager (agency side).
Life is good, but I keep getting news of layoffs in the tech sector, all around the world.
What if it happens to me?
That part scares me as hell 😱
Any employee is replaceable. And I only have one source of income (salary).
I also have family to care for! 👨👩👧
And I tell you, nothing spark action as fast as fear.
I created my Upwork account, set up my profile, and started sending out my first job proposal. The date is 8th March, 2023 (barely one month ago).
Since then, I landed 7 jobs, worked with 4 clients, and receive all 5-star reviews.
Not too much to brag. But well, everyone starts somewhere. 😗
Here’s my advice if you want to get started freelancing!
1/ Evaluate your situation:
- Are you relying on 1 source of income? 💸
- Are you willing to work longer hour to build up an additional income? 💰
- What are your skill sets? Are you skills in high demand, and you could charge for it?
2/ Get to action:
- Create a profile on Upwork.
- Update your LinkedIn profile.
- Start reaching out to your friends and network. 👭
3/ Make it risk-free:
You don’t have to quit your job just yet.
Freelance on the side.
Carve out time in your schedule. I freelance from 7 -9am, and 7-9pm (so outside of work hour)
Yes! It’s exhausted at first when you not used to it 🥱. But, you’ll learn to work more effectively as you progress.
Tools I use for my freelance work:
Toggl:
As a freelancer, you no longer have a fixed set of day. You need to master your time by logging every hour you work.
Toggl is the best, and the free option is very generous.
Available as Chrome extension, Desktop & Mobile App, and Web, you can track your time everywhere.
Great Book I Read:
The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson.
Reading fiction is the fastest way to reduce stress, as you temporarily escape reality and immerse yourself in the alternative world.
Great storytelling, good pace, and interesting characters – this novel is the God-send for me.
👋 Enjoying this so far?
That’s all for now. See you next week!
Jimmy Phan
My Personal Site | Say hi ✋🏻 on Twitter | LinkedIn
P.S. For the next issues, I’d share the number one mistake that newbie freelancers make (I almost made it myself).