How To Work For Yourself Online: My Journey As a WFH Mom
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to go freelance? Have you dreamed about learning how to work for yourself online? Been there!! In this post and podcast episode, I’m sharing more on how I started doing the work I’m doing right now, with a few tips for other dreamers too.
I never thought I would say this, but business, entrepreneurship and how to work for yourself online are some of my favorite topics in the world to talk about.
Over the last fews after becoming a stay at home mom entrepreneur, I realized the business world of books and podcasts are full of a whole a lot of boring old dudes talking about making money in such a snore-worthy way.
Unique perspectives, especially coming from African Americans and young moms in this space are so important. I just feel like there’s not enough of us talking about business and work and how to incorporate that our everyday lives in a way that actually makes you happy, gives you peace, and helps you make enough money to provide for your family.
So today, I want to share a little bit about what I do for money and how I got into copywriting and how other women like you can create your own career.
Whether you’re a stay at home mom or a woman killing it in the workforce, the truth is there are so many cool jobs out there and often we as women just don’t realize what is possible for us until we somehow wind up in them.
WANT TO LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE INSTEAD? – JOY RALLY PODCAST: EPISODE 04
You can find more episodes like this one on the Joy Rally Podcast right here!
I Want to Work For Myself, What Should I Do?
I spent months and months reading books and scouring online to answer this very question. And I ended up doing a lot of trial and error things on my journey through self employed jobs for moms.
After trying out being a VA and a social media manager, I finally wound up learning about copywriting, and realized THIS is something I could do long term.
Today along with blogging, I work as a content writer and a Christian copywriter. Copywriters are people who write headlines, marketing copy, Facebook ads, you name it!
Content writing is a little bit different because it’s all about the foundation. In someone’s brand or business the foundational content helps you to get a feel for what their brand is all about. It’s typically more long form writing as well.
So most of my work that I do today is a whole lot of email sequences, marketing emails, blog posts and website copy. I’ve also had the chance to ghostwrite a couple eBooks and things like that. But finding this work all started with learning what I REALLY love to do and what I’m good at.
How To Create Your Own Job At Home
If you want to create your own job at home, you MUST ask yourself three questions:
- What do I enjoy doing that I’m good at?
- Is this something that people will pay me to do?
- Who can I connect with that might be interested in paying me to do this? Where can I find people who need what I do?
I love being a writer because it’s a wide range of things that I’ve done for fun my whole life all put together. (Writing stories, writing songs, creating books, building websites, etc.) In the life of a writer is every day is different, which I love. But I was not always doing work that I’m excited about.
If we want to take it back to college, I went to a small college in Michigan. My parents wanted me to have a college degree because that’s something that neither of them ever got. So it was kind of understood. You’re going to college.
I got to college with no idea what I wanted to study. I just wanted to hang out with my friends! So, I started surveying people and asking, “What is the easiest major?”
Essentially I was saying, what’s a major that is fun and I can make sure I’m out of here in 4 years and won’t cost me a ton of money?
And over and over again, I heard COMMUNICATIONS. And they were right. It was glorious.
Here’s the thing that nobody’s going to be real with you about. If you want to start a business, learn how to become entrepreneur, or run your own thing, a communications degree will get you all the same jobs that you would be eligible for as a business major with a whole lot less work.
So I became a communications major and found that I loved it. Then, it was time to enter the Wild West of the job market.
IDK what to do with my life career
After college, I actually ended up doing an internship at a Christian record label in Nashville. This was the impetus of a lot of the things that happened, um, in my life. So, I interned, um, for the film and TV department and also for the publicity PR department.
And it was so much fun. I literally spent hours and hours of every day making copies of newspaper articles in a closet. But I swear to you, it was so much fun, got lots of free concert tickets, met some amazing people.
After the internship, I worked there for almost 5 years, and even met my husband there! So totally worth it.
But I always felt this tug to not be sitting at a desk for eight hours a day in a cubicle, sitting mindlessly through meetings, taking notes and booking flights for people.
I knew somewhere deep down inside of me, I had more to give.
So I actually heard about the book, The 4 Hour Workweek, and I remember getting it from the library and just being like, what the heck is all this about?
I was just STUNNED by the concept of using the Internet to make money — to create a life and opportunities for yourself that fit in with what your goals are and the things that are important to you.
I didn’t really know at the time how to translate this and how to work on it, but I was so into it.
Then when my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Mexico, I sat on the beach and read #GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso, and it was OVER for me!
You’re telling me that I can own a company doing things that I love, make money, and have the freedom and decide what my goals are and how often I work?? So really books kind of led me into this whole path where I am now.
After my time at the record label, I worked with an author and a speaker from home managing his community and socials.
Then I went to on the social media team at Lyft, the ride sharing company. From there I worked at HarperCollins Publisher. Nothing was the right fit.
Eventually I realized it wasn’t the jobs themselves… it was ME. I was ready for more. But each of those jobs helped me create and build relationships and experience that I need later on.
After my son was born, I decided to stay at home for a while, then got an opportunity to work at a company called She Reads Truth. It was there that I fell in love with the concept of writing things that inspire and encourage people. And THAT was the last normal “job” I’ve ever had.
Rediscovering Your Passion
Everything changed when some friends offered me a chance to help run some of their social media accounts and run their blog. I had been preparing for this stuff in my mind forever and it felt like the perfect time.
When my son was about a year old, I made the leap and started working from home a couple days a week, starting with blogging and social media. And to be honest, I’ve never really looked back.
This year will be FIVE YEARS of working for myself, as a contractor, freelancer and a business owner. And the journey has been incredible.
Now that we have two kids, there are definitely the difficulties that come with trying to parent and run a business. Figuring out how to get work done is not always easy. But it is possible and so worth it!
I won’t lie, there have definitely been some hiccups along the way, but there’s also that amazing freedom of my husband being able to say, “Hey, let’s go to the beach next week,” and me not having to ask someone for a vacation day. The freedom to pack my computer in the car and be with my family has been amazing.
And if you have the willpower, the drive and something you’re good at, you can have this too.
For me, books were really the gateway to realizing what was possible.
Blogs and podcasts as well too. But you also want to make relationships with other people who are doing this.
And if you need me to be one of those relationships, I’m cool with it! Send me a DM on Instagram and let’s talk.
Let’s talk about what your goals are, what your dreams are. I promise you it’s possible.
Conclusion
If you’re figuring out how to work for yourself online, know that it’s going to be hard. You’re going to have to go slow, be patient with yourself, et messy and make mistakes sometimes. But to love what you’re doing and to not dread work every day when you get up is so incredibly worth it.
And let me add that I’m not against ever going back to work for another company again. I’m totally for that if it’s the right thing at the right time. But for this season in this phase of our life with young kids and my having a busy job, I’ve found that this has been a really fulfilling way for me to contribute, be creative and meet new people, even though I’m at home all day.
If you’re ready to start working for yourself online, read some books. Do some research. Talk to business owners in real life AND online. Get in tune with what you’re good at, and ask family and friends what those things are if needed.
Then, hold yourself accountable. Put yourself out there, make some goals and stick with them. Trust me, in the end you’ll be so glad that you did.