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Be Realistic, but Optimistic (Advice for new Freelancers)


lucycodex

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I see so many new sellers here and elsewhere who think that they can just sign up for an account and then just sit back and watch the sales roll in. It’s definitely not just Fiverr either, the forums of the two places where I self-publish ebooks are the same way. A lot of people posting a few things, and they are flabbergasted when they are not suddenly getting money work.

This is where realism needs to kick in and fast. There are no shortcuts in money making. If there was, then we would all be flowing in dough. But that is not the case. Being a freelancer is hard work, and you have to be ready for that in order to make it work out in the long run.

It’s not just Writing and Web Design

Money is just one singular part of it. You also have to market. A lot. And if you don’t market for free, then you will probably be spending money to do it. This takes time, effort, and energy on your part. Content creation, blogging, guest blogging, social media, etc, takes a lot of unpaid time. This is just so people know you exist.

You have to focus on niche markets often. Some people can do a simplistic writing gig, but providing content for an untapped gig market works wonders for you in order to increase your credibility in the field.

You have to pay taxes and other bills, and that requires a lot of accounting work. If you are American, that is 400$ minimum that you have to earn to file taxes and pay them. This is 15% of your total income, and even more if you have to pay income taxes.

You have to diversify your income. As making money from one single place is just a recipe for disaster, and if it goes under or something goes wrong, then you are back to square 1.

You have to manage your own time.
Be your own accountant.
Be a marketer. Etc, etc.

All of this on top of working for yourself.

Yet, I love what I do in spite of all this. In fact, I kind of like the idea of learning all this new stuff. But I am not self-absorbed enough to think that I can waltz into Fiverr and quickly earn 10k a month. If I ever do that, it is going to take a long time and require potentially years worth of blogging, guest posts, social media, and other ways to get my name out there that I don’t get paid for.

In fact, I recently paid 40$ and 26$ in transportation costs in order to attend a Wordpress Conference in my area. It lasted two days, and I learned a lot of awesome things in order to help me make my business better. It’s a constant learning process, and learning from other people in your field is always worth it in the long run. Plus, these WordCamps and conferences often give out ‘free’ stuff to attendees. 😃

So you need to be realistic. Freelancing IS a business. It’s difficult. It’s stressful. But for many of us, it’s worth it. But it sure as hell ain’t sunshine and butterflies.

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Hi,iam not un American but still pay taxes to American govt.

I am not a Law Professor, so I can’t explain that, but could you have been in America long enough to become a Citizen For Tax Purposes? If not, it could be because any money earned from the US is taxable to the US.

And I never been to america.still last year I had paid $216 as a tax to them.

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