Work From Home: How to do it Yourself
Every day I receive emails asking me the secret to my success. The only answer I can give is find out for yourself. In this little rant with a lot of motivation I explain why you don't need anyone's help to work from home.
Some may call me successful as I work from home full time as a freelance copywriter and journalist. I'm certainly not rich but I do thank my lucky stars that I get to do a job I love day in, day out.
Yet it hasn't been an easy road and so when people send me messages asking for client lists, for me to share my workload or basically a fast track way to success, I become quite offended.
This week, one such person I helped, who I gave advice to on how to become a copywriter rewarded me by lifting my content and selling it as her own. It's frustrating and it's sad as I truly believe all you need is half a brain and a bit of time to make it on your own working from home.
If you want to make money online, you want to be independent and you want to be a success at what you do, start off on the right foot, that is, don't ask others for a leg up, do it yourself, then when you reap the rewards, they're all yours!
Here's how:
Use the Web
Ten years ago when starting a business you may have needed to ask friends and colleagues for advice or information. Today you don't. If you're planning on working from home the internet will probably figure quite heavily so you may as well get to grips with it now. Research heavily, teach yourself, find out what you need to know and put together a plan for how you're going to make it happen.
Make Time
When starting out you don't need to spend money but you may need to spend time. For many who approach me this is not an option. They want big bucks and they want them NOW. If you're willing to sacrifice the time you spend playing on social media or watching TV every day to build your business (without getting paid) you'll be the one with a grin on their face in the long run.
I was a single mother of two when I decided to become a fulltime writer. I knew I needed more qualifications to succeed. So I cleaned caravans during the day while studying for my journalism degree on an evening when the children were in bed. I also wrote my first book instead of watching the box. For years it was a labour of love, but the hard work paid off.
Do It for Nothing
Once I had my qualifications I knew I wanted to be a copywriter and journalist but my portfolio looked pretty bare. I wasn't known in journalism circles and competition was fierce. So, rightly or wrongly I joined the crowd that offered articles for a pound. Within a month I had a portfolio showing my work, a list of clients (albeit cheapskates) and my prices started to increase. Now I charge what I'm worth.
Those that come to me expect even more than I'm paid for an article despite not having experience or a portfolio. When I advise them to at least build up their own blog so they have work to show clients they reply with the second point, "I haven't got time."
Making Money Online
It's not all doom and gloom as while you learn there are endless opportunities for making money online, opportunities you can integrate into your daily working life to bring a bit of money rolling in.
These opportunities include being paid for surveys, offering to proofread documents, reviewing products, even updating social media for businesses. With the internet at your fingertips there really is no need to ask for a leg up, you can do everything yourself and be whatever you want to be all you need is ambition, determination, time and pride.