Before I knew it, I had been working remotely on cases for a year. This time last year, I made a crazy decision: quit my job and take on cases full-time!
To be honest, I never thought I would be alive and well now to share these experiences with everyone. This year, I have experienced many ups and downs, and today I want to share with you those real experiences that cannot be seen on social media.
How did I end up taking on the path of working remotely?
I still remember last year, I was looking at the Excel file in the office and suddenly felt that my life seemed to be stuck (every office worker knows this feeling, right XD).
At that time, I had already accumulated 5 years of part-time experience in taking on cases, starting from writing movie reviews and later getting involved in SEO articles, and gradually built up my own portfolio.
If you want to take on a case, first think about whether you are ready?
I don’t really agree with the concept of naked resignation mentioned on the Internet, maybe because I am prone to anxiety, so before I actually resigned, I made sure that I made the following preparations:
Make sure you have 3-6 months of living expenses
It depends on the person. I suggest you have at least 3 months to half a year's reserve fund, and treat it like looking for a job.
Saving up your living expenses first can also help you avoid facing the instability of accepting cases in the early stages.
Build a personal portfolio
It took me 5 years to slowly accumulate works, starting from writing film reviews, blog articles, and later SEO articles.
I have compiled these contents, includingContent, data supportetc,
Now it becomes my proof of taking the case.
Mental construction (super important!)
Frankly speaking, when I first started I asked myself every day:
"Do you really want to do this? Do you want to go back and find a job?"
I even kept scheduling interviews and doing interview briefings XD
But now that I think about it, those uneasy moments...
These are all voices that may be in our head at the beginning, and we just need to overcome them.
7 bloody case experiences shared
1. Time freedom is actually very unfree.
When I first took on the case, I thought I could sleep as much as I wanted and play as much as I wanted.
As a result, I found that because I couldn't distinguish the boundaries, I was even more fucked than when I was at work.
Later I learned:
- Set fixed working hours, otherwise you won’t be able to tell the difference between holidays XD
- Use the Pomodoro Technique to focus on your work for 25 minutes
- Only focus on the 3 most important things every day
2. Where to find the source of the case? This is a good question!
I was really nervous at first, fearing that I would not get the case. But now I found:
- Maintain 2-3 regular cooperative clients, which are slowly cultivated from small projects
- Running personal blogs and communities, I unexpectedly discovered that they have become an important channel for receiving cases.
- Treat every case as a word-of-mouth marketing opportunity
Further reading:
3. How to set the price? Very troubled at first
This should be the most troublesome problem for many newbies!
At the beginning, I was also afraid that if I opened it too high, no one would want it, and if I opened it too low, I wouldn’t be able to make a living. After a year of trying, I found:
- Observe the market conditions first, but don’t compare yourself to the lowest price
- Set a reasonable price based on your own experience, and don’t be afraid to make an offer!
- Remember to include your study and research time into your quotation
By the way, I’m very glad now that I didn’t always get low-priced cases.
Because those customers who are willing to pay reasonable fees usually respect your professional advice!
4. Work-life balance is a technical job
Looking at the photos of digital nomad work on Instagram is so beautiful, but honestly within the first month I realized that things were not simple:
- The lines between work and life are super blurry
- Often working until midnight without realizing it
- From time to time, I want to turn on the computer to do some work, and I want to say, "I'll do this more!"
5. Customer communication is really a science
I have encountered many interesting clients and cases, some have made me grow, and some have been good experiences.
The following is my experience after growing up:
- It is super important to clearly explain your needs and expectations, as well as the number of revisions before starting the project!
- Contracts and payment terms must be clearly written to protect yourself and your customers.
- Dare to say "no", this really takes a long time to practice
- Communicate immediately if you encounter any problems. The longer you delay, the bigger the problem will be.
6. Financial management is super important
I really need to remind you of this, because the income from accepting cases is unstable.
You won't be credited with a fixed amount of money every month, or only one fixed amount of money.
I learned:
- Divide income into three accounts: expenses, savings, investments
- Force yourself to save some money every month
- Accounting! Accounting! Accounting! (It’s very important, so I say it three times)
7. Finding your own rhythm is key
Looking back now, the most important thing is to find a work rhythm that suits you.
My past painful experiences are as follows:
- Use freedom as a tool to make money: I was so focused on taking on caseloads that I forgot my original intention of pursuing freelance work.
- Afraid of saying no: Accepting too many unsuitable cases, not daring to set boundaries with clients, and over-promising delivery times
- lack of self-discipline: Without the company's norms, it puts yourself into an even more unhealthy working mode.
So in the future, I am also working hard in the following directions:
- Give yourself an hour when you get up in the morning for the most important things
- Set fixed working hours and shut down when the time is up!
- Learn to say "no" to cases, and accepting cases is not about accepting cases softly
- Maintaining a normal daily routine and working at two in the morning is really unhealthy
For those of you who want to start taking cases
If you also want to start taking cases, here are my suggestions:
Start with a part-time job, accumulated works and experience
Don’t quit your job to take on the case full time right from the start! ! ! !
Some people just resign and accept the case when they see the community.
I don’t even have a portfolio or experience, and I haven’t even tried it.
It is very likely that after doing it for a while,
I found that I didn't like it at all.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended to try it during off-duty hours first.
Find out if you are a good fit.
Every case is your work, complete it well,
It will become a proof of your strength in the future.
Even if you may not be happy communicating with customers, you still have to do a good job.
At least it will be the impression others will have of you in the future.
Build a personal brandor platform
I would suggest that you must have your own personal brand or a platform.
It can be a blog, social media, or grid. The key is to make people find you!
Because the platform is your own digital business card, allowing people to know you better.
You can imagine: when you are a client and want to outsource a website design project,
- Case receiver A has his own website explaining his past experience and cases.
- Receiver B only said: "I have 2 years of experience."
The above are my words, I would choose A, at least there is work to support it!
I would suggest that if you have a lot of works you want to present,
You can use WordPress or Notion to create a page for better reading.
Or if you just want a page to connect your community,
I suggest you can use Portaly!
Portaly allows you to connect all communities and links, which is very suitable for people who are just starting to take on cases~~
You can also refer to minepage,as follows:
If you like, just look through myExclusive linkregister,
You can also receive a membership upgrade gift worth $450!
Maintain flexibility and good EQ
There are bound to be setbacks on the way to taking on a case, and I’ve encountered a lot of them too!
- I didn’t know how to sign a contract before, so I was terminated without paying, and when I found out, my stuff was moved online directly.
- Ignoring that communication costs are too high, I insist on doing it for half a year, which is too much workload.
But, I always say to myself: "Hey! You won the EQ master award in junior high school!"
(Super boring award)
I want to say now that every difficulty is an opportunity for growth.
Anyway, even if there are setbacks this time, just know not to do it again next time!
Just like writing a test paper, if you make a mistake once, you may be fine.
But you’ve been wrong so many times, it’s time to remember XD
A year of working on cases, to be honest, there were laughter and tears.
But I don't regret making this decision.
The biggest gain is not the increase in income;
Instead, he found his own way of life.
I feel that taking a case is not an escape from work, but another work choice.
It’s important to realize this!
If you are hesitating whether to take this step,
I hope my experience can give you some reference!
If you have any thoughts after reading this article, or just have any questions aboutTake the caseIf you want to discuss the issue, please make an appointment with meOne-on-one in-depth consultation! Together we can clarify the direction, answer your questions, and make your ideas easier to implement.
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