Just like everyone else do: no experiences, no resources, no money. The difference is that some people choose to start anyway. Even if these people doesn’t have anything or don’t even know how to start. When I first started freelancing, I know nothing about building a business. No business background, no sales skills, I don’t even know how to manage my personal finances. The first year was a total struggle. It was a risky leap of faith and I thought that I should have done better if I planned everything before taking the leap.
My first year of freelancing was a famine or feast cycle and it came to a point that there was no clients, no projects, and no income. I was broke!
Things started to change within me. I learned about resilience when things get tougher, learned about managing my finances well, learned how to deal with clients, forced myself to study about email marketing, designing and developing my own website, social media marketing, SEO basics, WordPress themes, time management & productivity and more! I read books, tons of blog posts, online courses and a lot more learning resources that I can find on the internet.
I thought freelancing was all about freedom. Well if you do not have a HUGE amount of self-discipline, it is not! If you’re not willing to work harder than everyone else, then you’re better off working in that cubicle and receive a monthly paycheck. At least you don’t have to worry about paying your next utility bills and monthly rent.
With consistent hard work and persistence. There come happy clients and referrals. My first batch of clients referred me to their friends and so a steady stream of active income slowly grew over the years. Now I enjoy being location independent and working at my own pace and time. But still, continues to learn and build more passive income earning websites.
If I didn’t take the “risky leap of faith”, I will not be able to learn the skills that I acquire today. Learning it the hard way by my own experience was probably the most self-fulfilling thing I’ve ever felt.
As the old adage says, “The journey of the thousand miles begins at one step” by Lao Tsu. It rings true that whatever you have right now is just enough to get you started. If you feel you’re not capable, start. If you feel you can’t do it, just start! It doesn’t matter what you are trying to do, just start even if you feel you’re not ready.