How I Earned $1500 in 6 Months With a Side-Hustle
A win for the pandemic-hit wallet.
Freelancing was a new thing for me before Covid-19.
But with the complete lockdown, I couldn’t go out and was stuck at the home. I read some extra books, watched movies and read new researches to pass time. But nothing was interesting any more.
So, I wanted to do something new and interesting which can generate a little extra money as well.
Although I was having the idea that people earn through online freelancing yet I didn’t know how?
So, I searched online about freelancing and what are its requirements. I found that anyone can earn online unless he has got some skills to provide quality services.
I knew I cannot sell services of which I don’t have skills and my only skill is writing and teaching. I searched for writing and teaching jobs at first.
The jobs I found were not matching my experiences. I watched tutorials and learned about freelancing sites where I could work.
The sites I learned about were 99Design, PeoplePerHour, Fiverr, Freelancer and Upwork.
I Tried to make an Upwork account, did it and submitted it for review. Results — not approved. After the disapproval, I edited my profile again and submitted it again — again it was declined. So, I tried for third, fourth, and fifth times and finally got approved.
Aha!!! I was so happy as I have searched that Upwork pays quite well for writing, proofreading and editing jobs.
But my happiness did not last long. I lost my Connects (Bidding capacity)and my account was put to private mode after some time so I left it there.
Luckily, in those days I also made Fiverr account and had created gigs which I did very badly. Fortunately, I came across a post on Facebook Fiverr page about optimization of gigs and I read it. I went back to my gigs and edited them.
To my great surprise, I got my first order for 5 dollars within a week on 26th March. I completed and delivered the order within the time and the client gave me good reviews and 5 Stars rating.
I was extremely happy as this was my first online earning and I celebrated it — though silently…
Then, I got another order for five dollars and also delivered it on time.
Let me tell you another thing. These orders were given to me by the clients themselves. I submitted some proposals to potential clients but it’s a failure. Because I didn’t know how to write or submit a good proposal then!
I gave too much time to the screen and as result, My wife was suspecting me. She was thinking that I have a secret relationship with someone online. Because she didn’t believe in online earning. All my persuasions were not enough to make her believe until I got my first long term job and payment.
while I was into the market now, I ventured on signing up in various earning sites. so, I made an account on Freelancer.
Fortunately, after a few days, I got a translation job from a local client on Freelancer.
Initially, I could not do the job properly. As that was a machine translation and I had to learn the operation of the system. Thanks to my mind, it’s such a quick learner, learned things quickly and started the translation. I translated from English into My native language ‘Pashto’,. And it was my first long term online job which I completed successfully.
I earned almost $500 a month through it and was very glad. I bought a gold ring for my wife and small earrings for my daughter as a gift.
Although, at the start of my work, my wife told me that you will be deceived. And you will not get the money for your work. she, too, was right. Because she hadn’t seen anyone earning online. The fact is that I’m living in such a place in the world, where earning online is quite a new thing. But I believed it and with the first payment that I received, she too was extremely happy.
Finally, I got another offer from a client from the UK who needed a proofreader, editor and researcher. I accepted the offer although I couldn’t use Microsoft Word properly.
The document was in a pdf file, I converted it to document file and started working on it. I edited the work and expanded it through new researches by the demand of my client. After the delivery, he paid me $1000 after the work was successfully delivered to him.
Along the way, I also learned using Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and other software. I learnt the skills by watching free YouTube tutorials and learned new skills.
Still, I am learning and honing new skills to increase my earnings. In this search, I also found Medium. It is a great site for aspiring writers to polish their writing talents and get recognitions. Here, they can learn from other top and talented writers by reading their articles.
Medium also provides an opportunity for earning a good amount of money for writers. If a writer gets enough paid followers, he can earn a handsome amount.
I believe there are many more people out there who have started just as I did. Many of them might be more successful but not all stories are interesting.
The journey is not easy but for those who damn care about pains. For they know, if they do not learn; they are committing themselves to the pains of regret. Because pain is always there but we add suffering to it. As this is quite rightly said by Tiffany ‘Pennsatucky’ Doggett:
Do you know the difference between pain and suffering? Pain is always there because life is freaking painful, okay? But suffering is a choice.
My story may not be well-knitted, well punctuated, or told suitably but I believed in myself always. And still, it is my belief that pushes me ahead and opens the ways for me.
Success is not a goal. It is a continuous struggle. You have to believe in yourself and strive hard, all other things come later and by itself. When you trust your potentials, no one can hold you back from achieving what you desire and work for.
Try it as I did.
