My online journey to becoming a self-employed freelancer has been a story in the making, I guess. Seven months have passed since I got my first paying client, and I am now officially earning a full-time income from home as a freelance writer and pro blogger.
“I am now officially earning a full-time income from home as a freelance writer and pro blogger.”
Having been a professional chef of over 22 years it was rather scary to make the jump into self-employment, since I knew nothing else. It didn’t happen overnight.
It all started in April 2004, when I joined a network marketing opportunity. I had been very frustrated at work for some time and wasn’t happy in the hospitality industry anymore. This was mainly due to the very low pay and the constant stresses at work. Late nights and long hours at work, standing on my feet all day, and working in kitchens that didn’t have air conditioners (yep, most don’t!) wasn’t enough to keep me happy anymore, especially since I was getting older. I craved more freedom, and evenings at home.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I failed miserably in this first business. Today I know it was partially due to not having the red-hot passion we need to keep working the business when things are tough. There were also other reasons, but they go beyond the scope of this post.
“The only way I would ever be happy would be with something I was truly passionate about.”
When the realization kicked in that I wasn’t going to make it as a successful network marketer after two and a half years of giving it a lot of effort, hard work and a lifetime of savings, I knew I had to get out as long as I had some sanity left in me. So I quit! Cold turkey.
I’d had enough and couldn’t afford to waste one more dollar on a business that wasn’t me in the core of my being. So I took some time out, while going back to my “hated” job as a galley slave to help pay the bills. In that time of reflection, shame, anger and feeling sorry for myself, I suddenly realized that life had to go on. The only way I would ever be happy would be with something I was truly passionate about.
“My failed venture in network marketing made me realize how much I loved blogging and writing about Web marketing.”
As life moves in mysterious ways, I had learned a lot about the Internet, advertising, lead generation, domain registration, blogs and more while working my first business. That experience made me realize how much I actually loved blogging and writing about Web marketing.
Those were the first probing baby steps into what would soon become a journey of self-discovery and total happiness of being able to work from home, doing what I love.
Writing!
For as long as I can remember, I have been an entrepreneur; innovative, with fresh ideas and creative concepts.
I knew how to place myself and sell my intended product. I was one of those kids who didn’t bother with a lemonade stand, but went for the bigger picture, greater rewards, well-networked resources. I raised every penny and rehashed on every opportunity. I focused on building a loyal community and made a great return out of it.
I had dreams and I had goals; I was only 12 years old and I wanted an Infiniti Q30 and in no time (that’s months, not years) I had enough in my fish bowl to get me one, but of course I had no buying power for one.
As I grew older, I used my business sense and opportunistic sense for greater values. I not only raised money for myself, but for my community. For endangered species and for a better world, for poverty and for the human race. I learned to budget not only time but resources to commit toward the greater goal. At the same time, at the age of 15 I had my first job — I was a stock boy for a health store. It opened my eyes and my interest to the business world.
Growing up
Around that same age, I experienced my first Apple, an LC II. To this day, I still remember how they look. I remember how smart they were and enjoyed everything to do with them. Life was created out of them — it was really my life I was creating. I opened a one-man school newspaper to compete against the Tribune, the official school newspaper. I had weekly articles and initiatives, I was passionate in making something out of it. I had no public funding to make it happen, just the school resources — which eventually had to come to an end. I was shut down in a few months.
But my creativity wandered further. I wanted to work on projects — many of them. I enrolled in photography and film classes. I stayed late developing ideas and concepts, took pictures and gained interest in drawing. I was independent. I did not want to be part of group projects; I wanted full creative direction and control. I was young, and there was no teamwork in my vocabulary. I wanted to be unique and create my own works, my own results, my own appreciation — and no teacher could say otherwise.
Over time, my interests grew to be fully independent. I became part of the dot-com wave, with little to no respect for a 9–5 job. I just didn’t have the motivation to last, nor the patience to keep lasting. I wanted to work on many projects and I did. I wanted the flexibility to interact and I did. I wanted my time and I had it. I wanted a challenge and I got it. I knew, and was internally convinced, that I could never receive the same appreciation, passion and love from a nine-to-five job. So far, that’s been true — about half the time.
Looking back
Over two decades later, I look back today tell you this: my resume is 17 pages long. I have experienced literally 98% of the market industry. I have lived in and travelled to 16 countries. I have the appreciation for not just the artistic side of business, but the opportunistic side of it, too. And though there is nothing new under the sun lately, each day is a new day with a new challenge and a new opportunity that I would never have been able to find through my employer, if I had one. Each day I live through, I’d like to pass on that experience to the person I work with, to the specialist who has the same interest and passion as me.
As a specialist who runs his own agency, I am not in it for the money but for the lifestyle it provides me, for the love and for the community I work with. I love the fact that I am able to create my own challenges and exceed my own expectations uncapped by management. Simply because I am my own management, I am my own leader, I am a dreamer, a realist and a producer.
9–5 BAHHUMBAK!
Copyright © 2000-2009