Being broke is never, ever an enjoyable experience. Our society is built on capitalism and as such monetary value and materialism is reinforced and beaten into us from a very early age. That means if you're lucky and are born into a nice wealthy family then you won about 90% of the life's challenges but for those who weren't so lucky, it can be a long, hard and psychologically draining road throughout life. Beyond that are those who have money and have blown it away, only to find themselves on the lower rungs of society (capitalism means that it's a lot harder to fall down the economic ladder and climb back up or simply climb up in general). So throughout all of this what does being broke teach us, well a lot actually.
A desperate man always shows his true colors because they have nothing to lose and it is a very true one. You start to see what your morals are and where your values lie; you gain an entirely different outlook on life compared to the more financially fortunate. Being broke, we're more likely to emphasize with others and share in the challenges of making it to the next month without going insane. We also become more retrospective and aware of our station in life, looking back on lessons learned, where we want to be and most prominently what can we do to get there. It's not enough for us to take time out for a back-then session, we're constantly looking forward because when you're broke you don't have a choice. Being broke changes our thinking going from wanting to to having to, going from I can't to I have no choice, from maybe another time to this should've been done yesterday. You develop a hustle-or-die mentality, a special kind of work ethic that comes from our will to survive and that experience strengthens us. We learn to be humble, knowing even if we work our way back up who's to say it can't all be taken away the next day. When we're broke we learn to stop and acknowledge and appreciate the smaller things because since we can't control money like wealthier folks we have to look to other things to draw our energy from and often, it's the things you wished you paid more attention to before. When we're broke, we see who our friends are and opposite we pay more attention to the relationships around us. Here friendship is not built on materialism, being broke we have little to give other than ourselves and often that can be more than enough. I am not saying we don't have those moments of hopelessness and despair, it is natural that we do (I mean, we're broke) but many times these hardships can be a blessing in disguise as it teaches us something, something that can only be gained when you have little whether you're born into it or fall into it. At the end of the day we are taught many things when we have little, but the most important is that those lessons stay with us long after we've risen to financial independence. Were you born into poverty or fell on hard times? What did you learn and did those values stay with you? Feel free to share with us. ***Sorry about missing my Micro Fiction Monday blog yesterday but to make up for it, we have a special Tuesday edition of Micro Fiction Monday so let's get to it.
One really good thing about the Micro Fiction format is being able to focus on specific events and strengthen that event so that the event itself represents the fictional world. In longer works, you are allotted more leeway in terms of building a fleshed out world, but with micro fiction you can use a different approach (this event approach) to accomplish the same figurative goal. Micro Fiction rarely leaves room for fluff which makes building your story around a specific instance much more powerful with extra room for the reader for figure out intentions or implications behind the certain meanings, words and actions used both in terms of the micro and macro aspects of the story. I'm" sure I've blogged about something similar to this but hey, why not get a refresher? When trying to break into freelance, it can be tough waiting for that first foray into the industry and scoring that first gig. All is not lost, the important thing to do while hustling for work (if you're not coming in without a solid network) is to well... work. Here are a few ways to bolster your freelance profile. 1 Blogging Blogging is probably one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to kill time while adding to your portfolio, blogging out stuff like advice, tips and such can show potential clients that you know what you're talking about. There are a variety of ways to blog, as you can see I personally take a more varied approach mixing both subjects from my freelance niche as well as general opinion content. You can still take the specialized blog approach and focus solely on your freelance niche and in many aspects it is encouraged. Mainly, just make sure to blog about stuff you like. 2 Networking You're probably reading this with a big "duh" but it still bears repeating. We're all freelancers and we all started somewhere, no need to be intimidated in asking for help as both fellow new freelancers will help you as well as the more experienced folks. Get a support group going, be on the lookout for apprenticeships, offer to guest blog, etc. Even if you already have a sizable network, more friends wouldn't hurt now would it? 3 Education Oh no, you got to go back to college... nah I'm" messing with you... kinda. Well, you don't have to go back to college but you can research and stay ahead of the curve in terms of emerging trends and what not. You can pick up some new skills to broaden your profile, bonus brownies if it is something that is related to what you're already pursuing. When thinking about writing micro fiction, an important thing to consider is how well your premise translates to the format. You can write any story you like within the context of micro fiction just like any other format however it is equally important to respect the art of translating that premise to a format that will complement 200-500 words; this means that it will be easier to convert some ideas more than others. Have a strong understanding of the tale you want to tell with all the intricacies included, then combine those elements in a rough draft and start cutting down and consistently revising your draft until you have a suitable micro story that keeps the integrity and identity of your concept.
Freelancing can be very rewarding but if you don’t know about the lifestyle changes and little things to take care of before starting full time, it can be a rocky transition and often many unprepared workers don’t last very long before they go back to regular employment. 1. Research and Get in Touch with Connections The first thing that should be on your mind is researching. What are you going to do, who are you going to target, how much are you going to charge, when do you plan to get started, etc. (see my 5W blog) Once you have a basic idea of this down, get in touch with your connections and start networking around. Talk to successful freelancers in your niche, learning as much as possible and emulating their methods until you got a good idea of what to do. Even if you don’t have an established network, you can still do your homework (research). 2. Calculate Your Expenses Next thing you want to do is calculate all your expenses. Make sure you don’t forget anything, at the very the least include your essentials and bills. Count your savings or if you haven’t stopped working at your place of employment, take a look at your paychecks and estimate a range of what you should have by the time you decide go freelancing full time (I recommend using a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheet). This will help you determine how much you will need to make and give you a ballpark estimate on what to charge, taking knowledge and/or experience into account. 3. Set Workplace and Schedule When you have all of the busy work in order, you will need to set up an office where you are going to be free of any distractions. If you’re living with others, you will need to let them know and make sure that they (and you yourself) respect your space. You will also need to set your time or hours and be stern and stick with them. Many new freelancers often fall into the mistake of working 24/7 and defeat the entire purpose of setting your own hours. You have to be disciplined and know that like regular employment you don’t let your work own you. Good clients don’t and won’t take advantage of you. As a bonus note, pay your taxes. Remember that you are an individual or sole proprietor of your earnings and must pay due taxes. Otherwise you will end up owing the IRS money and no one wants to owe the IRS money. Rates may vary but I dedicate at least 35% of my total earnings to taxes (or roughly 1/3 of what I make), that way if I owe in the end (and do check and confirm) it won’t break my savings. When freelancing, you should always take extra care to be smart about your earnings, your budget, your expenses and your savings. Transitioning to freelancing can seem like a daunting affair, but as long as you do your homework, have a level head, a good work ethic and discipline you’ll do fine. We’d love to hear about your experience jumping into freelancing, what advice can you give? Leave a comment below. Many of us are typically perfectionists when it comes to how we hope the interview will play out then spend all day thinking about what we could’ve done better. However there are also times where you think you absolutely killed the Interview process, absolutely blowing the recruiter away. Well, I hate to be that guy but you’re likely not getting the job and here are some reasons why. 10 You Didn’t Dress Properly So you’ve walked in with your blue jeans, flip flops and sweet new Aquaman t-shirt with some beard fuzz cause the ladies love them a manly man, conducted the interview and walked out thinking you absolutely nailed it but there was a glaring problem. The interview wasn’t long and the interviewer weren’t exactly running through walls singing your praises (I confirmed that HR staff does this when they score a great hire). I hate to break it to you, but you lost the moment you stepped in the door and their expression should’ve gave you a pretty good idea of your chances. Note that it is important that you look clean and well presented even if there is no preferred dress code. Some dress pants, a dress shirt and a tie isn’t going to break your bank and if you’re too poor to afford new, hit up the Thrift Shop as you’ll likely find killer deals on barely worn clothing. 9 You Smelled Funny Look, you can have the best and most likeable personality this way of the galaxy but your potential employers were not able to get a feel for you because they were forgoing the 6-inch rule for the 6-foot rule. Groomed hair, snazzy custom made suit or dress, million dollar smile and couldn’t even bother to spend that money on some soap and mouthwash. In your home it’s certainly your rules, but if you’re going to step outside let alone step into a job interview it can’t hurt to jump (figuratively, don’t say I didn’t warn you) in the shower for 8 to 10 minutes. Take a moment and think how much more awesome you would’ve been if in addition to getting all dolled up, you actually smelled the part too. As a bonus note, don’t try to mask your odor with cologne/perfume it’s not a good mix… it’s just isn't. 8 You Weren’t Happy Enough Your credentials were on point and you were thinking to yourself that you were definitely the most qualified for the position, and quite frankly you were likely right so where could you have possibly gone wrong? Well, you weren’t happy enough. Yep, someone had to tell you but you weren’t on cloud 9; you didn’t show them that you were not only going to ace the tasks required of the job but you were going to be pretty damn ecstatic doing it. A huge part of presentation is being happy and that means walking into their office with a big ol’ bright sunlight beaming over you and you absorbing it in and powering the workplace like a walking solar panel. It’s rather unfortunate that they skipped over you, the interviewer didn’t want to let you go but there’s a corporate culture to uphold and they don’t need you being all nonchalant trying to dim their sunlight. Next interview, take your fake happy voice and turn it up to 10 so even if you don’t score that interview your fakeness is likely to give them a snicker so they can’t accuse you being a downer. 7 You Didn’t Smile Enough To go along with number eight; you were in such a great freaking mood and the interview was cake you know you got this job in the bag… yet you’re back on LinkedIn and Indeed.com and working your network looking for the next catch. You were happy to have the interview, very happy in fact ecstatic even, whelp too bad you didn’t smile and yes I am serious. As our grandmother taught us it’s what is on the inside that ultimately counts, well not during the job interview as you got to wear your heart (or more appropriate your happiness) on your sleeve. Interviewers like to see that their candidates genuinely have an interest in doing their job. They also understand (I’d hope) that extended job hunting can wear you down so you’re not exactly skipping up and down Times Square for four hours straight. They know that you would be very happy to get back to work, but they want you to show that to them so don’t leave your pearly whites at home next time. 6 You Didn’t Conduct The Interview… Someone Else Did On both sides of the table, I think we all can understand how interviewing can for many be quite the nerve-racking process so HR tends to cut some slack if you’re sweating a few bullets. However, what you did was unthinkable, unfathomable, unforgivable; you thought you won the job… because your “partner” did all the work for you. You spend weeks waiting on that elusive phone call but your partner tells you that they offered them the position. At this point, I sincerely hope you’re not asking yourself why they got the offer and you didn’t, you can say they didn’t apply but they did however do the heavy lifting. If you’re qualified for the position, they want to interview you, not your mother, brother, sister, cousin, best friend, job coach, son, daughter, pet, etc. Have enough confidence to believe in yourself because your credentials will most of the work for you. 5 You Didn’t Know Anything About The Company Given the current economic climate, in moments of desperation you’ll likely take just about any job you can get your hands on. In other moments, you may be very excited at the possibility of even being able to walk into the location of a certain job which is good because without knowing about the company that’s about as far as you’ll get. Remember that recruiters can often tell whether you actually researched them or not and in only a few instances can your qualifications override that fact. You’re not expected to be a walking encyclopedia about their organization but at least have a good idea of who they are, what they’re like and what they do. This again goes back to doing your homework and showing one form of enthusiasm for the employer. This is important because quite frankly, for something as simple as finding out who they are beyond the name and job description, not a lot of people actually do it. Do your homework. 4 You Dissed Your Old Employer You hated your last job; it was awful and your old boss was a douche and when you quit that job, you told her to get bent. Now see that may well be true but spilling that stuff out to an interviewer is a real quick way to get the “we’ll call you” line and it’s highly likely why you didn’t get the job. In the working world (and now more than ever due to the widespread adoption of the black hole that is the Internet) reputation is everything and a general rule is that most people don’t want to work with someone that is petty and bitter fair or not. We’re human and we know that some people just rub us the wrong way so leave all that stuff out next time you interview. You have friends (and e-friends) you can vent to, don’t do it to your potential employer. 3 You Said Something Stupid You know that little witty remark you made to the interviewer while you two were engaged in icebreaker talk, yeah that’s why you didn’t get the job… in fact that short awkward silence should’ve been your cue to leave and fight another day. A lot of people have a pretty unfortunate habit is not exercising a few seconds to process what is said to them and then formulate an appropriate response. During the entire interview process it is imperative that you think before you speak. Shaking an interviewer’s hand and telling him or her that "they’re hot as f***" is not the best way to start a conversation. Telling them about the time you masturbated in front of a blow dryer and how euphoric it was is not appropriate. Telling them that you still sleep with your parents is not advised. Just use common sense and don’t say anything stupid. 2 You Didn’t Sell Yourself You may have done a fair job during the interview in terms of presenting the recruiter with what you can do, however when considering the vast amount of competition, fair doesn’t cut it anymore and neither should you hold yourself to such an average standard. Selling your value is just as important as having the appropriate qualifications. A good rule of thumb concerning interviews is to professionally brag, hype yourself as the second coming yet keep a professional wit. This is a problem that many can run into, especially if you’re more introverted or not generally charismatic but there’s nothing wrong with that as there are many ways to impress HR. You can let your credentials talk for you, or you can be articulate in your points as if you’re one step ahead of the interviewer to name a few. Next time you walk into an interview have confidence and play to your personal strengths. 1 You’ve Been Unemployed For Too Long So you’ve read all of this after your interview and still wonder how in the world could you still not ace the interview? Well, check your resume because that unemployment gap might be just a tad too big for their liking. I don’t have to tell you how truly unfortunate this is, but chronic unemployment discrimination is a very real thing and it can be hard to get back into the market. A large majority of employers will only hire candidates who’ve been out of work for less than 6 months and even then candidates that already have employment are highly preferable. Despite these unfortunate events, all is not lost however and you can still beat the odds, what you need to do is start producing work or samples and build a portfolio. This basically tells employers that you haven’t been sitting on your rump all day watching NCIS marathons. If you're a youngster getting into freelance, you need a good start guide. Take advantage of your networks (no matter how little) and look to build up your reputation by aligning yourself with likeminded people. Anyway using the 5Ws here are some questions for you to ask yourself to give you an idea of how you want to build your brand before getting to work. Who | What | When | Where | Why Who are you going to sell to? Here you should be concerned with your niche. Who (and be as detailed as possible) are you looking to make your audience and/or clientele. For instance, if you have experience and/or a degree in say cooking, you may want to pursue something related to culinary arts or some fashion of taking that knowledge, applying it online and getting paid for it through guest blogging. Obviously you want to keep in mind that depending on the industry and type of clients you're going for, some trades will have more work and variety of clients available than others. What can you do? This is the most obvious thing, but still important as you can fall into the trap of being to general or vague and scaring away clients. These days it's much harder, if not virtually impossible to be a jack-of-all-trades type freelancer. What you want to do is aim for a specific niche, it can be medical engineering or web design for non-profit organizations, etc. When building your portfolio it helps to stay specific though diversifying can help you depending on what you're going for. When can you get started? This may be seem like a no-brainer to some, but if you're already working and looking to transition to freelance then you have to have a plan in place to make the transition as smooth as possible. For example, if nothing changes in terms of your hours and pay then you can calculate roughly how much you'll have saved in say 6 months or whatever is applicable to you. If you have the means financially to jump right in, then knock yourself out. Note that you can also build up a portfolio and network around so by the time you're ready to work, you got clients already lined up. Where do you see yourself in the future? Like anything it is important to have goals and milestones. These will keep you motivated to trek on even when work gets slow. You can set goals that are 3 months, 6 months, a year, 5 years, etc. complete with a mix of both short term goals and long term goals. Why are you doing this? Understanding why you want to pursue anything in life is very important, it is being self-aware and assure of yourself. Do you want to freelance because of the freedom it offers? Do you want to freelance because the work style is better suited to your strengths? Do you want to freelance because the concept of it is foreign to you and are simply looking for a personal challenge? Being self-aware now sets your expectations for what you want to set out to achieve. BONUS (How): How much will you charge? As an extra, I'll go ahead and throw in the H. One crucial misstep that many young freelancers take is that they often don't know how to price themselves. In turn, they end up doing a lot more work for pennies on the dollar and brings the overall value of their industry down thus hurting everyone in the process. I'll tell you straight up, good clients will pay for good quality and in terms of freelancing that means a legitimately livable wage. A good rule when it comes to pricing is that you should be able to cover all your needs with some extra for emergency and splurging so break out Microsoft Excel, Google Spreadsheet, etc. and make note of your regular expenses. Then include your experience and education followed by researching competitor prices then strike a good ballpark range to start off with. Breaking into freelance doesn't have to be impossible, in fact it's quite easy if you know what to do. If you have any additional pointers to offer or your own 5Ws (and H), don't hesitate to leave a comment. |
Frank Sheppard
NOTE: all opinions/views represented here are my own and do not reflect on any third party that I am affiliated with. Archives
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