I interviewed a fiverr writer (Silviu Mirica) and i myself was curious to find out what he thought of the service and i wanted to weight it against Steemit. But my real goal was to draw someone with his talent to our community here on Steemit.
me: Silviu what do you think of Steemit?
Silviu: i never hear of it.
me: first tell me about Fiverr and how you discovered it and then i'll tell you about Steemit.
Silviu: okay sure,
I am not a native English speaker even though now I mainly write in English. And
living in the continental Europe, I had to learn this language in school. I loved for
some reason, beyond its practical reasons (getting a good job etc.), so I learned
mainly by myself because our school system fucked up for so many reasons.
Right now I write books, novels, short stories, press releases, academic papers,
school assignments, you name it…and I can do this because I have a broad
knowledge background. I was always a learner and I had this strange curiosity, I
wanted to know it all…and if the devil would come to me right now to grant me a
wish for my soul…I wouldn’t ask for money or women, or whatever else people
might think of…but universal knowledge, I am just fascinated of knowing things.
To come back to Fiverr and my entrepreneurial adventure, I never thought I would
become a writer, there was this crave deep down in my soul, but I never thought it
would come true. I was fearful and sometimes scared by the things I saw around
me, with all the poverty and lack of opportunity here in my country…these things
can be a bit discouraging sometimes.
Anyways, after finishing highs cool, I had to choose a faculty…and while
everyone was choosing technical stuff like architecture, programming and
engineering…I was there alone scratching my head wondering ‘where the hell do I
belong?”
People kept bugging me “You need to make money” “You are a man, you have to
have a family”. I must admit these things were quite annoying and can break your
concentration most of the times, but I kept my focus and chose to go to language
studies and creative writing. I was like “Fuck it, it’s now or never” and I got
mocked up for my choice because most people ended up as teacher from that
faculty…but I wasn’t ‘most people’ and I was quite aware of that.
I put their laughs behind and went on with my plan, I got nothing to lose right?
Well, I actually lost my health in my first year and almost gave up university. I was
lost and fed up with everything and everyone, and the one responsible with my
state of mind, was the pain I was feeling 24/7.
After long nights of reflection I decided to go on with school no matter how hard it
was going to be for me, but something had changed now…I didn’t care anymore!
Don’t get me wrong, I say this in a positive manner because now I would say and
do whatever I wanted and felt with no restraints and no fear, and I did this because
in my mind it couldn’t be worse right?
Somehow this served me well, because I was letting out my wildest and craziest
ideas, something my class mates were afraid to do. That was the moment when I
had thrown my ‘writer’s block’ through the window and didn’t look to see if it had
cracked open upon falling or not. From that moment on I was free, in pain but free
of all the self created fears and doubts about my work and my ideas, and my creed
was…if they don’t like the way I think, well, they can go fuck themselves!!
With all the sickness that had befallen on me, I was happy to a certain extent and I
tried to put behind me all the pain and suffering. One of the reasons I had a smile
on my face was because I was one of the guys in a classroom filled with 40 girls
and we have a lot of beauties down here. The fact that I had a lot of girls ‘around’
me inspired me and this is the place where I realized, I really had to do something
with my potential. During boring classes I was writing poems for them and
sometimes I was even doing ‘homework’ for cash…which was also creative
writing.
Writing love poems for girls was the best part though and I enjoyed seeing the
emotion on their face…I felt special for being able to stir people’s hearts in such a
way, with just a couple of words written on a small mussy piece of paper.
While I was doing this for fun, it was clear that my calling was reaching out to me,
all I had to do was to grab its hand and fly…but things are not always that simple.
I got my bachelor’s degree after 3 years of studying all kinds of writing, but for me
it wasn’t that intriguing to study the writings of others, but rather to do it myself.
Still, after three years I wasn’t sure I knew it all, so I got in a Masters Program
where I thought I would have the opportunity to find out even more interesting
things. I come from a single parent family, and my mom is quite old and sick, and
since I had grown up I needed to find a job and make my own money to support
myself.
She had done enough for me, and I will always love and respect her for it, but now
it was my turn, so I started looking for jobs. As I already said, I have a free spirit
and an iron will, and I will never accept injustice or submissive behavior just for
the sake of a few bucks. I went to quite a lot of interviews, but I never really felt
like I could do that “Yes Boss” thing, you know…to be treated like a slave and do
things that were less than me.
I kept hearing the same, you’re young and inexperienced and you need to take the
minimum wage, and whatever job you can land… but I was like “Bullshit!”. I did
not want to believe that I had to take a shitty job, thus live a shitty live after 17
years of school where I busted my ass to really learn something…I just couldn’t
accept that; so I started looking for my luck in the world.
While others had relatives who ‘helped’ them get a job in a warm place, hired by
the state…you know those folks who have it easier than you just because they
know somebody you don’t…I didn’t know anybody, I had nobody…ohh except
myself and my brain (my potential).
One morning I thought I should look for something online, since I was studying for
my MA, I thought I should give it a try even if this was quite a ‘wild terrain’ for
me. I didn’t know much about it, but I have heard about the scams that lurked
beyond every corner, still this didn’t prevent me from trying my luck online. I had
a few failures at first with surveys websites and other stuff that paid me like $20 a
month…even a dog would starve with that.
I didn’t give up hope, no way!! I always had thins believe that God had his hand on
me and the fact that I succeeded where most people didn’t, made me think this was
for real…I don’t know exactly who or what pushed me forward every time it
looked like there was no point in it; maybe it was my stubbornness or ambition, the
thing is I did it every time one way or another.
Fiverr came into my life in the middle of my first year of my MA, and after so
many failed attempts I didn’t take it too seriously and I didn’t put too much hope in
it. When I asked my friend George about what’s new… he told me about Fiverr,
and how he had heard about it from a friend who wasn’t really making that much
money…
I closed my eyes and typed the address in my browser, looking curiously to see
what all was about. At first Fiverr looked like a monster who was just waiting to
scare me and…it worked for a little bit of time. With the help of my friend I
managed to create an account where I placed a nickname my friends used to call
me…’silvinyo’, and this because I didn’t take it too seriously.
Fiverr was at the beginning back then, I mean it was bit simpler than it is now and
there weren’t so many people aware of its existence. The concept was great for me
because they were going to charge you only if you made money and only a small
percent. There were so many options to choose from and this was a bit confusing
because I knew a bit of Photoshop and also to speak French and English as non
native languages and many other things.
As I didn’t know what start with, I tried with pictures but this didn’t work for me
as I didn’t really enjoy it that much. I worked out my profile pictures and some
other little things, but writing was in my blood, and I knew it…but again, that fear
had come back to haunt me “What if I’m not good enough?”
This question kept bugging me until one day when I decided to create my first
writing gig…and it took me a whole freaking day!! Imagine that I wanted it to be
perfect and looked over other people’s profiles to ‘learn’ about their success and
how they did it…I didn’t copy anything since with writing, to plagiarize is
basically a crime…but I learned a thing or two and tried to apply it to my cause.
I didn’t have any expertise…I mean ‘professional expertise’ and I couldn’t prove to
anyone that I was certified at what I was doing, but I didn’t give up my hope. They
say the hardest thing in this world is to work with people directly and I kinda agree
with it, especially as a newbie. People have their own expectations and sometimes
they don’t know exactly how to put it, and here your expertise come in to untie
their tongues…and at first I didn’t really have any…
As with any market, newbies are looked at with suspicion by the buyers, and this is
something natural because people are more comfortable with things and people
they already know…or with people whit a certain expertise/ name. waiting for my
first messages was like waiting for rain in the Sahara…I cannot really describe the
excitement and fear at the same time with the proper words; it’s something only a
man’s heart can feel you know.
I was starting my own business and I didn’t even realize it was happening, and then
when I managed to land the first job it was like heaven on earth for me. It wasn’t
something huge, just $15, but this didn’t really matter for me. The fact that
someone trusted me with their story; a complete stranger…was something purely
amazing for me!!
Where I live…well it’s a rural area and people don’t really understand the concept
of ‘working from home’ and the level of education is simply down the basement
somewhere. So, with the first couple of months a bit tight, I started working hard
and applying for jobs myself, I updated my gigs every time something new
appeared and I learned new stuff meantime to increase my rates of success.
One after another I managed in less than one year to become a top rated seller,
something that I am very proud of. Now I was independent and managed to take
care of my school by myself, plus I was helping my mother at the same time…it
was like a dream come true for me. I enjoyed earning my own money, but what I
enjoyed the most was the freedom this kind of job gave and the opportunity to
wake up every single morning without having to curse everything for having to
work for someone else…maybe someone I despised.
With my old poor background in contrast with my current success, people started
gossiping I was counterfeiting money, or that I was part of the mafia…which really
amuses me. Seeing the ignorance of people reminds me of my hard work and the
years of constant hoping that one day the sun was going to shine on my street too.
Fiverr came like a blessing for me and I am thankful every day for thins
opportunity. The thing is you don’t find too many people who enjoy their work,
you know people who don’t really feel the work itself or don’t see it as work. The
fact that I can do what I like and earn a decent living at the same time, means the
world to me, and I wouldn’t have it other way. As a matter of the fact that I got to
work in this manner made me yearn to become a better person, a better writer if
you will.
I heard people saying that ‘you got it the easiest’, but I do not agree even if the
benefits are clear as the light of day. There are great responsibilities when being
both your boss and your employee at the same time. You have to find your own
motivation, set your targets and find the best way to convey your efforts into a
product that people find it worth paying for.
It’s been two years since I joined Fiverr community and I can say it has changed
my life in ways I can’t describe; it simply fulfilled my dream of becoming a writer
and even if I am not published yet and I just write for other, I know deep down that
one day, people will hear my voice and know it’s coming from me, I just feel it!
Even now, the thought that I can help people with my ideas and my effort means
the world to me and it pushes me to aspire for even more. Right now I am in love
with Fiverr and with what I do.
Regards, Silviu Mirica
me: Silviu, now let me tell you about Steemit.com and how I believe the community from there would appreciate someone with your talent and your writing.