👀What does freelancing life really look like?

[vickieito]

Part-timers and full-timers, please share your experiences!

Here are mine as a full-time freelancer:

Pros

1. No dress code! Yay!

2. Also related to #1 - For Fiverr, no phone calls or video conferencing unless it's gig-related (I love this!!!)

3. I can say no when I don't want to do the job. Or charge a lot more.

4.  Flexible hours with unlimited breaks. This is great…but opens the door for procrastination. And a lot of mindless snacking.

5. I set my prices and have more control over how much I make each month. This is wonderful. 😊

Cons

1. A half day is 12 hours of work, so my working day just got longer.

2. It’s harder for me to strike a work-life balance. If my kids see me on my phone, they'll ask, "Are you still playing Fiverr?!"

3. I make stupid mistakes (often!) that hurt my business. Once, my husband called me a "Yes Man." To prove to him that I was not a "Yes Man," I rejected 8 inbox requests for business in one day. Some of those requests would've been great orders. But I was set on proving to my husband that I could say "no." My best-selling gig quickly became one of my worst selling gigs. Luckily other gigs picked up at that same time.

How does your freelancing life look like?

[nomuffinsforyou]

I am a full-time student, but I get holidays, then I will turn into full-time freelancer for 1-2 months 😄 This is going to be my first time opening art commissions, basically, starting freelancing! I'm super excited!! I will post my experience after a month of working 😄 

I also want to make a topic later (maybe a YouTube video if I have time to make it) like you, documenting my first month on Fiverr. As a newbie, sharing experience and advice for other newbies! YouTube really needs people that give actual good advice for working on Fiverr, and not make it look like a "get rich quick" scheme. 

[vickieito]

 

5 minutes ago, nomuffinsforyou said:

YouTube really needs people that give actual good advice for working on Fiverr, and not make it look like a "get rich quick" scheme. 

I agree!

So many people want to just quit their job and become their own boss. That’s the dream life, right?

But is it really what they want to do? Are they willing to give up the security of the monthly paycheck or break away from the tendency to be “told” what to do all the time?  

I think many aspiring freelancers on Fiverr forget that—

1. As a freelancer, no one can tell you how to run your business. Sure, there are nice people on the forum that will make comments on your gig. But ultimately, that decision is yours to make.

2. Also, Fiverr is not your boss, it’s a marketplace. It isn’t obligated to give you orders or a monthly paycheck. That depends on you. If you don’t have orders, what are you going to do to get those orders?

So, if they can’t handle those two responsibilities, freelancing probably isn't for them. It's a dream, not a reality.

[dannykojima1]

To be honest, Fiverr seem to be the only everyone's No.1 favorite online marketplace, but almost not everyone could rely on the incomes in the marketplace; no matter how some people can run their service, unless they follow the rules and not make any small mistake such as breaking Fiverr's Terms of Service, or having more than 1 accounts and not aware of that the site doesn't allow That. However, Fiverr is a good place for everyone to work from home for clients around the world. But not everyone in the U.S. were able to work as a freelancer on Fiverr platform as sellers like all of us, especially for those people who are currently in the United States, Australia or Canada on student or tourist visa. Take the DACA migrants and people without document for example, they can't work as a freelance. So they have to find a job and work hard to support their family, but get push around by their own boss, and threaten with deportation if not working hard picking up fruit in the field. I feel their pain. It just sad for me to see these people have to work hard and not having a skills working from home like all of us do on Fiverr.

Being a very shy kid back in the early 90's, I didn't have any idea that freelance existed in the 90's. I never own a personal computer because my parents doesn't work. And guess what? I decided to pick up a pencil and draw again, of a characters from Saturday Morning Cartoons from TV screen on a piece of paper. Then the kid who went to same school with me brought $10 his dad gave to him, and asked me to draw his favorite Street Fighters character (RYU), although I didn't have any like for anime/manga art. Of course he paid after we came back to school and I hand him the finished drawing. I could tell from his face he was SUPER happy with the result!

Yes, I continues drawing and drawing for 10 bucks for the neighbor kids of their favorite TV Shows like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and few other characters I'm trying to get a SNES because my parents couldn't afford one for me. But I did bought myself my own SNES gaming system, so the girl neighbor decide to come over and play Super Mario World with me at my house!

Well, here we are today with the internet access to Fiverr's marketplace for the buyers around the world. We all are only good at what we do; like art, music, writing, video editing, graphic design, web design... whatever you name it. Being a freelancer, like vickieito said, "no one can tell you how to run your business" on the platform. We are our own boss. We set our times, but this doesn't mean we can charge them whatever we want.

When I first joined Fiverr in February 2019 after a friend's niece who's husband mentioning to me about Fiverr. So I decided to give a try signed up with. I was left with confused and didn't understand how the gigs work or what to do with the gigs. So I abandoned my account for about a year until 2020. Then come back and went to search for Fiverr tutorials how to set up gigs on Fiverr from popular Youtuber after my brother told me about popular YouTubers are paying artist to create art for them. After everything buckle up with 2 gigs, then I received an order from first buyer in 2 weeks! Then next things, 4 more buyers show up which is putting me in a lot of stress and pressures due to the countdown times start. Yes, I didn't know I could limit queue after searching on the forum. Well, for now. I decided to take a long break from freelancing and stay focusing on creating art for sales and commission works on DeviantArt. I probably be back on Fiverr and doing freelancer again or not, depending on my mood. The buyers who didn't write a feedback or leave a star rating doesn't bother me, but all I know is they are happy with the artwork!

I understand some sellers are upsetting with buyers not leaving them any good feedback (they thinks they deserve it) or with bad rating. I don't care about "Buyer Request". I don't care about "feedback" or star rating or whatever. All I care about is I can do my best at what I do to make the buyers happy with the project they paid for. Then now this is my happy ending on Fiverr life as a freelancer, but for temporarily only, until "I'll be back to Fiverr land in January 2023" as a freelancer I'm planning on bringing new art with new gig.

Just be honest. Be good at what you can do, and get the job done. Be polite. Treat your buyers the same way you wanted to be treat with respect. Work out with the buyer if they wasn't happy with the project. Stop complaining or blame on the buyer for your mistake.

Alright, now you all know how my freelancer life on Fiverr end (only for short time). I hope you all have a happy freelancing.

Edited June 11, 2022 by dannykojima1

[williambryan392]

I could probably talk / rant / rave for hours about this, but I'll keep it short, I'm nursing a hangover 🙂 

I was in corporate for fifteen years - finance and large startups, I worked crazy hours, I was rewarded well, but I want to be my own boss. I want freedom.

For me it's a lifestyle choice, and I aim / want to earn the same money or better as I earned before. I'm not there yet, but it's moving in the right direction and certainly possible (I think/hope!).

So every day is a Sunday, but also every day is a Monday.

I don't work fixed hours. I get up between 5 & 6am, allow client calls 6 days a week, 7am - 8pm and will do some stuff on a Sunday usually. Responding to messages is work right? On Sunday I do try to chill, but if I've got some work like a profile, or gig optimization, or whatever I can do that with netflix on in the background.

I'm free to travel to different countries and work remotely which is pretty cool and with no wife or children means I'm pretty free.

It also gives me the flexibility for my startup which takes time.

Pro:

• Freedom (To be where I want, and do what I want).
• Huge earning potential.
• Again, freedom.

Con:

• Uncertain income.
• No typical employment benefits.
• Hassle of taxes.
• Every piece of work has to be / should be your best. When you're a FT employee there are times you can slack off. It's not the same with freelancing.
• You can't really take time off, well you can, but there's a risk to impacting the algo and losing new / repeat business.
• Working on platforms like fiverr means you're not in full control, we are all subject to the algo and forces beyond our control.
• Whilst you have to treat fiverr like a business and run your profile like a business, it isn't actually a business, that's because you don't own it and you can't sell your business to a new owner. It can be taken from you / turned off though and you have little recourse. (There's a guy on youtube called fiverr pete, he has an interesting story).
• If you're not working you're not earning.

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by williambryan392

[farrukh_bala]

Pros:

1. Good earning. 

2. If you work smart then you will have your own work hours. 

3. No specific timing, sleep as much as you want. 

4. No pressure, although some people get anxious with work life balance. 

5. Learning while working, this is probably one of the best pros. When you are at a job you don't have any time to learn new things, while on fiverr you could spend time on learning new skills while keeping the balance. 

 

Cons:

1. Unpredictable, can't rely on it. You should have multiple streams of income. 

2. Perfectionist: it's a problem with me, I always try to go above and beyond, this results in some clients taking benefits. I also have anxiety of bad reviews which results in cancelations.

3. If you are a social person than this might be a problem as some people just spend way too much time freelancing and not going out much. This affects mental and physical health. 

 

Overall, I think the pros are just too much. If you work smart then the cons can be minimized. 

[smashradio]

8 hours ago, vickieito said:

Part-timers and full-timers, please share your experiences!

Here are mine as a full-time freelancer:

Pros

1. No dress code! Yay!

2. Also related to #1 - For Fiverr, no phone calls or video conferencing unless it's gig-related (I love this!!!)

3. I can say no when I don't want to do the job. Or charge a lot more.

4.  Flexible hours with unlimited breaks. This is great…but opens the door for procrastination. And a lot of mindless snacking.

5. I set my prices and have more control over how much I make each month. This is wonderful. 😊

Cons

1. A half day is 12 hours of work, so my working day just got longer.

2. It’s harder for me to strike a work-life balance. If my kids see me on my phone, they'll ask, "Are you still playing Fiverr?!"

3. I make stupid mistakes (often!) that hurt my business. Once, my husband called me a "Yes Man." To prove to him that I was not a "Yes Man," I rejected 8 inbox requests for business in one day. Some of those requests would've been great orders. But I was set on proving to my husband that I could say "no." My best-selling gig quickly became one of my worst selling gigs. Luckily other gigs picked up at that same time.

How does your freelancing life look like?

1. I have a dress code. I wear a suit. It helps me separate work and play. Also, it really does help at client meetings when not working on Fiverr. 
2. For Fiverr: Indeed, no damn phone calls, Zoom-meetings, or directed voice over sessions. I can just sit down, record, and fart in the studio as much as I want. 
3. Being my own boss. I set my own schedule, making family life a lot easier. 
4. I earn way more than I did when I worked for someone else. 

My day to day life is pretty much the same, every day (except saturday and sunday). 

I get up at 08:30. I eat breakfast with the wife and kid. I drink a gargantuan amount of coffee along with my huge can of Monster. 

I sit down at my computer, check my messages, e-mails and calendar. After that, I respond to all of them, before getting to work on todays projects. 

I'll have a break around noon for lunch, some forum and Youtube. 

I try to get the writing and translation jobs done early, before I move on to voice overs. 

At 15:00, I'm done, unless I get a rush voice over orders. If so, I'll do them before dinner. If not, you'll find me at 36.000 feet in Microsoft Flight Simulator until midnight. Since I can go AFK while in cruise, those hours are usually spent with the family.

When I go to bed, I usually watch an episode of something, usually Star Trek) before listening to at least one session of The Great Courses or some other audio books teaching me new stuff. At the moment, I'm learning about theoretical physics and dark matter. 

At around 02:00, I'll fall asleep. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by smashradio

[theratypist]

3 hours ago, smashradio said:

I have a dress code. I wear a suit. It helps me separate work and play.

You truly deserve to be called monsieur, monsieur! 😂

[smashradio]

15 minutes ago, theratypist said:

You truly deserve to be called monsieur, monsieur! 😂

Oui, madmoiselle! 🤌

[smashradio]

16 minutes ago, theratypist said:

You truly deserve to be called monsieur, monsieur! 😂

I dunno. I always loved wearing a suit. Even at home. When I was a kid, I insisted in wearing a tux when we went out for dinner. 🤣

[visualstudios]

1 minute ago, smashradio said:

I always loved wearing a suit.

I also like it, when I go out. At home I just wear whatever lol. 

[smashradio]

4 minutes ago, visualstudios said:

I also like it, when I go out. At home I just wear whatever lol. 

I usually skip the jacket while working. I must admit that. But I actually think dress pants and a shirt is more comfortable to wear than sweatpants or jeans. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by smashradio

[visualstudios]

Pro's:

Flexibility. This is the biggest one for me - work when I want to on what I want to.
Location independence / work from home. Also a very big one.
Direct relation between work and pay. Work more, make more. That's motivating.

Con's:

Uncertainty. Weeks with nothing, then a huge amount of work. The work tends to come specifically when I have other, non work, stuff to do, just to screw with me.
Direct relation between work and pay... with no control over amount of work. If I had 8 hour days 7 days a week, with how much I make per hour, I'd be rich. Alas, can't get volume just because I want to, it all depends on what the algorithm feeds me, both in quantity and quality.
Networking, career opportunities. I'm not gonna get a promotion. I'm not gonna get to be a manager just bossing people around, and have them do the actual work (which is actually my dream job lol).

[visualstudios]

1 minute ago, smashradio said:

But I actually think dress pants and a shirt is more comfortable to wear than sweatpants or jeans. 

It's 31 degrees here now, I doubt you'd be saying that if you were in Portugal in the Summer lol

[smashradio]

Just now, visualstudios said:

It's 31 degrees here now, I doubt you'd be saying that if you were in Portugal in the Summer lol

I live in the Canary Islands. I still wear a suit. But in 31 degrees, I might opt for a short-sleeved shirt and some nice kakis. 

[visualstudios]

1 minute ago, smashradio said:

I might opt for a short-sleeved shirt and some nice kakis. 

Well, then it's not a suit, is it? :P

[theratypist]

11 hours ago, vickieito said:

Part-timers

Part-timer here! 😁

Well, I kind of my am my own boss in my main work -- I see patients and am a co-researcher/consultant for a few ongoing projects for a big healthcare organization. 

There were around ~4-5 years that I was away or not so active on Fiverr because I was completing my university work. To be honest I stumbled upon Fiverr because I needed a video done and I was like "Oh cool concept ... ooh Fiverr" (well at that time the focus was really on $5) 😂 .. I'm so glad it grew, because $5 ... in this economy?

It was the pandemic I think that gave me more time because everything slowed down a bit. And I didn't handle COVID cases directly. More post case, in the sense help them recover, but I could handle patients just virtually if I preferred to and the nurse would facilitate (I'm a rehab therapist - so people with physical and mental disabilities). Yada yada yada hahaha sorry for starting a Ted talk.

I've been encouraged to take on more orders to make the volume higher and been invited to apply for Pro several times. Don't think I would be able to pull it off for now as to be able to deliver on that level, I would need more time dedicated (I know, I know I spend more time in the forum than I should). Its because I'm not active on my own social media that I've treated the forum as entertainment now. (And there are truly some great people here so I've been sticking around -- you guys know who you are 😁). If my forum friends disappeared, I would likely not go back as well! Lolllll

Anyway, I love the community! I love Fiverr because it allows me to do what I do and enjoy it at my own pace!

I'm happy everyone here has benefitted from freelancing in some way and wish everyone success (yes, even those who complain about having no sells and don't do anything about it -- may a coconut lightly them on the head and may the find the initiative they need).

[smashradio]

44 minutes ago, visualstudios said:

Well, then it's not a suit, is it? 😛

I didn't say I always wear a suit 😛 

 

38 minutes ago, theratypist said:

Part-timer here! 😁

I started out part-time as well. I actually worked as a waiter for a friends restaurant, owned my own bar, worked as editor-in-chief/owner/web dev/journalist for my own newspaper AND did Fiverr at the same time, before the pandemic. 

I was almost happy when the lockdown came. I started focussing on my newspaper and Fiverr exclusively. And I would never go back to working for anyone else, as long as I can sustain my family as a freelancer. 

[theratypist]

8 minutes ago, smashradio said:

my family

Hello to my niece (or nephew, but I swear I remembered it was niece but sorry if I get this wrong, please do not ban me from imaginary family gatherings) hahaha

[smashradio]

8 minutes ago, theratypist said:

Hello to my niece (or nephew, but I swear I remembered it was niece but sorry if I get this wrong, please do not ban me from imaginary family gatherings) hahaha

Madmoiselle, you're always welcome to our imaginary family gatherings! 😁

[zeus777]

2 hours ago, smashradio said:

When I was a kid, I insisted in wearing a tux when we went out for dinner. 🤣

Um, ahem, one, do you have a photo of you wearing a tux eating dinner at a restaurant while the rest of your family were in t shirts and jeans, and two, will you be willing to share that photo with us!? 🤣🤣

[williambryan392]

2 hours ago, smashradio said:

I insisted in wearing a tux when we went out for dinner.

You were a special little boy weren't you smash 😉 😆

Makes me think I should really start having a shave and not wear a tshirt and hoodie for my 'expert business consultant' calls 🤣

5 minutes ago, zeus777 said:

Um, ahem, one, do you have a photo of you wearing a tux eating dinner at a restaurant while the rest of your family were in t shirts and jeans, and two, will you be willing to share that photo with us!?

If you deliver smash I'll do $10 to charity of your choice...

[vickieito]

Sorry this might be a bit long, but I think this is my 5th post for the day!

@dannykojima1 – I think it’s awesome that you were a kidpreneur! And funny how you found Fiverr through “a friend’s niece who’s husband” told you about it! I also find the order system on Fiverr (and the timer) stressful. I’m glad you’re building your business on DeviantArt and can’t wait to see your new art gig on Fiverr in January! 😊

@nomuffinsforyou – I also can’t wait until you’re a full-timer too!

@williambryan392 – I’m like you, I prefer this lifestyle over corporate life and hope to eventually make more than I used to earn (someday)! I agree that each job has to be our best and we have to build other streams of income and not be too dependent on Fiverr.

@farrukh_bala – Great points! I agree that there’s good money to be made if we work smart, “learning while working” is one of the best pros, and the pros heavily outweigh all the bad that comes with freelancing!

@corsogr – So true: flexibility = freedom! I love the flexibility and freedom that Fiverr gives me.

@smashradio – Ummm, you actually can’t fart as much as you want in the studio, right? Because you’re recording. Unless it’s the SBDs (silent but deadly ones). In that case, it’s just unfortunate for you! 😂 Anyways, you are awesome! I wish I had a schedule like yours!  … I also want to see a picture of young and dapper smashradio in a tux!

@visualstudios – I also find the direct relation between work and pay very motivating (but I also procrastinate more than I should)! I also find that the work tends to come at inopportune times and there’s not much control over the workload. …on your dream manager job – do you think managing a team of freelancers is on the horizon for you? 🤔

@theratypist – I loved hearing about your main jobs! Your researching/consulting projects explains why you have such great posts! I’ve been digging up a lot of your content on the forum and have been learning a lot from you, so thanks! I also like the people here on the forum. It was lonely trying to run a Fiverr business all by myself, so it's been great hanging out here! I hope I can get to know everyone better but it’s hard with the 5-post daily limit. I’m torn because I want to give back as much to the forum as I can (since I get so much information out of it), but I also don’t want to miss out on all the fun!

[smashradio]

3 hours ago, vickieito said:

 

@smashradio – Ummm, you actually can’t fart as much as you want in the studio, right? Because you’re recording. Unless it’s the SBDs (silent but deadly ones). In that case, it’s just unfortunate for you! 😂 Anyways, you are awesome! I wish I had a schedule like yours!  … I also want to see a picture of young and dapper smashradio in a tux!

 

Haha, I'll ask my mom! 

That's true. If you fart too much, it gets boring having to retake again and again! Trust me, you don't want to let SBDs go in the booth. It becomes musky in there as it is. This is why I don't let anyone rent my studio, even though I could probably make a fortune from it. 🤣

[melanielm]

I've been a freelancer for about 22 years now. I've been on Fiverr since 2010, the same year it launched. My freelance career was born from necessity, both financial and personal. I needed something I could do at home. Flexibility and interrupt-ability were two of the most important considerations. Those are also the two greatest benefits. I have a disabled son and an elderly mother to care for these days, and I simply cannot carve out specific chunks of time for work and nothing else.

Another benefit is the ability to follow new interests to hopefully profitable ends. I do a lot of different things these days and am very happy I have the opportunity.

The disadvantages of freelancing for me include most of the things other people mentioned. There is no paid time off work, no employee matching for retirement funds, no provided healthcare insurance. I get incredibly jealous sometimes of people who have salary jobs and share that they often do other things at work and still get paid. For example, I am a novelist and frequently chat with other fiction writers. So many of them talk about getting in a few hundred words while they're at work and still get paid their regular wage. Obviously, I cannot get paid for freelance jobs at the same time I'm working on my novels.

In the end, I am extremely grateful that I could create multiple streams of income for myself that I can do from home and while taking care of everything else I'm responsible for.

 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by melanielm