Small Positive Signs, from Personal Experience

[MineralMan]

Last fall really sucked in our household, which is made up of just my wife and I. She's a financial writer and software reviewer. I was sort of retired. Her contracts started dropping off, and I started hunting for a part-time job. Nothing doing. Oh, I could get a job in a liquor store for $8/hr. But, that wouldn't really be much help. I'm 64. She's 53.

So, we retrenched, pulled our heads into the shelter of our home, and tried to figure out what to do to turn things around. Neither of us was optimistic.

She started sending her resume around, without much success. Then, she saw a job listing in a local hospital...just patient intake clerical stuff, but the pay was $17/hr. It was a casual position, and it had gone begging. She got hired and was doing that three days a week. The money helped a lot.

I stopped looking for part-time stuff, and hung my web content and custom blogging shingle out again, not really hopeful. But, within a week of posting a Craigs List ad and updating my web site, I got a couple of contracts to redo websites and to write one for a new small business. A guy who does website design also contacted me and we had a meeting. Now, I'm writing all the content for three websites he's designing. He's good with design, but not so hot with the writing part, and some work I did on his own website has given him some better samples to shop around.

The three small businesses who have contracted with him have seen their business pick up, and are eager to have a better presence on the web. The web designer I'm working with has some other good leads and is meeting with some other businesses.

In the meantime, my wife is getting some new contracts from places that seemed to be on their way to bankruptcy, and I'm even handling some of her writing overload. The hospital says that they like her and can give her as much work as she wants, since they just got a grant from a non-profit to expand the department she works in.

Good news for us, but...I think it's also good news, generally. Work is picking up. Small businesses are revamping their web sites. Web designers are hiring content writers. Financial publications have larger freelance budgets.

I see some light there, down what had been a pretty dark tunnel. We're still behind, like an awful lot of people, but it seems to be picking up. Best of all, we're spending some money locally, which has to be helping whatever businesses we're spending at.

I think the worst may be behind us, on a personal level. I think things are generally improving, too, from what I see out there. Let's hope this trend continues. Hope is there.

[NJmaverick]

1. Thanks for sharing and the good news

I hope things work out for you and your wife.:hi:

[HuckleB]

2. Thanks for the positive report.

I see some signs of improvement, however mild. Still, I know there is a difference in what families are spending right now. A friend of ours is a nanny, with a long history of positive work experience, including working for us. She recently left a job because the family dynamics were simply not tolerable. Two or three years ago, she would have had ten jobs to choose from, but right now she's still patching work together.

Cheers!

[MineralMan]

4. Yes. We're still being very careful with spending, and still

are behind where we should be in many areas. But, we can see improvement and the strong possibility that we'll get back to where we were, at least.

I think others are seeing that, too, as witnessed in my other OP today about a visit to the tire shop. BTW, that trip happened because my parents gifted us a small check for Christmas. Otherwise, we'd have been driving around on marginal tread. Thanks, Mom & Dad!

[CTyankee]

3. Good for you and your wife. My daughter just got a fabulous job after

4 years of unemployment and a steadily dwindling savings account. She was on the verge of selling their home when a co-volunteer of hers at my grandson's school asked her if she'd be interested in interviewing for a job at her company (a huge accounting firm). She now has a 6 figure salary and full benefits, including 6 weeks vacation starting the first year!

It's all about contacts and having the ability to show your talents, like your wife did. When people see you in action they are likely to think of you when a job opening occurs...

[MineralMan]

5. I'm really not bragging about our good fortune. I just see what is

happening to us as a sign that things are starting to pick up a little in the economy.

[CTyankee]

6. I'm happy for you and your wife anyway. I guess my point was that

even in a recession there are jobs somewhere and if you get out there in a way that shows your abilities, like your wife did, you'll eventually land something. In your case, from what you say it looks like your statement is true. People are getting a bit more work.

[grace0418]

7. I totally agree. I was laid off Dec. 12, 2008 and things were scary for awhile.

I'm a graphic designer so I immediately got a website up and started freelancing, but not too much work was coming in from anywhere. Then, just as my severance ran out, I started getting work. By summer it went from a trickle to a steady drip. By late summer/early fall I was swamped. I was getting friends to help me with all the work I had. Still, I expected that things would slow down in December and January so I saved up as much money as I could to tide us over until the spring. We booked a vacation to celebrate our 40th birthdays, figuring it would be slow in the second week of December.

Well, even though I told all my clients I would be out of town and they initially wished me "Happy Holidays, we'll talk to you in January," I got several emails and two calls while on vacation, wanting to know when I would return and how soon I'd be available to work. I thought I'd be spending this week wrapping presents and cooking, instead I'm working! I have no complaints, this is terrific! I even picked up a new client, in DECEMBER!

It's been a scary year, but I feel pretty darn optimistic. And I'm happier, career-wise, than I've ever been. I love being a freelancer. I'm fortunate enough not to have to worry about insurance, since my husband has our coverage and a very stable job. Beyond, the only worry about freelancing for most people seems to be the instability. But these days, it's not like many full-time jobs are very stable. So for just slightly more risk, I get to enjoy a 25 second commute, working in my pajamas if I feel like it, making my own hours, NO MORE BORING POINTLESS MEETINGS, no more corporate bull-shit, no more being stuck between trying to please the boss and trying to please the client.

I hope the trend continues as well. I want everyone to get back on their feet.

[MineralMan]

9. That's terrific. What's really encouraging in your case,

and in mine, is that businesses are ready to spend money on this stuff. They wouldn't be doing that if they didn't see a reason to think their businesses will improve. That's what I'm talking about!

[pitohui]

8. are you actually getting paid?

i have quit accepting freelance jobs because sure people are hiring but not paying, i don't do this stuff for fun and the hardest part of the job is collections

[MineralMan]

10. I never have any problem getting paid. I finish the job, and get

a check. I did have some slow pay on one website I did, but only because the young woman who was starting her business had to wait for some money to come in. It came. She paid.

The web designer I'm working with on several projects asked me if he could wait until January 1st to pay me, in advance, for two jobs I'll be doing. Nope. No problem getting paid. He knows he'll get the content, and he's already been paid a 50% deposit on both jobs.

I'm not getting what I used to get back when I was writing for major publications, but I'm getting more than those same publications are paying now. It's not bad pay for a writer.

I am careful about who I work for. That's something I assess as best I can before I accept any job. I also get interim payments during the process. No interim payment and the work stops. I have a stock contract I use for larger jobs, like entire websites.

[pitohui]

12. well i was writing for publication

and my short advice there is just don't bother, nobody's paying (to be perfectly cynical, ha ha) but it sounds like you've already found out and left that behind for yourself

[MineralMan]

13. Yeah, the periodicals are in deep doo-doo right now.

The ones that are paying are paying slow, and many are having trouble paying freelancers. I won't even discuss the book publishers. They've never paid for shit. The two books I've done, I did on a flat fee basis. It's the only way, and that's all you'll ever get.

The online content business sucks, too, if you are thing about those content mills that advertise so heavily. The only way you can earn anything by writing online content is to write directly for individual websites. That's a tough sell, but it pays well.

Custom Blogging is also a feasible enterprise, but you have to sell hard to get existing websites to add a blog. When they do, they're blown away at the number of leads a good blog will generate for their business, but it's still a hard sell.

Still, there are so many poor websites out there, that it's easy to find prospects. Yellow Pages ads no longer work for most businesses, and many are pulling them, or cutting down their size. Money from that is beginning to flow into the web design and content business.

Still, you have to be very versatile, write good content quickly, and have some decent marketing chops to make a go of being a freelance content provider. The first step is to produce a web site of your own, along with a couple of blogs, to showcase your skills. Don't even think about trying until you have those things ready and impressive. That's your sales pitch until you have a list of sample work you've done for clients.

[grace0418]

14. I haven't had any problem getting paid (knock on wood).

One of my clients even warned me that it might take up to 45 days to get paid, but it's never taken more than two weeks. I guess I've been lucky.

[madokie]

11. This is what I want to read when I come here, not a bunch of ranting and raving

by what I suspect many to be :puke: themselves wrapped in the flag and calling themselves Dems.

Thanks for sharing the good news with us, I feel much better.

I've been so busy this past year working on our home and some of it is good for tax credits but the main part is we're spending money, trying to help us all out of this fucking mess those afore mentioned pukes left us in.

[Lugnut]

15. That's great news!

I hope it's a positive indicator of a trend.

[roguevalley]

16. I am so glad for you and your wife, mineralman. you deserve good

things coming.

[MineralMan]

17. Many thanks, and my best wishes to you and yours, too.