I’ve been so busy lately that I completely missed the fact that it’s been one year since I started taking freelance writing seriously. Back in July of last year I was fresh off a European adventure and stared straight in the eye by an abysmal job market. After a few panic attacks I decided that I needed to find a way to make money on my own. Suddenly the idea of being my own boss – while completely foreign and unorganized to me – sounded really damn good. So I decided to learn how to make money with the only thing I knew how to do – write.
I had a very rocky start. I was completely clueless and didn’t even know where to begin. I signed up for all the content mills like Demand Media and Associated Content and thought that ad revenue was at least money coming in. I made $5.00 my first month and spent hours upon hours slaving away writing articles for very little money. I also tried to absorb as much information as I could regarding freelance writing, running a business, and finances. Back then my niches were environmentalism and crafting and I had no idea how to make them profitable; though I did end up making around $800 by the end of the 2010.
Fast forward to a year later and I find myself in a much better position. Despite the fact that I have been employed full time at 2 companies this year I have kept the freelancing side hustle going. Whereas before I would spend every waking hour working like a mule for very little money in 2011 I managed to make $4,000 in six months (not including taxes that are taken out) just from working when I had some time. Four thousand may not seem like a lot now, but seeing as how I started with $5.00 I would say that’s quite the astronomical leap. Besides, that translates to roughly an extra $667 a month, and who wouldn’t like some extra cash?
While I don’t have any regrets I did have to learn some things the hard way. There are plenty of “shoulda, coulda, woulda’s” but all I can do now is implement what I have learned into the present in hopes of making a better future. I hope these are helpful for some of you who want to start your own careers and business endeavors 
20 Lessons Learned From One Year of Freelancing
1. Don’t waste too much time on content mills - While I think websites like Associated Content and Demand Media are good for beginners trying to build a portfolio I definitely don’t recommend spending too much time on there. The truth is you’re getting paid a pretty measly amount for a lot of work. I was working like a mule for 10 bucks an article only to have the featured contributor program completely redesigned and get slapped in the face by a Goggle algorithm that significantly reduced the crazy good ad revenue I was getting.
2. Landing your own clients will get you more money. When I did the numbers last month I realized that most of my freelancing income was made when I had my own clients – clients that paid more and required much less work than content mills.
3. Your best niche will come from your real life experience. Did I have some experience in environmentalism and crafting? Yeah, but it didn’t really get my engines going. After I took a very good look at my life situation I started this blog in order to discuss career development, entrepreneurship, personal finance, fitness, and Gen Y issues. That is the kind of stuff that got me thinking. That is stuff that made me want to research, write, and be my own boss. And that is the stuff that has landed me more clients than I would have otherwise.
4. You have to spend money on the right things. When trying to run a business you will inevitably have costs. And when you really think about it, you have to spend money to make money. That is of course if you spend money on the right things. I have wasted way too much money on pointless subscriptions, ebooks, and courses that turned out to be duds. I also probably spent too much money shopping, eating out, and buying crap I didn’t really need. Do your research and budget yourself – it makes a difference!
5. An email list is a must. I just started taking the Grad Meets World email list seriously about a month ago. I didn’t want to pay for it, I didn’t want to deal with it and I didn’t really see the point. That is until I realized it was a great way to bring back readers through RSS feeds, I could connect with more people and it didn’t have to cost me a penny. If I had started this sooner I would have way more subscribers and regular readers.
6. Network. Network. Network. I have met some awesome people thanks to this blog, my niche, my business, and networking events like Brazen’s Network Roulette. This has not only helped in terms of readership but has also given me job leads, has provided some great writing opportunities and has allowed me to pick the brains of some of the coolest bloggers I know.
7. Don’t be shy about your side hustle. I still have a problem with this. I walk around with business cards in my purse yet I’m always afraid to hand them out. It’s not that I’m ashamed I just don’t want to sound self absorbed. The reality is that things aren’t just going to fall in my lap and I need to put myself out there.
8. Be a (reasonable) bitch when you need to be. Something else I have a problem with: emailing clients that have past due payments. I get completely awkward and overanalyze whether I’m crossing a line or not. I once went about 2 months without receiving a payment from a client. The truth is that if you agreed to a payment and someone owes you then you may have to take matters into your own hands. While you can’t be unreasonable (cursing them out for example) you need to be direct.
9. No one is going to die if I don’t scratch everything off my to-do list. I have to credit Jenny Blake for the phrase (Hi, Jenny!). I have allowed my time to sometimes become a blur of work. Just last Monday I felt like I hadn’t even had a weekend to rest because I spent those 48 hours working on my side ventures. While it’s perfectly okay to do that I need to realize that these things take time to build and overworking myself will only yield poor results for me, my clients and my readers. My yoga instructor put it perfectly a couple of months ago – I need to stop trying so hard.
10. Outsourcing is awesome. I got to a point where I just couldn’t do everything by myself anymore, so I subscribed for a virtual assistant service that takes care of all the little things on my to-do list. They do my small back office tasks while I focus on the bigger picture.
11. Keep your finances in order for tax time. This one is a biggie. I noticed too late that tax time was coming and had done nothing to prepare for it. I had to round up some money and spend hours looking through bank statements for deductions. Now I have systems in place that will make tax time easier.
12. Patience is a virtue. No one becomes an overnight sensation and while it definitely takes a lot of work you need to realize that things come in due time. You learn things as you go along, you become better at managing and creating systems with practice and success comes over time. No need to stress yourself out for no reason
13. Don’t overload yourself. I took on project, after project after project because I thought it would make me more money. The only thing it got me was some crappy pay and sleep deprivation. Learn to say no and only take on the projects you can handle.
14. One side project at a time. I suck at this. Sometimes I get so many ideas running through my head that I get carried away and start a million things at once and never finish any of them. I currently have ideas for webinars, an ebook, a community survey and a possible blog coaching service – all of which have been started and not one has been completed. I need to just focus on one thing at a time.
15. Only take on projects that are worth your while. I have a confession to make. Caroline and I took on a project that required 100 articles on bed bugs and spiders (ew!). You know how much we got paid? Two hundred bucks each. Yeah, totally not worth it. Avoid crappy projects. Period. They only waste time where you could be landing a better paying project.
16. It’s okay to have a money job. Ok, I stole another phrase. This time from Diana over at Enter:Adulthood. I have a money job – in fact I’ve had two this year. Both of which have taught me a lot about dealing with clients, running a business, networking, career development and patience. They also help me pay my bills while I build up my side ventures.
17. You need a social life. Again, I’ve been bad about this. Maybe it’s because I spent most of my college years partying my ass off and got bored or maybe it’s because I always feel like I have so much to do. Have some drinks with your friends. Go out to lunch with your co-workers. Enjoy your family. We’re creatures of community and there’s no way around it.
18. There will always be haters. Another one I need to work on. Once in a while you will run across a person who just completely misses the point of what you are trying to do. You’ll also run across difficult clients, partners and bosses. Some people will try and bring you down – it’s just a fact of life. Learn to let things roll off your back and use criticism effectively.
19. Most people are actually very nice. I figured I should emphasize this point after #18. Contrary to popular belief, most people are actually very nice and incredibly supportive – especially bloggers!
20. You will find success in genuinely caring about people. This is perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned. Whatever you decide to do in this life – whether it’s start a business, a blog, what have you – do it out of love. You will find success in helping other people – maybe not financially (not at first anyway) but certainly as a person and spiritually.
Despite the roadblocks I have encountered in the past year, making my own money and running this blog has been an exhilarating experience. Somedays I may feel overworked, but at the end of the day I know that I am on the right path. Thank you to all my supporters who have been following my journey. I hope you get as much out of this as I have.
Really cool blog post that you wrote up. The idea of weighing out the projects of time vs. income is very important with freelance writing because it might sound good but when you get down to the numbers with articles vs. how much you’re going to get paid then you understand if you should take on that project or not.
I know! I wish I would have thought about it sooner. Apparently it’s a mistake a lot of freelancers make at first..
Super excited that you wrote this! Hopefully one day I’ll be reflecting on my first year of freelancing too!
I’m sure you will be! The hardest part is starting, after that things start to come naturally. Good luck and let me know how it goes
So awesome, Amanda! Keep up the hard work
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Thank you Rose! How are things going?
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Writing spider porn was the highlight of my week!
I know and I just loved writing about bed bug infestations right before I was set to travel. LOL. NEVER AGAIN.
Great points. I need to come back and read this in-depth when I have a little more time. Congrats on a year of freelancing!!
Thanks Ada! Please do come back and read! I feel like you’d get a kick out of since you are a writer as well
Congrats on your one year anniversary!! Those are some wonderful lessons that anyone can use in any field.
Thanks Benny! You’ve been one of the greatest supporters Caroline and I have had
Hey Amanda. Congrats!
One suggestion: I would factor taxes into your numbers here. $4,000 in six months is great for a beginner, but it doesn’t come out to $667 a month when you factor in what taxes must be paid on that amount. It sucks, yes, but it’s a reality that should be taken into consideration when sharing numbers as examples for other writers.
Unfortunately I became well aware of that earlier this year. I make sure to take a nice chunk out for taxes and save the receipts for every deduction I can make. It usually ends up being much less than I imagined but better safe than sorry
Amanda – Good! But I still think you should amend the post or do a correction because right now this post is a little misleading. I don’t think you’d want any freelancer to read this and make the same mistake you did.
Good luck!
Thanks for the tip Jen! Will do
By the way – very impressive portfolio 
Hi Amanda,
A very nice snapshot of the freelancing life. I found it interesting reading your account as a grad freelancing while building your career… my experience was a bit different — I worked in Korporate Amerika for 10 years after college, then ditched it all for a full-time freelancing career.
At any rate, you make some excellent points that I hope will help out recent grads who opt for freelancing while trying to make sense of this job market.
Lee
Thanks Lee! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I really think freelancing is a viable option for recent grads who find themselves in the midst of this crazy job market. Unfortunately many of them don’t realize this until much later on so I’m trying to spread the word
GREAT post! I’m still stuck right now cranking out articles for Demand, but I’m slowly but surely working toward getting my site organized and out there. I have a FB page now, and Twitter and Google+ accounts in my page name (don’t tell Google…you’re not supposed to do that). I’m finding out like you that what I love the most isn’t going to make me any money, so I’m breaking out into health and fitness, which is already starting to pay off a tiny bit.
I’m afraid of private clients. I think I’ll probably stick with places like Constant Content for that, so I can be guaranteed of getting paid, but I’m definitely away from all the content farms except Demand, and one day I’ll be away from that.
Thanks for the words of wisdom. So many people need to read this.
You’re welcome Deb! I was actually afraid of private clients for the same reason, but to be honest they pay off is way better when it works out
Good luck on your endeavors!