Name: Karen L. Johnson

Website(s):

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karenlj

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/areaK

Guru: http://profile.guru.com/244165

Social Media Blog: http://www.imconnections.com

Social Media Vine: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SocialMediaVine/76533698835

Services provided: Primary focus is on Social Media Networking and Marketing to create and expand brand awareness and drive business. Also provide an array of other VA services including internet marketing assistance, administrative assistance, paralegal services, project and product management, basic video creations, light website maintenance, and blog setup and maintenance.

Getting started as a freelancer. I was a full-time paralegal for approximately six years, and office manager for 3, with preceding jobs varying from waitressing, working in a factory, and being an admin assistant. While I loved being a paralegal, I always had a desire to “do my own thing”. I wanted to work from home so that my life would be more flexible, I could spend more time with the kids and not have to ask for permission to take off work for their school events, to run personal errands, etc. And, most importantly, I hated having to get up by 6 a.m., fight traffic and be at the office by 8 a.m.; and wasting another hour or more in the evening fighting traffic to get home.

I had always been into the Internet, since before it was the Internet we know today, and I heard of providing services over the Internet. So I started looking! The thought of working from home made my mouth water! I found moonlighter.com (now known as Guru) and set up a profile. Just dabbled in it here and there for a while; working online wasn’t as easily available in so many forms then and moonlighter.com didn’t have nearly as many jobs as it does now. I started picking up projects here and there until I was doing it on a regular part-time basis, all the while planning to leave my day job once I got my feet wet enough.

I started off doing transcription work and started building my reputation as a reliable VA who delivered a great work product until I was soon picking up other legal and administrative projects. I eventually got into the online marketing world, which has turned very “social” over the past few years, and ended up working for a very successful Internet/Social Marketer who I’ve learned a ton from. Moreover, the experience positioned me to assist others with their Internet Marketing and Social Media goals as well as my own. I also dove into project and product management, and various other tasks that span the virtual world of work.

Marketing your services. I find clients in various places including Guru.com and Twitter as well as by word-of-mouth since I have established myself as a reputable, reliable VA and sometimes even on various forums. I scan Guru to see if there are projects I am interested in. And, if I really need to dig for work, I connect with people on Twitter or scan through forums that either focus on jobs or the Internet Marketing arena where I can find people to whom I will either pitch my services or see if there is something that they could use assistance with. Occasionally, I post some of my specific services on related forums. For instance, I might post that I offer creation of video tutorial services on an Internet Marketing forum because the people in Internet Marketing can often utilize these types of services to increase sales and product awareness.

I turn a lead into a paying client by clearly articulating what I can do for them. I’m detailed but to the point. I learn about their company or website (if possible, some clients don’t give their information up front) and I mention things I already know about their company so they know I’ve done my due diligence. I focus on what they need more than anything else and how I can help them. I point them to my many reviews on Guru which evidence my work skills and reliability before they even ask so that they can see my reputation for themselves.

Delivering successfully. Here are some best practices I’ve adopted over the years:

• I never commit to a deadline that I’m not sure I can meet.
• I sometimes do a bit of research on my own time to see if there’s something “extra” I can add to the project that will make it even better.
• If possible, I deliver the project before the deadline for the “impressive” effect.
• I offer suggestions and feedback so that clients see me as more of a partner in their project rather than a robot – which often leads to more work because they see that you really care and are eager to actively participate in their growth and success.
• Twitter is one of my favorite websites because it allows you to monitor and participate in conversations about absolutely anything. You can network with people who share whatever interests you have, find work, get help, find resources, and more.
• Guru is my favorite freelance job sites because you can find a variety of work in different arenas, it is reasonably priced and allows profile flexibility and creativity. I like their various systems and resources.

Challenges into Opportunities. Some of the challenges I face as a freelancer include:

• Discipline. It can be hard to be disciplined when you have so much freedom working from home. It’s easy to get sidetracked with interruptions or with the ease of simply being able to do what you want, when you want. And, sometimes it can be hard to stick to a project that you really don’t love.

• • When I see that my productivity is slipping or when I feel like quitting because I’m bored with something, I try to picture my future – if I don’t produce, or if I quit, it will negatively affect client word-of-mouth marketing or at least not encourage positive word of mouth. If I quit, then I can’t put the current project as another accomplishment on my resume; or again, gain another good reference. If I quit, I’m losing money now and possibly later. Being self-employed means you only get paid for what you do; there is no 8 hours on the clock if you’re not producing so I imagine the bill I can’t pay if I don’t get the job done! I focus on my goals and where I want to be in another year and remind myself that this is another stepping stone and I can move forward, stand still, or fall backwards.

• • If you can’t set a specific timeframe to sit down and work, set a daily goal of how many hours you want to work and, whatever time you have, just do it. It feels good when you get those hours under your belt!

• Slow work. Sometimes work can be slow so you have to stay on top of ensuring you will have enough work, now and later. If you work for a client long-term, that’s always a good position but what if they just don’t need you anymore one day? That’s scary because you still have bills to pay. Or if you work short-term projects for the most part, what happens when you run out? Another scary situation when you depend on that income to support your family.

• • Although consistent work just simply isn’t guaranteed when you’re freelancing; things you can do to better position yourself are to stay disciplined to gain better marketing and a better reputation for yourself to ensure that when things are slow you have a better chance of landing work. Even while you have work, continue to market yourself – don’t overload yourself with so much work that you can’t deliver but just keep adding building blocks by doing things like staying connected in forums, or on Twitter, or wherever potential connections and clients might be. This will often make it easier when you do need work because people have become familiar with you and you may even make some friends who will recommend you to friends when you’re looking for work. Never get too comfortable.

• • If you can, pick up an extra small project here and there so you can add a few extra bucks to your bank account.

• • If possible, which sometimes it isn’t, try to set aside some money as you go so that you can build a padding to fall back on for slow periods.

• • Add new skills to your skillset by educating yourself in new areas so that you can offer a wider range of services, which will allow you a broader job base to choose from.

• • Be willing to take whatever you have to take sometimes and realize that these are the cons you accept when gaining the tremendous pros from working for yourself.

• Costs of insurance, retirement accounts, new hardware or software, self-employment tax. When you work for yourself, although there are exceptions, you often have to pay for your own health insurance, retirement funds and new equipment and software as well as basic overhead expenses like paper, ink, internet service, phone service, etc.

• • Find out if, and what, you can deduct on taxes for certain expenses.

• • Build on your skills so that you can charge more per hour or per project. Look for deals when it comes to office purchases, check around online to see if you can find what you need for a lower cost than in-store.

• • Research insurance companies that specialize in offering insurance for the self-employed.

• • Again, try to set aside some money from your work for these expenses and have a plan to donate to your retirement fund. Try to position yourself to obtain investment accounts so that your money grows.

Share Your Wisdom. It takes hard work, dedication and discipline. It can often be more work than a 9-5 because you may need to learn something new on your own time and you don’t have any benefits. Particularly starting out, it will often take persistence to land your first client and even your second and third one. Reputation matters and the Internet is a smaller place than you think so you need to work hard to maintain your reputation and expand your skills.

Dreaming the dream. What are your short, medium, and/or long-term goals for your freelancing business? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I also do some Internet/affiliate marketing on the side so I plan for that to factor in to my being able to reduce the amount of VA work that I do by creating various passive incomes.

I have recently started offering Social Media Coaching/Consulting/Management services for businesses, Virtual Assistants and individuals so I plan to provide more of those services and little to no actual VA services as time progresses.

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