How I started freelancing and quit my 9 to 5 in just a few months!
It was May 2019 and I had just given birth to my 2nd child. I was unhappy in my 9 to 5 corporate job as a marketing manager, but I didn’t see any way that I could quit unless I figured out some way to start a business from home. But I was motivated to figure something out ASAP.
I had started the job the same week I found out I was pregnant (fun coincidence, I know) and FMLA wouldn’t cover my maternity leave. I was only going to get 6-8 weeks (of unpaid time) at home with this brand new baby. I was incredibly sad and depressed that my only option was to return to work if I wanted to have a job to return to.
But the real question was, did I even WANT to return to that job? What was I giving up time with my baby to go back to? A job I didn’t even like?
A lot of women seem to struggle in their careers at a certain point. They hit a certain level at which they can’t seem to move beyond. Sometimes opportunities for leveling up just aren’t available or they get passed over time and time again that promotion for whatever reason. They feel undervalued and unappreciated. I’ve been in this position multiple times, and it DEFINITELY doesn’t feel good.
I spent that entire maternity leave (when I wasn’t nursing, sleeping, or changing diapers) researching my options. I’d already been there, done that with the whole MLM thing and selling crazy patterned leggings on Facebook and I wasn’t looking to do anymore businesses that I couldn’t put on a resume or that didn’t feel spammy or salesy.
One day, I stumbled upon freelancing which eventually led me to Micala Quinn. Once I heard about her freelancing course, Overwhelmed to Overbooked, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I KNEW there was something for me there.
There were tons of women, with less experience in marketing than me, making more than double my current salary (which at the time was about $23/hour or $47k/year.) Yep, it’s not unheard of to see specialists charging $65-$75/ hour in freelance. (PS. These are my current rates today and my clients happily pay them because the service I provide is of high value to their business.)
In 2020, we saw many people turn to freelancing as a way to make a living from home during the pandemic. More and more businesses are going online which makes it even easier to have virtual teams. According to a recent list of freelance statistics by econtentmarker.com about 59 million Americans freelanced in 2020. This is about 36% of the available workforce. That’s HUGE! AND 65% of freelancers make more than they did at their last full-time job.
When I started looking into freelancing, I had 10 years of experience in marketing working for a variety of companies both corporate and not. I figured the skills I had would easily translate into freelancing but I wasn’t sure how to find clients, create my portfolio, or determine my rates. I knew this course was the key to my success.
So I took the leap and bought the Overwhelmed to Overbooked course, just in time for me to return to work.
Those first few months back at work were a blur. Despite having a very young baby at home who I was still breastfeeding and who wasn’t yet sleeping through the night, I managed to steal an hour of time here and there to work my way through the Overwhelmed to Overbooked course.
I gradually put together my portfolio and started looking for clients. It felt impossible at the time that I could keep working and start to build this business. I needed something to change.
In October of 2019, 6 months after having my son and 3 months after buying the course, I landed my first client. With that confidence built up, I talked to my boss and asked if I could transition to a part-time role. She agreed, and with that extra time in my day, my business was able to take off.
When the pandemic hit last April, I used that time at home to work to build my freelance business and never looked back.
I replaced my corporate income in just a couple of months, and this year I will exceed it, and you can too.
Here is why Overwhelmed to Overbooked (OTO) will be the catalyst to make that happen for YOU.
OTO provides you with the exact framework you need to set up your business legally from the start (don’t worry, it’s not that scary.) I had no idea how to go about this and it was super helpful!
The course also helps you to look at your job experiences and figure out what your niche should be as a freelancer. Don’t think you have any skills that will translate? I bet you do and just don’t know it! Micala herself used to be a social studies teacher! You only need to know a few different platforms to get started and Micala even provides you with training for a lot of these. That’s why when I say you don’t need 10 years of marketing experience to get started. You really don’t. You just need to be willing to learn something new and be confident in your ability to learn as you go.
OTO teaches you how to brand yourself, and create the important stuff like a portfolio, contracts, and write a good pitch. These are invaluable! Even with all of my years of experience, I had never put together a portfolio. This was SO helpful!
OTO comes with an amazing support group on Facebook. Anyone who has purchased the course gets access to this group with tons of supportive women who are all starting from scratch like you and some who have done it already and are killing it in the VA biz. You can ask all of your questions there and get great answers.
OTO teaches you how to find clients. There are so many ways that I hadn’t even thought of and I was amazed to learn some easy techniques for connecting with businesses that needed my services.
This is the best part, only course participants get access to Micala’s exclusive OTO Job Board where businesses can post their openings. There are anywhere from 10-20 new jobs per day on this board that you can apply to. It’s where I find most of my clients and has been hands down the BEST part of taking this course. This extra boost allowed me to get to a full client load by the Fall of 2020 and replace my full time income. It allowed me to make back my investment in the course in just 2 months. Pretty amazing!
Overwhelmed to Overbooked has been a life-changing investment for me and my family. It has allowed me to build a successful business working from home, and has helped me boost my confidence in my field in so many ways. I don’t think I could ever go back to working for someone else after this.
Not only that, but it helped me to fast track my way to a solid freelancing career. If I hadn’t taken this course, I hate to think how many hours I would have spent trying to learn what I needed to about the ins and outs of freelancing before either succeeding or giving up. It would have taken me much longer for sure! Micala makes it so that you have no excuse not to succeed. Everything you need to know to get started is there in the course.
I can’t recommend freelancing enough. It’s the one work from home opportunity that I have found to be a guarantee return for the amount of work you put in. There is no MLM or online business that I’ve tried that has been as successful as this in such a short time AND given me full control over my work-life balance.
If you are looking for literally THE best way to build a business from home now, this is it.
Join Overwhelmed to Overbooked today and get started building a business TODAY. You won’t regret it!
Read more in my series about how to get started as a freelancer here:
*Affiliate disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links for Overwhelmed to Overbooked. I have taken this course and it has helped me build a successful freelance business. I only recommend products that I have used and absolutely stand behind.
