How do you Keep up your moral?

[rosslombardi]

Just a thought

What tips do fellow Frelanceer have for keeping up their morale and resisting quitting and going to work for more money but with much less fulfilling lives?

I am sure there are those of you who are super successful, but EVERYONE has moments of self-doubt and starts out with a desert of no work!

Id love to hear from the more successful members some truly inspirational stories about when they realised that life had “Turned a Corner” and that they could finally call themselves a successful freelancer?
That lovely golden moment when they had the Epiphany that they would never have to go back to a 9 to 5 uncreative job at an office (or office equivalent) ever again!

It would help me give me a little much-needed hope…

PS
To clarify how I define “successful”

It is NOT about the money

.

It is about avoiding boredom and tedium

(And to a much lesser extent, having to deal with ‘people’ ‘face to face’)

.

I just want to earn the equivalent of a full-time minimum wage job to pay the bills

But to be able to earn that by spending my short mortal life being stimulated and creative

(Instead of being constantly bored out of my skull!)

.

THAT IS HOW I DEFINE “SUCCESSFUL FREELANCER”

[visualstudios]

Just a thought

What tips do fellow Frelanceer have for keeping up their morale and resisting quitting and going to work for more money but with much less fulfilling lives?

I am sure there are those of you who are super successful, but EVERYONE has moments of self-doubt and starts out with a desert of no work!

Id love to hear from the more successful members some truly inspirational stories about when they realised that life had “Turned a Corner” and that they could finally call themselves a successful freelancer?

That lovely golden moment when they had the Epiphany that they would never have to go back to a 9 to 5 uncreative job at an office (or office equivalent) ever again!

It would help me give me a little much-needed hope…

PS

To clarify how I define “successful”

It is NOT about the money

.

It is about avoiding boredom and tedium

(And to a much lesser extent, having to deal with ‘people’ ‘face to face’)

.

I just want to earn the equivalent of a full-time minimum wage job to pay the bills

But to be able to earn that by spending my short mortal life being stimulated and creative

(Instead of being constantly bored out of my skull!)

.

THAT IS HOW I DEFINE “SUCCESSFUL FREELANCER”

What tips do fellow Frelanceer have for keeping up their morale and resisting quitting and going to work for more money but with much less fulfilling lives?

I can make way more here than I would make at a traditional job, so that’s my motivation. Give me a 6 figure traditional job that’s secure, and I’ll take your offer in a heartbeat lol

[misscrystal]

I knew I was a successful freelancer long before I joined fiverr. I knew from day one on fiverr this would be my new home. This site gives more the more you put into it. The harder I work here the more successful I get.

[cyaxrex]

To be honest, I fell out of love with freelancing a long time ago. However, freelancing has also turned me into a sociopath who can no longer fit into mainstream society. In this case, I’m stuck. At least until I can maneuver my way into politics.

[kingsleyjone676]

I have lost it…I can call myself successful yet…sorry but after not getting any orders …I can’t do this anymore…I think I’ll by friday…

[chrisdata]

It all depends how you define ‘successful freelancer’, other people may see you successful but you don’t think so. At least I do fiverr full-time for nearly a decade and it still pay my bills and feed me enough. Is that successful comparing to those earning 6 figures on fiverr alone or have 3 month zero sales? I don’t know.

[rosslombardi]

It all depends how you define ‘successful freelancer’, other people may see you successful but you don’t think so. At least I do fiverr full-time for nearly a decade and it still pay my bills and feed me enough. Is that successful comparing to those earning 6 figures on fiverr alone or have 3 month zero sales? I don’t know.

To clarify how I define “successful”

It is NOT about the money

.

It is about avoiding boredom and tedium

(And to a much lesser extent, having to deal with ‘people’ ‘face to face’)

.

I just want to earn the equivalent of a full-time minimum wage job to pay the bills

But to be able to earn that by spending my short mortal life being stimulated and creative

(Instead of being constantly bored out of my skull!)

.

THAT IS HOW I DEFINE “SUCCESSFUL FREELANCER”

[catwriter]

I have lost it…I can call myself successful yet…sorry but after not getting any orders …I can’t do this anymore…I think I’ll by friday…

sorry but after not getting any orders

You don’t have any active gigs. That means that nobody can order from you.

Also, you joined this month. There are users who wait for months to get their first order.

I think I’ll by friday…

With no active gigs, it makes no difference when you’ll “officially” quit, because nobody can place an order anyway.

Anyway, if you give up so quickly, perhaps freelancing as such isn’t your thing, and you’d do better with a 9-5 job (if you can get one).

[silveni]

I have lost it…I can call myself successful yet…sorry but after not getting any orders …I can’t do this anymore…I think I’ll by friday…

Same here,

I can’t buy meals, pay bills, and etc…

Quit is not the answer for me but keep trying to convince the buyer in the buyer requests, that’s the answer for me 😎

[silveni]

Just a thought

What tips do fellow Frelanceer have for keeping up their morale and resisting quitting and going to work for more money but with much less fulfilling lives?

I am sure there are those of you who are super successful, but EVERYONE has moments of self-doubt and starts out with a desert of no work!

Id love to hear from the more successful members some truly inspirational stories about when they realised that life had “Turned a Corner” and that they could finally call themselves a successful freelancer?

That lovely golden moment when they had the Epiphany that they would never have to go back to a 9 to 5 uncreative job at an office (or office equivalent) ever again!

It would help me give me a little much-needed hope…

PS

To clarify how I define “successful”

It is NOT about the money

.

It is about avoiding boredom and tedium

(And to a much lesser extent, having to deal with ‘people’ ‘face to face’)

.

I just want to earn the equivalent of a full-time minimum wage job to pay the bills

But to be able to earn that by spending my short mortal life being stimulated and creative

(Instead of being constantly bored out of my skull!)

.

THAT IS HOW I DEFINE “SUCCESSFUL FREELANCER”

It is NOT about the money

For me, money is the part of the successful itself, Ask yours / everyone parents in here, they raised you / them / us with the money.

[misscrystal]

I can imagine how demoralizing it would be if you didn’t get orders.
But that means you need to make some kind of adjustments to your gigs so you do get orders. Look at your gig and ask yourself if that is a gig you would buy yourself? Then look at your competitions gigs and especially at the ones that are successful. Try to see why they are successful and yours are not.

[silveni]

I can imagine how demoralizing it would be if you didn’t get orders.

But that means you need to make some kind of adjustments to your gigs so you do get orders. Look at your gig and ask yourself if that is a gig you would buy yourself? Then look at your competitions gigs and especially at the ones that are successful. Try to see why they are successful and yours are not.

@misscrystal It’s not easy to comparing yours gig with other sellers gig because each sellers has different unique charmed and belive.

Every sellers also have their own maximum ability for example; money to run their gigs shop, tools (premium tools), software (premium software), what device they use, The way they talks and etc . . . as you know, many big company bankrupted because they are too much “burned” their money in hope to get much costumer, building costumer trusted and etc . . .

The point of sales is “unique”.

If you adapt your gig with others gig that’s mean you copy their style, that’s mean you’re fake and not professional.

[cubittaudio]

@misscrystal It’s not easy to comparing yours gig with other sellers gig because each sellers has different unique charmed and belive.

Every sellers also have their own maximum ability for example; money to run their gigs shop, tools (premium tools), software (premium software), what device they use, The way they talks and etc . . . as you know, many big company bankrupted because they are too much “burned” their money in hope to get much costumer, building costumer trusted and etc . . .

The point of sales is “unique”.

If you adapt your gig with others gig that’s mean you copy their style, that’s mean you’re fake and not professional.

It’s not easy to comparing yours gig with other sellers gig because each sellers has different unique charmed and belive.

I think you’ve taken what @misscrystal has said a little out of context here. At no point did she say that you should be copying other people, the point was to compare yourself to others, to establish where you fit in the market. The idea is not that everyone should be a carbon-copy of one another… Yes, of course sellers should try to find something unique about themselves, something that makes them stand out in the marketplace. But you also can’t shy away from the fact that buyers, the people who ultimately make the purchasing decisions here on Fiverr, compare YOU to other sellers.

If you haven’t watched any of @frank_d 's excellent video lectures, I’d advise you to do so. He says in one (and I’m probably going to butcher the quote here), that

“buyers don’t want a 1/4 inch drill bit… they want a 1/4 inch hole”

This is such a crucial part of the puzzle, that the vast majority of sellers on Fiverr fail to think about. They make it about themselves. “Nobody is buying from me” … “I can’t make any sales”

The question should actually be - “What do buyers truly need? And does my service provide the solution that buyers are looking for?”

If I’m a buyer, and I’m looking to get a website built, I’m not just going to look at one person’s page. I’m going to run a search for the most suitable term relevant to my need, and then I’m going to look at the most appealing 4 or 5 sellers, to get a feel for what’s out there and what people are offering. I’m then going to narrow it down until I find the seller that I like.

If 4 of the gigs look professional, and 1 of them looks amateur and cheap, it’s getting disregarded immediately. That’s BEFORE I even send a message, enquiring about a service. I think that was more the point @misscrystal was making here - that so many sellers these days are slapping together poor-quality gigs, putting them out there amongst really high-quality gigs, and then wondering why nobody is buying from them.

[silveni]

It’s not easy to comparing yours gig with other sellers gig because each sellers has different unique charmed and belive.

I think you’ve taken what @misscrystal has said a little out of context here. At no point did she say that you should be copying other people, the point was to compare yourself to others, to establish where you fit in the market. The idea is not that everyone should be a carbon-copy of one another… Yes, of course sellers should try to find something unique about themselves, something that makes them stand out in the marketplace. But you also can’t shy away from the fact that buyers, the people who ultimately make the purchasing decisions here on Fiverr, compare YOU to other sellers.

If you haven’t watched any of @frank_d 's excellent video lectures, I’d advise you to do so. He says in one (and I’m probably going to butcher the quote here), that

“buyers don’t want a 1/4 inch drill bit… they want a 1/4 inch hole”

This is such a crucial part of the puzzle, that the vast majority of sellers on Fiverr fail to think about. They make it about themselves. “Nobody is buying from me” … “I can’t make any sales”

The question should actually be - “What do buyers truly need? And does my service provide the solution that buyers are looking for?”

If I’m a buyer, and I’m looking to get a website built, I’m not just going to look at one person’s page. I’m going to run a search for the most suitable term relevant to my need, and then I’m going to look at the most appealing 4 or 5 sellers, to get a feel for what’s out there and what people are offering. I’m then going to narrow it down until I find the seller that I like.

If 4 of the gigs look professional, and 1 of them looks amateur and cheap, it’s getting disregarded immediately. That’s BEFORE I even send a message, enquiring about a service. I think that was more the point @misscrystal was making here - that so many sellers these days are slapping together poor-quality gigs, putting them out there amongst really high-quality gigs, and then wondering why nobody is buying from them.

the point was to compare yourself to others, to establish where you fit in the market.

That’s what I mean and talked about.

“What do buyers truly need ? And does my service provide the solution that buyers are looking for?”

I read buyers request carefully and also asking them if I find some missing information, requirements and also giving them solution (for example the price, the time to deliver, and etc . . as long as it’s also still in my corridor.

If I’m a buyer, and I’m looking to get a website built, I’m not just going to look at one person’s page. I’m going to run a search for the most suitable term relevant to my need, and then I’m going to look at the most appealing 4 or 5 sellers, to get a feel for what’s out there and what people are offering. I’m then going to narrow it down until I find the seller that I like.

If 4 of the gigs look professional, and 1 of them looks amateur and cheap, it’s getting disregarded immediately. That’s BEFORE I even send a message, enquiring about a service. I think that was more the point @misscrystal was making here - that so many sellers these days are slapping together poor-quality gigs, putting them out there amongst really high-quality gigs, and then wondering why nobody is buying from them.

What you said is the basic of business, and I already know it. Please try to digging more the quality of this conversation and not repeating the basic knowledge, please more spesific.

[cubittaudio]

the point was to compare yourself to others, to establish where you fit in the market.

That’s what I mean and talked about.

“What do buyers truly need ? And does my service provide the solution that buyers are looking for?”

I read buyers request carefully and also asking them if I find some missing information, requirements and also giving them solution (for example the price, the time to deliver, and etc . . as long as it’s also still in my corridor.

If I’m a buyer, and I’m looking to get a website built, I’m not just going to look at one person’s page. I’m going to run a search for the most suitable term relevant to my need, and then I’m going to look at the most appealing 4 or 5 sellers, to get a feel for what’s out there and what people are offering. I’m then going to narrow it down until I find the seller that I like.

If 4 of the gigs look professional, and 1 of them looks amateur and cheap, it’s getting disregarded immediately. That’s BEFORE I even send a message, enquiring about a service. I think that was more the point @misscrystal was making here - that so many sellers these days are slapping together poor-quality gigs, putting them out there amongst really high-quality gigs, and then wondering why nobody is buying from them.

What you said is the basic of business, and I already know it. Please try to digging more the quality of this conversation and not repeating the basic knowledge, please more spesific.

That’s what I mean and I talked about

I didn’t interpret it that way, because you said…

It’s not easy to comparing yours gig with other sellers gig because each sellers has different unique charmed and belive.

The point of sales is “unique”.

If you adapt your gig with others gig that’s mean you copy their style, that’s mean you’re fake and not professional.

You don’t have to be completely unique… You really don’t.

Disclaimer - this doesn’t mean that sellers should copy anything from another seller’s profile.

But take us as an example. We offer voice overs. We don’t do anything any differently to the majority of other VO sellers in the market, when it comes to our gigs. We have a description, we have samples, we have a video, we have images. Nothing particularly amazing about that.

Our service is also not massively unique. We offer both male and female, which is unusual, but not unique. But our setup is high quality, and our output is high quality.

Nothing about what we do is unique. 100% of it could be replicated by other sellers. But we still constantly compare ourselves to other sellers, to ensure that our offering is on the same level as them. This applies to both the end product, and the gigs that advertise our service.

That was how I interpreted the advice that @misscrystal was giving. Not about following the herd and being the same as everyone else, but being aware of your competition, and ensuring that you’re always improving your own offering, to ensure that you can compete.

I read buyers request carefully and also asking them if I find some missing information, requirements and also giving them solution (for example the price, the time to deliver, and etc . . as long as it’s also still in my corridor.

That’s great! If I were a buyer, that’s the kind of attention to detail I would really value.

[lenasemenkova]

I had a few quite fulfilling office jobs, actually. Great team, good salary, interesting projects and, more importantly, a peppy 20-year-old intern who’d talk to clients and relay their wishes to me in a way that actually made sense. Oh, and limitless free coffee with 3-4 kinds of milk to choose from.

There is no shame in having a day job, even if deep inside your heart you are this l’artiste who’s above them mundane human things.

You just invest the resources you have (time, skills, money) into freelancing and see if it pays off. Give it as much time as you can, try different things. If it just eats up your resources and gives very little in return there is no shame in reconsidering either. Especially if it’s mostly struggle and resistance for you.

[silveni]

That’s what I mean and I talked about

I didn’t interpret it that way, because you said…

It’s not easy to comparing yours gig with other sellers gig because each sellers has different unique charmed and belive.

The point of sales is “unique”.

If you adapt your gig with others gig that’s mean you copy their style, that’s mean you’re fake and not professional.

You don’t have to be completely unique… You really don’t.

Disclaimer - this doesn’t mean that sellers should copy anything from another seller’s profile.

But take us as an example. We offer voice overs. We don’t do anything any differently to the majority of other VO sellers in the market, when it comes to our gigs. We have a description, we have samples, we have a video, we have images. Nothing particularly amazing about that.

Our service is also not massively unique. We offer both male and female, which is unusual, but not unique. But our setup is high quality, and our output is high quality.

Nothing about what we do is unique. 100% of it could be replicated by other sellers. But we still constantly compare ourselves to other sellers, to ensure that our offering is on the same level as them. This applies to both the end product, and the gigs that advertise our service.

That was how I interpreted the advice that @misscrystal was giving. Not about following the herd and being the same as everyone else, but being aware of your competition, and ensuring that you’re always improving your own offering, to ensure that you can compete.

I read buyers request carefully and also asking them if I find some missing information, requirements and also giving them solution (for example the price, the time to deliver, and etc . . as long as it’s also still in my corridor.

That’s great! If I were a buyer, that’s the kind of attention to detail I would really value.

That was how I interpreted the advice that @misscrystal was giving. Not about following the herd and being the same as everyone else, but being aware of your competition, and ensuring that you’re always improving your own offering, to ensure that you can compete.

Yeah, and this is the correct answer, the best wise answer, I like it 😉 @cubittaudio

and I’m sorry @misscrystal if maybe you get a little heart shaking, I was just trying to warm this room, because it’s so cold 🙂

[cubittaudio]

To attempt to answer the OP’s question about keeping morale, our approach is slightly different, because we’re a couple, and we both approach things differently.

I’m quite logical, whereas my partner is more emotional. My logical approach to keeping morale up comes from tracking everything we do, seeing how and when orders come through, and remembering that it’s all about peaks and troughs.

I have a saying that I always think about with freelancing… “you make hay while the sun’s shining…” Some weeks are so busy for us, that putting 14 or 16 hours in each day still doesn’t seem to get all the work done. And some other weeks are so quiet, we can work for an hour, and then spend the rest of the day going to the movies or (when the weather is nice) sitting in a pub garden.

That up-and-down nature can be really great, but it can also be emotionally draining. By tracking all of our orders, I have proof that I can turn to when things are quiet. I can look at a spreadsheet, and remind myself that things can turn around in an instant with freelancing, especially on Fiverr. We can wake up with zero orders in our queue, and be fully booked by lunchtime. I think for me, if I didn’t have that, I’d find the rollercoaster of freelancing too much to handle.

[silveni]

To attempt to answer the OP’s question about keeping morale, our approach is slightly different, because we’re a couple, and we both approach things differently.

I’m quite logical, whereas my partner is more emotional. My logical approach to keeping morale up comes from tracking everything we do, seeing how and when orders come through, and remembering that it’s all about peaks and troughs.

I have a saying that I always think about with freelancing… “you make hay while the sun’s shining…” Some weeks are so busy for us, that putting 14 or 16 hours in each day still doesn’t seem to get all the work done. And some other weeks are so quiet, we can work for an hour, and then spend the rest of the day going to the movies or (when the weather is nice) sitting in a pub garden.

That up-and-down nature can be really great, but it can also be emotionally draining. By tracking all of our orders, I have proof that I can turn to when things are quiet. I can look at a spreadsheet, and remind myself that things can turn around in an instant with freelancing, especially on Fiverr. We can wake up with zero orders in our queue, and be fully booked by lunchtime. I think for me, if I didn’t have that, I’d find the rollercoaster of freelancing too much to handle.

the rollercoaster of freelancing too much to handle.

Yep, you’re correct because it’s true.

[rosslombardi]

I had a few quite fulfilling office jobs, actually. Great team, good salary, interesting projects and, more importantly, a peppy 20-year-old intern who’d talk to clients and relay their wishes to me in a way that actually made sense. Oh, and limitless free coffee with 3-4 kinds of milk to choose from.

There is no shame in having a day job, even if deep inside your heart you are this l’artiste who’s above them mundane human things.

You just invest the resources you have (time, skills, money) into freelancing and see if it pays off. Give it as much time as you can, try different things. If it just eats up your resources and gives very little in return there is no shame in reconsidering either. Especially if it’s mostly struggle and resistance for you.

I do not feel “Above human mundan things” BUT for very complex reasons to do with personal mental health, (that is all you need to know, I dont want to go off topic) But I really, Really, REALLY dont like other humans in my life.

However, I am also a proud (ish) person that does not want to keep taking state benifits!

I am hoping that Freelancing from home might be a nice middle ground.

So I can work from home,

stay off state benfits and still avoid the crappy human race.

(I do know rationally that people are NOT crappy, really. But my irrational emotional side wont listen!)

I have never feared of hard work and long hours with low pay BUT I do fear and hate people,

And I will go to extrodinary lengths to avoid ANY social work enviroments!

Up to and including letting myself become homelss if things get finacially difficult enough!

[lenasemenkova]

I do not feel “Above human mundan things” BUT for very complex reasons to do with personal mental health, (that is all you need to know, I dont want to go off topic) But I really, Really, REALLY dont like other humans in my life.

However, I am also a proud (ish) person that does not want to keep taking state benifits!

I am hoping that Freelancing from home might be a nice middle ground.

So I can work from home,

stay off state benfits and still avoid the crappy human race.

(I do know rationally that people are NOT crappy, really. But my irrational emotional side wont listen!)

I have never feared of hard work and long hours with low pay BUT I do fear and hate people,

And I will go to extrodinary lengths to avoid ANY social work enviroments!

Up to and including letting myself become homelss if things get finacially difficult enough!

I have a panic disorder and actually found being around people beneficial. Although they have to be the right people and I do need months to integrate into the team. It backfired a few times in a pretty bad way but the positive experiences were relatively frequent. I don’t know what you’re going through but overall, I’d recommend not giving up on people. Especially if it’s a difficulty you have to overcome on a regular basis. It’s a bit like training a muscle.

and still avoid the crappy human race

I have bad news for you regarding that. 🙂 You’re still dealing with people. And people are just as difficult. Sometimes even more so when they choose to behave in a way they’d find embarrassing in person.

[emily_articles1]

Knowing that I’m helping other accomplish their goals keeps my moral high

[rosslombardi]

It is NOT about the money

For me, money is the part of the successful itself, Ask yours / everyone parents in here, they raised you / them / us with the money.

Well in that case I am happy to just achieve 20 K a year worth of sucessful,

The rest I will take in personal fulfilment, creative drive and happiness.

You come across as the sort of person, who pehaps, would not piss on someone who was on fire for as little as 20K a year.

As it would barly keep your fancy BMW running.

But that is your choice, your right and thats OK.

Good for you!

I honestly hope you have a long and happy life.

And it is equaly my choice, my right and it is OK and fine for me to choose to live my life with a very different set of values.

Have a nice life!

Of course though, “if” we had similar skill levels (Dont worry I am sure you are far better than me skill wise) and were both aproched to bid for any work to be done for a registered charity, a nobel or moral cause, you may have difficulty competing with me for the work on price.

Because why I am sure you know what a price looks like with lots of zeros at the end, you might find it hard to imagin or perceive one with lots of zeros at the front instead…

[kingsleyjone676]

sorry but after not getting any orders

You don’t have any active gigs. That means that nobody can order from you.

Also, you joined this month. There are users who wait for months to get their first order.

I think I’ll by friday…

With no active gigs, it makes no difference when you’ll “officially” quit, because nobody can place an order anyway.

Anyway, if you give up so quickly, perhaps freelancing as such isn’t your thing, and you’d do better with a 9-5 job (if you can get one).

I had one but deleted last night because some people upset me last night

[catwriter]

I had one but deleted last night because some people upset me last night

some people upset me last night

I’ve seen how you responded to those who upset you… If you get upset so easily, and respond in such a rude, immature and unprofessional way, perhaps freelancing isn’t for you. Then again, acting like that when you feel upset about honest feedback wouldn’t be allowed at a regular job, either.