I’ve made money on my own before. Selling items on eBay, at a garage sale, or making money selling lemonade. All of that was as a child. I’m 26 years old, had handfuls of jobs, and been professionally employed since college. After quitting my last job I came to the realization that I’ve never created a dollar for me. Yes, I’ve provided value to an employer and made a salary, but making a dollar from a client you find is completely different.
Call Me Un-Entrepreneurial
There’s a major discrepancy from the corporate lifers and self-made entrepreneurs/startup founders. Often, I feel I sit somewhere in between. A corporate dropout, but not quite an entrepreneur. The difference is enough for me to convince myself that I can’t be a self-made entrepreneur. Before creating my first dollar freelancing I was fearful of my path towards self-employment. I had to jump in and get my feet wet. After all, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”
My First Dollar
I earned my first dollar through Upwork.com. I was able to find someone who wanted content written. As I’ve been writing this blog for a while I said “Why not?” I can write, it might not be great, but it’s a start. I made $5 ($4 after the 20% Upwork fee). Instead of being fearful of entrepreneurship my whole mentality changed. I now realized I could create money out of thin air! I could make money by using my abilities. Yes, it took 26 years, but it’s an uplifting feeling.
Lessons Since
Since then I’ve had a few more Upwork contracts, so far earning a little over $100. Although it’s not much, it’s already started teaching me lessons. For one, my hourly rate is probably too low, and bidding flat fees isn’t always a good idea. I spent 12-hours completing a $15 task. That definitely was a rough lesson learned. But it’s worth it. Finding this out today, when the opportunity cost of 12-hours is pretty low, is better than learning that lesson later on.
Freelance sure is rewarding. I spent lots of hours, and connected with quite a few contacts, in helping a German citizen setup an LLC in the United States. He left me a stellar review. That signal not only feels good for me, but shows future clients I am reliable. If you have any aspirations of being an entrepreneur, or becoming self-employed, I would definitely challenge you to create a dollar, or two, from your services. Once you make that first dollar you will want more.