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I Just Pulled an All-Nighter


sarahhagwood

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So I did it. I got myself overbooked and managed to succumb to the desire to please my buyer by providing more than what he paid me for 🤦‍♀️ 

Time for my 2 second pity party (don't worry, I will be fine in a day lol):

I am 6 months pregnant, working full time and doing Fiverr gigs and promotional gigs (irl) while also caring for 2 little girls and maintaining church activities, extracurriculars, etc. The sad part is that one of my Fiverr gigs is COUNSELING!!! 🤐 And yes, I know... this is way too much. 

These hard economic times have people doing some desperate things. The bank isn't adding more to the checking account without work and the bills aren't going to stop (yes, we are reducing cost of living). I know times are hard for many. I am still grateful for the opportunity to be a seller on Fiverr, however. BUUUT, maybe I will take a break this week. 🙂 I just stayed up ALL night doing $50 in work.... Nope. Not worth it. 

Night Night!

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@sarahhagwood - there is only one of you and you really need to take care of yourself!

I was in your shoes earlier this year, trying to be that super mom struggling to keep up with all the competing obligations that seemed to be drowning me. I ended up doing 48-hr days, sleeping only a few hours between, and kept telling myself, "I can do this!"...until I couldn't.

This is one of the reasons why I came to the forum - I told myself there just had to be a better way!

6 hours ago, sarahhagwood said:

I just stayed up ALL night doing $50 in work.... Nope. Not worth it. 

It's not worth it to do that to your body @sarahhagwood! Your family (and baby) needs you!

For me, I had to learn how to set clear boundaries for sleep, work, family, and other competing activities. I also had to learn how to say "no" to a lot of things - not just in business, but in my personal life.

6 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

It's a good idea to make some changes to your price structure, that will push some cheaper buyers away, but it will give you more time with your kids and you can also rest and earn more money. Yes, I agree these are challenging times...

I agree with @donnovan86 - I increased my average selling price from $15 to $100 (for resume writing) and doubled my delivery times. Life has been so much better! I get less orders, but make more. Higher prices has also brought in better buyers.

I used to think my buyers wanted quick deliveries and discounted prices, but since I raised my prices and extended my delivery dates, I'm surprised that many buyers are okay with -day delivery. It really doesn't take long to write a cover letter, resume, or update LinkedIn, so my buyers are always happy when I deliver way earlier than 14 days. Having the longer deliveries also allows me to plan my orders better and I can schedule in time blocks that fit my family's needs.

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I have a rule: if I consistently get more work than I want, I increase my rates by 10%. I re-evaluate it every 6 months, unless the situation becomes unbearable. If so, I'll increase my rate temporarily or increase my delivery times and double or even triple my "fast delivery" fee to maintain order. 

You're pregnant. Take care of yourself. Focus on the most important thing: your health and that of your baby. All-nighters are for the "young". 😛 

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On 8/14/2022 at 5:18 AM, donnovan86 said:

It's a good idea to make some changes to your price structure, that will push some cheaper buyers away, but it will give you more time with your kids and you can also rest and earn more money. Yes, I agree these are challenging times...

Absolutely! I was blessed to get to sleep almost 12 hours straight last night and work up with a clear head again! I made sure to bump my prices WAY up before logging off yesterday. Thank you for the encouragement. 

21 hours ago, vickieito said:

@sarahhagwood - there is only one of you and you really need to take care of yourself!

I was in your shoes earlier this year, trying to be that super mom struggling to keep up with all the competing obligations that seemed to be drowning me. I ended up doing 48-hr days, sleeping only a few hours between, and kept telling myself, "I can do this!"...until I couldn't.

This is one of the reasons why I came to the forum - I told myself there just had to be a better way!

It's not worth it to do that to your body @sarahhagwood! Your family (and baby) needs you!

For me, I had to learn how to set clear boundaries for sleep, work, family, and other competing activities. I also had to learn how to say "no" to a lot of things - not just in business, but in my personal life.

I agree with @donnovan86 - I increased my average selling price from $15 to $100 (for resume writing) and doubled my delivery times. Life has been so much better! I get less orders, but make more. Higher prices has also brought in better buyers.

I used to think my buyers wanted quick deliveries and discounted prices, but since I raised my prices and extended my delivery dates, I'm surprised that many buyers are okay with -day delivery. It really doesn't take long to write a cover letter, resume, or update LinkedIn, so my buyers are always happy when I deliver way earlier than 14 days. Having the longer deliveries also allows me to plan my orders better and I can schedule in time blocks that fit my family's needs.

@vickieito Thank you so much for this thoughtful feedback. Looking back at my post now (with rested mind and eyes) I was embarrassed! But I appreciate you sharing your vulnerability experiences as well. It makes me feel more human 🤣I am 100% taking all of the advice given here. I think I must have needed that all-nighter in order to get a wake up call about refining my Fiverr seller structure some. It's very cool to see that you do the same service and that is works for you this way. To be honest, the effort I put in to those resumes and cover letters is really 150%. I try to overdeliver so why not charge way more? I think people would pay for someone to be truly invested in the work rather than to just have "something" that passes. I try to really get to know the person professionally and make them shine. It makes them feel good and I enjoy hearing back from them about all the calls they're getting for interviews 😀 Again, thank you so much for the boost. It means so much to be on the receiving end of encouragement 🥰

19 hours ago, smashradio said:

I have a rule: if I consistently get more work than I want, I increase my rates by 10%. I re-evaluate it every 6 months, unless the situation becomes unbearable. If so, I'll increase my rate temporarily or increase my delivery times and double or even triple my "fast delivery" fee to maintain order. 

You're pregnant. Take care of yourself. Focus on the most important thing: your health and that of your baby. All-nighters are for the "young". 😛 

@smashradio This is a brilliant formula! I think I might start using this but at a frequency of every week until I get a good pattern down. Maybe I will back off 10% here and there if the orders stop. 🤣  But yes, I am 100% going to be putting family first. I believe God will provide the needs 🙏🥰 

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On 8/14/2022 at 6:08 AM, sarahhagwood said:

So I did it. I got myself overbooked and managed to succumb to the desire to please my buyer by providing more than what he paid me for 🤦‍♀️ 

Time for my 2 second pity party (don't worry, I will be fine in a day lol):

I am 6 months pregnant, working full time and doing Fiverr gigs and promotional gigs (irl) while also caring for 2 little girls and maintaining church activities, extracurriculars, etc. The sad part is that one of my Fiverr gigs is COUNSELING!!! 🤐 And yes, I know... this is way too much. 

These hard economic times have people doing some desperate things. The bank isn't adding more to the checking account without work and the bills aren't going to stop (yes, we are reducing cost of living). I know times are hard for many. I am still grateful for the opportunity to be a seller on Fiverr, however. BUUUT, maybe I will take a break this week. 🙂 I just stayed up ALL night doing $50 in work.... Nope. Not worth it. 

Night Night!

To me, all-nighters are often counter-productive as I end up brain-dead and unable to think. Thus, a 2-hour job is going to require 5 hours if I don't sleep.

I hope all gets better for you as I'm sure it will. I'm in the same boat transitioning from "cheap jobs in order to gain reviews" to "improving my gigs in order to charge enough to make a living." It's certainly not easy when everyone who comes to you wants their 10-hour job done for $15. Good luck on your work and avoid those all-nighters!

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On 8/14/2022 at 12:56 PM, vickieito said:

@sarahhagwood - there is only one of you and you really need to take care of yourself!

I was in your shoes earlier this year, trying to be that super mom struggling to keep up with all the competing obligations that seemed to be drowning me. I ended up doing 48-hr days, sleeping only a few hours between, and kept telling myself, "I can do this!"...until I couldn't.

This is one of the reasons why I came to the forum - I told myself there just had to be a better way!

It's not worth it to do that to your body @sarahhagwood! Your family (and baby) needs you!

For me, I had to learn how to set clear boundaries for sleep, work, family, and other competing activities. I also had to learn how to say "no" to a lot of things - not just in business, but in my personal life.

I agree with @donnovan86 - I increased my average selling price from $15 to $100 (for resume writing) and doubled my delivery times. Life has been so much better! I get less orders, but make more. Higher prices has also brought in better buyers.

I used to think my buyers wanted quick deliveries and discounted prices, but since I raised my prices and extended my delivery dates, I'm surprised that many buyers are okay with -day delivery. It really doesn't take long to write a cover letter, resume, or update LinkedIn, so my buyers are always happy when I deliver way earlier than 14 days. Having the longer deliveries also allows me to plan my orders better and I can schedule in time blocks that fit my family's needs.

@vickieito *coughs* Hypocrite. Mrs. "I'm just going to squeeze in an hour nap and then stay up all night advising a freelancer not to stay up all night" lol (Seriously, she's always telling me to get my butt to bed yet here she is...) 🤣😋

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