Do you harbor dreams of travelling and working at the same time? Is your current work pulling you down in terms of location, time and even financial mobility? Maybe it’s time you thought of working as a freelancer abroad for some cool company or essay writing service!
While the concept of freelancing might have sounded outright absurd about a decade or two ago, it is now a straight reality due to powerful global internet and even more powerful notebooks and PCs. Now, you can work on your story from a tropical beach somewhere sipping a margarita, or you can even become a lifestyle freelance writer, travelling around the world with no boss screaming down your neck.
The prospect of employment freedom is one that is enticing to many folks, and more are taking the leap each day into freelancing. Some however still need convincing. In this article, we share three inspirational stories of writers who took the plunge and decided to live out their dreams.
Alex, the New Kid in Dubai
Alex from Baton Rouge had always imagined what it would be like to work in the Middle East, brandishing tall beautiful buildings standing as monuments to what black gold can do. He had his eyes set on Dubai where he thought he could find work as an expat freelance writer, but that opportunity never presented itself.
When Alex got a dismissal letter from his former employer at the magazine where he worked, the blessing couldn’t have seemed more obvious. With about $8,000 in savings, he got himself a passport at the Emirati consulate and decided to pack up and head into the desert. That move, however callous and hot-headed it may have seemed to former colleagues and his family at the time, was the best move he ever made he says.
“I felt like my career was dead. Writing had always been a hobby and a passion for me. Where I previously worked, I was limited in what I could say and the expression of it. With freelancing, I was able to write from my perspective and based on my own personal and raw experiences. I would never go back on the decision.”
Alex travelled around the UAE for a few months racking up stories from his experience, drafting pieces, throwing them in the dustbin and refining them some more. At the same time, he was working on and personalizing his travel and lifestyle blog about his experiences in the UAE. With time, a raw and relatable experience to push the story even further, and beautiful pictures taken from a $300 camera, everything started falling into place. People started to take notice and ad revenue started increasing.
“My blog is currently getting over 10,000 hits each week. I keep motivated by the fact that people actually enjoy the content that I am creating now as opposed to what I used to do before which was quite mechanical and unexpressive. I now have more money in the bank than I ever hoped for when I first left Baton Rouge, and freelancing has taken me to even more places, from the beaches of Florida to the ski resorts in the Alps.”
Though the move worked out for him, Alex urges cautious optimism on those looking to make the jump to a freelancing career. “You won’t always get a pay day unlike regular employment, sometimes for months. You have to be a survivor and resilient, otherwise frustration will kick in quickly.”
Ben, the Nomad from Nairobi
Ben was always in love with structures and how they worked. With 5 years of training from an Engineering program, he thought the world was ripe for his talents. The reality was however quite different from what he had hoped for. With no jobs available in the field and passions quickly turning to frustrations, Ben decided to combine the two things that he loved doing best; Writing and Engineering. He decided to start freelance writing on engineering projects coming up in around East Africa.
“I used to do free pieces on projects that very few people knew anything about. I had a cheap phone which I used to take photos. Sometimes I had very little pocket money to even get to the next destination. I started doing pieces on up and coming projects around East Africa. That, combined with the fact that I loved Engineering made my writing unique.”
Ben says Kenyan and East African editors had never seen anything like it. This was a fresh perspective about the architectural and engineering landscape in the region. The offers started rolling in. Alex says he actually got an employment offer from one of the editors of a popular Pan-African construction magazine but he ‘humbly declined’ the offer.
“Once I tasted the freelance life, I quickly realized that employment had never been for me.”
His work has seen him travel from Addis Ababa all the way to beautiful Cape Town and covering projects he never even thought he’d ever get to see as an engineer. Despite the current enjoyment, Ben urges those looking to begin freelancing to always have a fallback plan and find something to be passionate about. He says readers feed off content and if they don’t get useful content from you they’ll move on to the next person fast.
Kate, the Flower from Lyon
Kate is from the beautiful French city of Lyon. She was always passionate about travelling and documenting her experiences, but she never thought her work would be read by thousands, maybe millions around the world. As a graduation present for finishing first in her college class, her parents presented with a Euro trip travel ticket for 10 countries. She pounced on the opportunity and decided to buy a video camera for her journey.
As a Writing major, she combined her love for travel and photography with that of writing. She started submitting random pieces to editors of magazines back in France and also started her own English blog. Presently, her videos have racked up millions of views on YouTube and she has one extra staff to back her up.
So, if you need to set up your first blog or a website, please do read the following article about how to get your website online.
As you can see from these inspiring stories, freelancing often does pay off if done correctly. While there’s no employment contract or even security of income, it often comes with more perks than disadvantages for those that can take the leap of faith. An essay writing service such as Ozessay provides thousands of young writers the opportunity to freelance while also pursuing their other passions and ambitions free from limitations. You could be next!
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