Shutterstock A few months before I graduated with my MBA, I was searching for my first “real” job. I was living in Chicago at the time and open to moving just about anywhere for the right position. After sitting in a Starbucks for days and applying to hundreds of jobs, I finally got one response. The response was from a digital marketing agency in Chicago that specialized in helping car dealerships build their online presence. Since they didn’t have any openings for a full-time job, they asked me if I wanted to write automotive content for them on a freelance basis. At first, I was a bit frustrated. I spent so much time applying to jobs and the first bite I received wasn’t even for a full-time gig. After doing some more research on the company, I decided that I’d give this freelance thing a shot while I continued my search for a full-time job. I liked cars and writing, so I figured I had nothing to lose. A few days after I accepted the freelance gig at the automotive marketing agency, they sent me my first assignment. It was a 350-word article on the 2013 lineup of Mercedes-Benz SUVs. The pay was only $15 but at the time I didn’t think that was bad because I finished it in less than an hour while sitting on my couch in my pajamas. I continued to write these automotive articles for $15 a pop until I landed my first full-time job as a link builder at a large marketing company in Charlotte, North Carolina. After a few months at my full-time job in Charlotte, I decided that I’d love some extra money and began writing the automotive articles again. It was a nice little side gig that allowed me to pay for a few luxuries that my meager entry-level salary simply didn’t allow for. Eventually, I moved back home to Cleveland and found a new full-time job at an insurance company. I continued to freelance write on the side but wanted to diversify my portfolio so I began to search for new clients. After landing three new clients, I was able to significantly increase my writing income and write about more than just cars. I was writing about dental procedures, home improvement projects, moving solutions, and a plethora of other random topics. I loved making extra money on the side in the comfort of my own home and continued to do so for the next four years. I was landing new clients on a regular basis and eventually got to the point where I was earning more from freelancing than I was working full-time for someone else. Since I was writing before work, after work, and on the weekends, I started to get very overwhelmed. I basically had two full-time jobs and my husband convinced me that I had to pick one. After about eight months of a full-time job and writing like crazy on the side, I quit my […]
