Turning Dirt Into Gold as an Underpaid and Overworked Freelancer
You are worth more than experience
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I got my first taste of freelancing over email.
“Hey, my partner and I love your writing style! Would you be interested in setting up a call to talk about doing some writing for our small business?”
Of course, I took the call.
Thirty minutes in, I agreed to write an article for them. I had never been in this situation before and considered it the beginning of a working relationship. They talked the talk. Promised more work down the line. We even discussed rates.
I spent three days on that article, meticulous with every word. Their business was in a market I knew nothing about, which meant several hours of research. I didn’t care — this was the start of my freelance journey. I had to pay my dues.
When I finally sent over their article, the piece I put my heart and soul into, I was optimistic. About the future. About what comes next with this opportunity. It was 1500 words of well-researched, articulate, polished writing with a hint of personality.
I never heard from them again.
Demystifying The Millenial Freelancer
Since then, more emails just like that have rolled into my inbox and LinkedIn messages. It’s always the same. People want free advice, consultation, and entire articles written in exchange for “experience.” They don’t say it outright. They imply it.
Becuase I’m young and ambitious, small business owners and public relations firms think I can be taken advantage of. At first, they were right. The hustler’s philosophy was my biggest adversary. I worked hard and liked the grind. I had a mindset of, “If I can prove my worth for nothing, then they will pay me more down the line.”
Plus, I was desperate. I really wanted to make it as a freelancer. Being paid to do something I loved was all I cared about in life. They could smell this desperation. They knew I was crawling through the dirt to make a name for myself.
I would stay up until midnight hammering out articles after nine hours of work at my day job. I never missed a deadline, rarely asked for a commission, and chalked it up as experience — that’s what us millennials are taught.
Accept an unpaid internship for the experience. Take extra courses for the experience. Don’t complain about a low entry-level salary because, experience.
Freelancing was mysterious and deeply alluring
In my mind, it almost felt wrong, going against the grain of everything I had been taught in college (graduate, get a job, climb the ladder, retire at 65).
Freelancing existed outside the world of normality and corporate hierarchy my friends lived in. The only problem is, I was making pennies on the dollar or nothing at all. Sure, some people paid. But it was $10 dollars here, $15 dollars there for hours of work. I was too naive to ask for more.
More dirt. More experience.
How To Strike Gold
I wasn’t alive during The California Gold Rush, but I have to imagine the mindset is similar to that of a modern-day millennial freelancer. We are in a different kind of gold rush — the era of digital content. There has never been more opportunity, and more competition, in the online writing space.
Like the gold rush in the mid-1800s, some people give up before they find anything. They were sold on the promise of wealth, not realizing that striking it rich requires a bit of good luck, sacrifice, skill, and hard work. Then, there are those who are willing to put everything aside for the sheer pursuit of it all. As opportunities become scarcer, they innovate and develop new techniques, not digging deeper, but smarter.
Once the newness of freelancing wore off, I realized it was time to put down my shovel. I had been digging the same hole for nearly a year, accepting writing projects I wasn’t passionate about in exchange for nothing.
I recognized my amateur mistakes, organized my thoughts, and determined a solution: I was going to define success for myself. No more accepting work below my value. No more writing for “experience.”
I was saying yes to myself by saying no to others.
Four months went by
More requests came my way and I passed on them all. $10 to write compelling website copy? No thank you. Write an engaging blog for an exterminator? Nope. Please edit this article? I’m busy.
Then, I got my first taste of paid, passionate freelancing over email.
“Hello Jonah! I read your recent article on productvity and wanted to see if you would be interested in setting up a call to disucss doing some writing for our product? We are willing to do ongoing commisioned work if you’re interested.”
Their product was something I would have bought myself on a grocery store shelf. They suggested payment in the first email, an element missing from 99% of my other offers.
Of course, I took the call.
Thirty minutes in, I agreed to write an article for them. I had never been in this situation before; I laid down a price, set the expectations, and told them when I could have it completed.
They said yes, and asked about doing more.
I got paid my worth and had fun.
I made my own schedule.
I struck gold.
Here’s My Advice to New Freelancers
- Don’t wait for the opportunity. Be brave and bet on yourself. Determine your ideal client and pitch them. This was my biggest mistake. Why wait for the right person to find you when you can go out there and start a conversation?
- Know your worth, set a price, and don’t accept anything less than that number.
- Balance the intersection of experience and happiness. I wrote plenty of articles believing it was making me a better writer. It wasn’t. They felt empty and uninspired. Once I started collaborating with brands and individuals who were promoting something I believed in, my abilities actually improved.
- Striking gold is a dirty business. Our values as a culture are financialized. We all want to get rich quick, taking as many shortcuts as possible. Know this: defining your worth goes hand in hand with the humility of being dragged through the dirt. Continue to ask yourself, “What is success for me?” Build your freelance business around that answer.
- Don’t listen to anyone. Not me. Not the self-proclaimed “experts.” Everyone says to write for free which is what got me into a hole in the first place. There is no guidebook or template to follow. Freelancing is creating a job for yourself in your eyes. Don’t let anyone else blur your vision.
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