Imagine waking up to your own schedule and starting the day off on your own terms. Freelance writing can give you the ability to be your own boss and make a living from your passion. But, as luck would have it, you’re stuck at a job that doesn’t inspire you and all you want to do is quit your 9-5 job and work from home.
Writeto1k course student Cheri never imagined that she would make a living from writing in only three short months of deciding she wanted a new life. Let’s find out the steps she took to reach her end goal hella fast!
What does your ideal life look like? For me, it’s pretty simple – setting my own hours, working from home, deciding my own income, and taking off on a road trip whenever I feel the urge…
And guess what?
I’m living it!
Hard to believe, right? But a year ago, I was sitting in my office at the nonprofit company I worked for, daydreaming about working from home and making more money. Now, don’t get me wrong – my job wasn’t bad at all. In fact, from my family’s and friends’ view, I was pretty darn lucky. I had a decent paycheck, a 401K, and a pretty flexible schedule.
The problem was, I always felt like I was missing something.
Maybe I was just a little rebellious, but even as far back as junior high, I knew I never wanted to work for someone else. I always looked for careers I could eventually do on my own, but I never imagined being able to do anything without a degree.
So I majored in accounting. I know…ick. I thought I would eventually become a CPA and run my own business. But less than a year into working for a local firm, I realized it wasn’t for me.
Enter Freelance Writing
Since I wanted to be self-employed, I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for things I could do on the side. I tried a lot of them out over the years, like direct sales and online selling. I even made a little cash with some of my ventures.
But nothing quite resonated with me like freelance writing. I loved to write and I loved the idea of getting paid to be creative. But, like most, I had no idea where to start.
I began by following some freelance writing blogs I found, such as Careful Cents, Freelance Writing ,and Writers in Charge. And I got a lot of really great information.
But when I came across Elna’s blog, something about her story and her writing style made me want to stick around. So I took a leap of faith and hired her as a coach, and later enrolled in her Write Your Way to Your First 1K freelance writing course.
Setting Big Goals
I must admit, I was a little slow to start. Like turtle pace slow. Like one pitch a week slow.
But Elna kept nudging me along and encouraging me to set goals and dream big.
So I did.
At the end of November, I set a big goal to quit my job by January the following year, giving me a little over a year to build up my client list. I made up my mind that as soon as I replaced my income with freelance writing, I would turn in my notice.
That same month, Elna hosted a pitching challenge in her private Facebook group. Since I knew that landing gigs was a little bit of a numbers game in the beginning, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get a writing job under my belt. And you know what?
I landed four freelance writing jobs!
I didn’t win the challenge, but I didn’t care. I had finally scored my first writing assignments and felt like I was on top of the world.
That gave me the confidence to keep pitching and keep landing clients. I had a full workload faster than I ever imagined!
The Day My Life Changed Forever
I often say that finding Elna’s blog and her course changed my life, and it did, but the day I knew my life was about to change forever was the day I realized I had actually earned as much from freelance writing as I had from my day job.
I can’t remember how I reacted. I may have blacked out a little. Because this day didn’t come as scheduled.
It came 9 months early!
In only 3 short months I was able to learn the right tools and best practices about freelance writing, pitch my little heart out and land enough work to quite my 9-5 job for good.
Because I wanted to make sure I could consistently earn the income I needed, I waited a couple of months to turn in my notice.
It was one of the most gratifying days of my life.
To Conclude
Today, I’ve been a full-time freelance writer for 3 months, and I’m living the life of my dreams.
Is it perfect? Heck no! Some days, I think about throwing in the towel and going back to a “real job” because I work harder and longer than I ever have. But the bottom line is this: There is nothing in this world I would rather do!
What I hope you understand is that you CAN do this! Don’t let anyone tell you it’s dumb to leave a “secure” job to chase your dreams. The money you can make with freelance writing is virtually unlimited, and there is literally never a shortage of demand for your skills.
But that’s enough about me. What’s holding you back from chasing your dream of becoming a freelance writer?
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