Happy Freelancing!
The Fun of Working Home Based
Complete Guide to Freelancing and ‘oDesking’
Mar 9th
I have been keeping this guide inside my brain attic for a couple of months now while trying to discover the best way to present it to you. However, as more work continued to eat up my time, I realized that it’s no use to keep holding myself back from releasing this free and complete guide on freelancing and ‘oDesking’ just because I want it to be the best or just because I am not ready yet. I realized that this might no longer find use in the future if I won’t publish it now. I realized that I should approach this task in the same way as I have approached freelancing— I just dived in.
Freelancing has not been a well planned decision for me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I just grabbed— no questions asked. But let me tell you that this is not a very sound advice. I’ve had my share of mistakes and failures as a beginner in freelancing and some of them are costly— and you wouldn’t want to go through the same mistakes; I am certain of that.
But hey, you are in luck! With the continually blooming world of freelancing, more and more bloggers and freelancers have decided to share their knowledge…and I am now to join this pool of ‘helpful people’. I am now offering a complete guide on how to get started in freelancing and in oDesk.
Just continue to read on… I’ll have each part of the guide posted soon.
Happy Freelancing!
Is Freelancing For You?
Feb 9th
Ask yourself!
In my previous post, I’ve shared my tearful and fun journey towards a freelance career. I’ve also promised that I‘ll share my happiness as a freelancer on this page as a way of giving back for all the blessings I’ve received in my almost a year of stay in the freelancing industry. However, before I continue sharing, I’ve decided to post this important entry about how to be able to determine if you are a good fit for freelancing or not first. After all, how can you be happy doing something you regret having started in the first place? Below are the traits/skills that an aspiring freelancer should possess in order to make it (and make it BIG) into the competitive and challenging world of freelancing;
Good Communication Skills
Good communication skills are required for you to be able to sell yourself to clients. You get to use your writing skills in sending out project bids and proposals. In the same way, interviewers also favor freelancers who are able to communicate in Standard English. Keep in mind that you’ll be working remotely, and so the sole basis of a potential client’s first and last impression is on how you are able to handle a written correspondence or a conversation with him.
Self- starter
Freelancers are self-starters and self-starters are promising freelancers. In freelancing, initiative is the name of the game. If you don’t send out proposals, you don’t get work. If you don’t send out invoices, you don’t get paid. Everything is in your hands. No recruitment agency, no payroll department. It’s just you and your computer. You manage your own career and lead it to where you want it to be headed.
Self- confident
A freelancer is always confident. She’s never easy to intimidate. So, if you’ve looked into the oDesk job listings, and decided to not sign up just because you’ve seen a lot of HTML and SEO stuff all over them, then consider forgetting about your dream of being a freelancer. A freelancer may not know everything, but she knows herself and her abilities enough to trust that she has something to offer despite her lacks that she can work on in the future anyway.
Planner
A freelancer knows her schedule and most importantly, her career goals. She’s well-organized, and is able to plan ahead of time. She knows when to wake up and when to stop working. She also knows when she needs coaching, and when to ‘self-reflect’. She’s her own manager, scheduler, promoter and bookkeeper. And she needs to be a planner to be able to perform these roles all at the same time.
Introvert, but friendly
A freelancer should never be afraid of being left alone and of needing to work alone. Freelancers are happy to stay in front of the computer for hours to get a work done so she can have fun with friends after. She never feels isolated nor does she isolate herself. She knows how to find a balance between work and life.
Professional
Same as in traditional jobs, freelancing requires professionalism. Therefore, if you don’t see yourself as a professional just yet; buy yourself more time to think things over. Then, if you are ready, come back on this page for tips on how to get started as a freelancer (available soon!).
So, what do you think? Is freelancing for you or not? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Happy Freelancing! 
The Tearful-Fun Start of my Freelance Career
Jan 22nd
It’s already 11:19pm, but I am still feeling oh-so-good because of the short chitchat I’ve had with uncle; that I can’t even think of sleeping. I am sure you can identity with this feeling that you also get to feel whenever you are able to accomplish something good. The feeling is somewhere between happiness and excitement— and although I am not sure how to refer to it— I would really want to experience it all over again.
For the second time in my life, I fell in love… with FREELANCING! My uncle and I talked about how I happened to be in freelancing when a couple of months back, I was a call center agent. A proud story teller, I’ve shared my tale and the flashback started.
I can never stress enough how happy I am for being able to learn the ropes of freelancing along with the other opportunities that comes with it. I am glad that I took the plunge at a time when I feel so alone and in need of a companion. Indeed, freelancing is underrated. Isolation in freelancing is not a reality. Freelancing itself is a good company.
I started freelancing May of this year. It wasn’t a well thought off decision. It was in fact a result of an impulsive action similar to what I did when I left my boyfriend some few months ago before I’ve joined oDesk (By the way, we are already back in each others arms ). Pregnant, depressed and in need of a good source of income, I’ve stumbled upon oDesk, and ended up signing up for a free account with them. At that time, I have no idea of what freelance bidding sites are nor how oDesk works. I just followed my instinct and the rest is history…
Not yet done, though… It’s a ‘short history’, so don’t worry. I wouldn’t bore you to sleep.
I took the time to read the help topics at oDesk in order to learn the basics (and because I need to take the oDesk readiness test). Time is very valuable and I don’t have any funds for the nearing delivery of my baby yet, so I decided to apply to other freelance writing jobs. I landed a writing gig at Craiglist and started my writing career with a fellow Pinoy who pays 50php to 100php per article. He’s a real nice guy and he’s taught me a lot that even though the pay is not that attractive, I have never had any regrets joining his team. of writers At that time, I am already oDesk ready and my payoneer card is already on its way from US to the Philippines (ambango nung card nung dumating…amoy tate!).
With some experience, a free wordpress blog for my portfolio and a need; I braved my way through finding a freelance job at oDesk. Then, like an angel sent from up above, Ms. Micah Lacsamana hired me for an SEO article writing job. She promised to help me jumpstart my oDesk career, but managed to super jumpstart it! While working with her, I was hired by two other buyers from oDesk for fixed price jobs. And the following month, two more hourly writing and telemarketing projects started— leaving me too overwhelmed to complain about not getting enough sleep. Days passed and the same trend went on. Happy to have saved enough for my baby, I started moving on with my life.
I am still practicing freelancing up to now while taking care of my 5 month old daughter (her name is Elisha Caprice). I no longer have all the time in the world to indulge in reading the latest posts of The Lady Programmer nor time to spend on working on projects for more than 40 hours in a week, but I now have more time to share to people, who are also in need, the rewards of being a freelancer. It’s never extra time (no such thing for a new mom like I am) that I use for this new hobby— it’s time well spent on people who also wish to do something better with their lives than to cry their hearts out over problems that wouldn’t go away on their own. It’s time well spent on growing a considerably small opportunity into something big by sharing to people what makes me happy with hopes that it can make them happy, too.
I am happy and I want my happiness to be contagious. Want to know what makes it even more fun? OR rather…WHO makes it more fun? Below are the answers to this question;
1.
![-cLick!-0688 [1600x1200]](http://www.happyfreelancing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/cLick-0688-1600x12001.jpg "-cLick!-0688 [1600x1200]")
2.
![-cLick!-1344 [1600x1200]](http://www.happyfreelancing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/cLick-1344-1600x1200.jpg "-cLick!-1344 [1600x1200]")
3.
![-cLick!-1345 [1600x1200]](http://www.happyfreelancing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/cLick-1345-1600x1200.jpg "-cLick!-1345 [1600x1200]")
Happy Freelancing!
CLARISSE on the process of rebuilding a ‘hurt’ reputation
Dec 26th
Lost these checks... I intend to gain them back!
Shortly after celebrating the recognition I received from oDesk as one of its TOP WRITERS for the month of November, I found myself faced with a lot of problems in life and in career. I would no longer discuss my personal problems in detail, but just to give you a hint; it’s a problem that’s enough to shake every nerve out of me, which eventually resulted to me losing focus (and resources!)— a NO NO for someone who practices freelancing. The outcome is painful — plenty of valued writing and telemarketing assignments ended leaving unfavorable feedback in my profile.
Now, I am finally back to my senses. In fact, I am writing this blog post in order to coax out the creative juices off me. The only problem is even though I am able to start anew; it is quite difficult to rebuild a hurt reputation. I am sure in need of an excellent recovery plan to do this. Below is a summary of the reputation rebuilding process that I would follow;
Step 1: Manage my freelance calendar effectively
Other assignments ended, but there’s more left. All I need to do is to get everything organized and have a timetable ready for them. Missed deadlines are of highest priority. Approaching deadlines are also noted down in order to avoid missing any of them, too.
Step 2: Contact clients
I am already done contacting clients who’ve ended their assignments with me, and I intend to contact more clients within this week in order to advise them of the realistic time frame for each project. Of course, my e-mail would also contain a brief and clear explanation of what caused the mess in schedule. I’ll use all these mess to my career’s best interest by showing my clients how good I am in handling missed deadlines.
Step 3: Start working
I am writing this blog post for another good reason— to officially declare that ‘I AM BACK TO WORK!’ This public announcement would serve as my motivation to strive hard to meet my deadlines and goals.
Finally, in order to compensate for missed deadlines, I am also to offer some of my clients a ‘token of appreciation’ for their patience. I’ll submit an article completely free of charge! I hope this will be enough for me to be able to show my sincerest apologies for screwing up.
I screwed; yes. ‘Life happens’ and it’ll hit you when you least expect it. Despite this, however, I am still very passionate about my job and my career. Most of all, I am still happy, and I am hoping that you are, too!
Happy Freelancing!
I am one the oDesk TOP Writers for the month of November!
Dec 12th
Freelancing has lots of advantages such as flexibility and (of course!) monetary benefits. However, we can never deny the fact that it also has its own disadvantages which, if not properly handled would lead to lack of motivation, and eventually to a ruin in a home based worker’s freelance career. This said; allow me to name some of the disadvantages that affects our performance as freelancers. They are as follows;
- Isolation
- Lack of ‘Noticeable’ Career Growth
- Lack of Recognition
I am sure that you can add more to this list, but I’ll focus this post on the TOP 3 Disadvantages of Freelancing (I’ll have a post dedicated to this topic in the future. I’ll keep you clued up). Not because I don’t have time, but simply because this blog entry is a mere ‘demonstration’ of how we can make ourselves realize that these aforementioned disadvantages are never what they appear at all- they are just self-limiting beliefs that inhibit us from reaching our fullest potentials as skilled value providers. Moreover, I am writing now to share a goal-turned-achievement that I hope will inspire all of you to work hard (or even harder) to achieve your own career goals.
OK… Enough of explanations… I am here to share to all of you that I am one of oDesk TOP WRITERS for the month of November!
I am not bragging (just smiling while I write this). I just wanted each and every freelancer reading this blog to see that freelancing never isolates us nor keep our careers stagnant without any acknowledgment of our hard work and efforts. This recognition I’ve received from oDesk is a proof.
Back when I was still a newbie, I used to believe in these self limiting beliefs- until I met fellow freelancers who have shown me how to jumpstart my freelance career and how to up my game a notch higher and finally, how to work towards career goals like receiving a recognition such this. Now, I’ve come to the turning point of my career, and I just don’t have anything more to say, but I am happy.
Hmmm… I am starting to sound like a nominee from an award giving body! Geez!
To sum everything up, I just have one thing to say;
I am now an oDesk TOP WRITER because I stopped believing in these self limiting beliefs. I hope you do, too. See you at the top!
Happy Freelancing!
Here’s the badge I received from oDesk >
