Today is Blog Action Day, and all across the blogosphere we’re talking about poverty.
While poverty is a global issue, I’d like to talk a bit today about people close to home. More specifically, I’d like to talk about those trying to help their families make ends meet in this turbulent economic time through freelance writing and other work at home jobs.
Some History
I grew up in a family where I was raised by a single mother. She struggled with a mission in mind – to get her three kids out of the city life she grew up in. It involved sacrifices and a lot of tough times, but she made it happen.
At that point in time, working from home as a single mother in order to spend more time with your kids wasn’t a very realistic option.
Today, while not always easy, those options certainly do exist – and they can be an excellent income source not only for single parents but also for others in tough financial situations (for example, students trying to pay their way through school).
Poverty – There’s No “Easy” Way Out
Despite the fact that work options like freelance writing do exist and have a negligible cost to entry (and that’s true of many freelance fields – design, various types of consulting, etc.), I still observe something that’s a little bit scary.
In desparation, people looking to get out of poverty (or avoid falling into it) are still out there looking for easy answers!
They fall prey to work at home job scams. They buy into promises that their logical side should be telling them are too good to be true. What’s worse is they’ll secure what they believe to be a legitimate “opportunity” where they can make a few hundred dollars per month, and rave about it to others without even realizing that they’re working like a dog for slave wages – those few hundred dollars for the month might come at nearly full-time working schedules.
“But it lets me be near my kids,” you’ll sometimes hear. Or “it lets me work around my class schedule,” a student might say. Remember though – we’re not talking about people out to earn a little spending money. We’re talking about people who need to earn a living – earn enough to get by, and maybe even support a family. Don’t you have a responsibility to do the best you can for you and your loved ones? I think so.
If you’re already living in poverty (and more than 37 million Americans were in 2007 according to the U.S. Census Bureau), or if you’re on the brink of it, wanting better circumstances isn’t enough. You have to do what my mother did – you have to fight for them. Nothing is going to be handed to you.
Making a Change
If you’ve decided that freelancing is your ticket out of poverty, you need to start by valuing yourself. We talk a lot here about self-worth – if you don’t think you’re worth a decent income, no one’s going to pay you one.
I recently released an e-book that covers this topic in depth – how someone can get started in freelance writing on the Web without settling for less than they’re worth and without setting themselves for failure or constant financial struggles. It’s not a get-rich quick scheme. It’s not “easy” money. And you will work hard if you get into freelancing to try to improve your financial situation.
The e-book is called the Web Writer’s Guide to Launching a Successful Freelance Web Writing Career. And in honor of Blog Action Day, I’m going to give away five free copies of the e-book and bonuses to the first five people who comment on this post telling me how starting a freelance writing career will help them improve their life.
You don’t have to leave your real name when you comment. It’s anonymous. You do need to include an email address (only I see that – it doesn’t post publicly) in the comment form (not the main comment area). I’ll email the e-book to those first five people who show they’re seriously considering freelance writing, and the hard work involved, to better their situations.
For everyone else, I urge you to spend some time reading this and other blogs in the niche that can help you better value your work and find inspiration (not to mention freelance writing jobs). Here’s a reading list to get you started:
- ChrisBlogging.com
- TheGoldenPencil.com
- ProBlogger.net
- FreelanceSwitch.com
- FreelanceFolder.com
- WebWritersGuide.com
- AllFreelanceWritingJobs.com
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I watched my father die a slow death from esophageal cancer eleven months before his self described utopia of retirement. I started to look around in my life and realized that I was in a career that had no meaning to me. I did not know my teenage son, my infant son, or my wife. For me, freelance writing provides the passion to live life, to aspire to achieve daily dreams. To live life with passion. Any endeavor that you aspire to be the best at takes hard work and commitment. But I am ready to design a life, not live in drudgery.
Thanks!
Kimberlee and Moe – I just sent each you your copy of the new Web Writer’s Guide e-book. I hope it helps to guide you in the right direction in at least some portion of your new careers.
Kimberlee – I know several people working in food service areas who have gone through similar issues (heck, I was engaged to a cook at a local restaurant a few years back, and remember how much even a few days forced off for things like that could hurt, so I can’t imagine 3 weeks). Good for you though in that you’re taking the initiative to do something better for yourself. And thank you for being willing to share your story openly for others. :)
Moe – It sounds like you have admirable goals, and I’m glad to hear you’re working towards them. :) While I don’t have a family of my own to support yet, your situation is one of the reasons I do what I do – when I do build that family I want to know that I’m not only providing for them but actually there for them as much as possible. I hope your career in writing helps you reconnect with your family and helps you meet any other goals you may set for yourself. :)
Well, since I had my son 4 years ago, he’s spent more time in daycare than with me. And you know what? I’m tired of it. This is not the life I envisioned for myself or my family. I’m married, but my husband and I both work full-time jobs to pay all the bills. As a result, my kid is in daycare for 11 hours a day. Eleven hours!?!
I’ve decided that freelancing will be my way out. Right now, I only have one client and I complete the work at night once everyone’s asleep. And yes, I’m tired, cranky, and sometimes frustrated. But in my heart I know it will pay off! I even feel a sense of relief knowing freelance writing will get me out of the rat race, 2-hour one-way commute and more time with my son and family. Life is good. (Or will be soon!) Sorry this is so long… =)
In honor of blog action day, I’m not going to be anonymous. I am poor.
For the past 3+ years of my life, I’ve worked as a waitress and my family and I have lived below the federal poverty line. This time, I am unemployed for 3 weeks for renovations. We have no income during this period, and I have taken the plunge to become a full freelance writer, and never look back. I have started my website, polished my credits, and started applying like crazy. The hard work is paying off, but slowly, and the bills are tired of waiting.
I’ll write more about this at my blog today, but I want to take the stigma out of poverty. It happens, and it’s not easy to get out of.
2 free copies of the new e-book are left right now.
Nell – I just sent the e-book over to you. It sounds like you represent a pretty big group out there – parents trying to strike a balance between finances and time when it comes to their children.
I hope you stick with it, expand your client base, and make it work for you. As for being tired and cranky – freelancing can cause its share of that too. ;) But for the most part, you’re right – there’s definitely a sense of relief when you finally quit that commute (my last one was an hour and a half each way, and I thought I had it bad then – so you absolutely have my sympathies!). Thanks for sharing your story. :)
I thought I was doing everything right. I got pregnant at fifteen and thought it was the right thing to live up to my responsibilities and raise the baby myself. I thought I was doing the right thing by digging myself off of welfare, getting an education, and finding a decent job in my field. I thought I was doing the right thing when I bought us a beautiful home. Now several years later I’m house poor and bogged down in debt – all for trying to give my daughter a good life and overcome the ‘teen mom’ stereotype. I shouldn’t complain – my job is good and has benefits, but my short-sightedness means it’s not enough. I hope freelance writing is my ticket out of this quagmire, so that in a few years I’ll be able to give my daughter what really matters – a college education.
your blog has already helped me frame the freelancing lifestyle – thanks for the time you take. I am a part time seo consultant looking to start writing so I can really do what I want to do – write for a living, and help people with the issues I’ve been trained to help with. as of right now I can pay by bills but i’m not getting ahead – and this economic crisis is beginning to hit home. thanks again for all your sage advice!
I’ll send out e-books to kylesmom and Ryan very shortly. Thanks so much for sharing your stories. :)
kylesmom – It sounds like you’ve had to face a lot, and worked hard so far to get where you are. You definitely seem to have the right attitude then to survive as a freelancer, whether you do it part-time or full. :)
Ryan – I think your case is an excellent reminder that there’s more to it than just trying to make ends meet. Stick with it – I hope writing makes the difference for you. :)
These were the last two free copies of the e-book going out, and I want to thank all five people who shared their stories. :) Because of that, I’m going to go ahead and close the comments on this post. I hope everyone reading was able to take something from what they’ve shared, and that those looking into working from home to help their own financial situations do the planning, get to understand the business of it, and never undervalue themselves. :)