Let’s get real.
Life is hard. Sometimes it’s really hard.
Back in 2006, times were tough. I was two years out of high school and living with the guy who would, within a year, become the man I would call my husband for the next decade. We were in love and we were happy.
We were also broke. Like, living (at one point) on less than $500/month broke.
Good jobs were few and far between. He was struggling to find one that paid enough to support both of us, and I was coping with crippling anxiety and depression that made it nearly impossible to go to the store alone, let alone hold down a job.
Eventually, Something Had to Give
After several months of shut off notices, late fees, and everything else that comes with not having enough money coming in, I started looking for ways to make money online. Writing had been one of my biggest strengths in school, so I started looking for writing opportunities.
I started out with content mills where I felt SUPER lucky when someone paid me .01 per word. Money is money, right? I took any job I could get, and when I was bringing in an extra $100 or so per month, I felt amazing. It broke down to working for significantly less than minimum wage, but I was contributing to our meager monthly income and felt like I was accomplishing something.
I started writing for a few people on a regular basis, and I felt great about it. It was awesome having someone who liked my writing well enough to want to work with me consistently, even though the subject matter was awful. To this day, some 12 or 13 years later, I still remember spending entire days writing article after article about toenail fungus for about $3 per piece and feeling like a rockstar.
To this day, I’m also pretty sure that I have a lot more knowledge about toenail fungus than the average person.
I kept writing and gradually started getting better and better clients. In time, I connected with some amazing people who were willing to give me a chance and help me hone my skills. I learned about SEO, content marketing, content strategy, social media marketing, and everything else anyone wanted to teach me. Eventually, I started earning a fair wage and building relationships with people who I am still writing for to this day.
I got help for my anxiety and depression, devoted more energy to my business, and kept plugging along. My husband landed a great job, I was bringing in pretty consistent pay, and life was starting to feel a bit more “normal”.
Then It All Changed
In 2017, my 10-year marriage came to an end. It felt like the world was crashing down around me. I hadn’t held a “real” job since the summer after I graduated from high school, and my little business was going well but not bringing in enough money to fully support me.
I cried.
I panicked.
I said I couldn’t do it. That I wouldn’t survive on my own.
And then… I did it.
I stopped crying and panicking, and I started working.
With never-ending support and encouragement from the incredible people that I am blessed to have in my life, I buckled down and made things happen.
I told myself that I had until a certain date to be making ends meet with my business and that if I failed, I would have to apply for a job at the Sheetz that was being built near my home. (For those who aren’t familiar, Sheetz is the best convenience store ever, but I digress.)
Within about a year, I had landed several great clients and roughly tripled my income. My self-imposed deadline came and went.
Sometimes, I do work at Sheetz. That is, I take my laptop and write at one of the tables in their seating area while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee.
Freelance Writing Is My Life
Writing is, in many ways, the foundation on which I built my life. It helped me feel like I was contributing financially during a difficult time, and it has become my full-time job. It allowed me to build a career for myself and have a job that I actually enjoy.
My morning “commute” consists of the 15 steps it takes me to get from my bed to my office. (Yes, I just counted.) I work with clients around the world in a wide range of industries, so every day is a new challenge where I get to learn something new. Many of my clients have become friends, and I am honored to have connected with some truly amazing people along the way. I get to earn a living while spending my day at home with my dog, Mia, and my four cats (Star, Snow, Haley, and Zoey), two leopard geckos (Bonnie and Clyde), axolotl (Albus), red-eared slider (Elsa), and Russian tortoise (Neville).
Planning and creating content isn’t easy. It is often mentally exhausting, and many, many tears have been shed as I’ve worked to grow my business. But despite the challenges, I feel incredibly fortunate. The good days and the bad – they are all mine. This business is my own and every struggle, every success, every smile, and every tear belongs to me. I get to wake up every morning and work toward building my dreams instead of working for someone else, and I couldn’t be happier.