Why I Work From Home and For Myself

workflask

The first day back at work.

I have my flask filled and my favourite mug ready.

My lunch is made up in the fridge for me to just grab and eat at my desk.

My pencils have been sharpened and my post it notes are in order.

The shiny new diary has been “broken” and my email box looks a little better now that the hoards of emails that accumulated over the Christmas break have been cleared, filed or dealt with (well most of them are, my inbox is like the bloody Tardis!).

My nails have been filed back down to an acceptable typing level.

I have already spoken on the phone to two new potential clients (read this as I have spoken with an adult and Numberjacks, Minecraft and CBeebies were not mentioned).

I’ve loudly trumpeted across my social media networks so that everyone knows I am back and…

I have just realised how much I love my work!

Ok, there are the clients that think they are writers or would be if only they had the spare time (if you work with clients like this say “aye!”). There are the rubber invoices which seem to bounce back repeatedly unpaid. There are the emails which make you want to throw your monitor out of the window and the deadlines which you always agree to yet always regret because you know they are nuts and you will be burning the midnight oil, inhaling coffee granules and posting on Facebook that you will NEVER take on such an assignment again.

Until next time of course.

That said there are huge benefits to what I do:

  • I am my own boss which means I can be a bitch and it doesn’t matter, no-one will quit.
  • I am my own boss so what I say goes.
  • I pick and choose (mostly) what work I do.
  • If I want to have very strong red onions and garlic in my lunch then that is fine, there is no-one else here to complain about the smell.
  • I am able to be completely flexible around the boys (very important).
  • I can wear big fluffy slipper boots while working and no-one cares.
  • I can have music blasting out via Spotify when working and no-one complains.
  • I have no work do to attend, no office gossips to worry about.
  • Being made redundant isn’t a concern.

And I can choose how high my business goes and ultimately set how much I want to earn (realistically speaking, OBVIOUSLY I’d like a millions pounds a month but the tax would be a pain so I choose a more modest income instead).

Working from home and for yourself, whether you are juggling a family or not is incredibly hard work and yet may be unbelievably rewarding.

Today is a good day at work!

People Per Hour – Change is Good

For anyone who hasn’t heard of People Per Hour it is a brilliant website and community through which freelancers across any number of sectors may apply or send a proposal for jobs that are posted. PPH charge some fees (I know, how dare they!) when you are paid on completion of the work however all in all it is a great way to make money and increase your contact base.

People Per Hour facilitate payments, communications between clients and freelancers and provide a platform through which many people are able to shout about their business and their skills which in turn enables them to earn more.

People Per Hour - a brilliant platform for increasing your business

When I first joined PPH back in 2011 it was a busy site and did the job it was supposed to do. Then, last year (to the outrage of many!) PPH changed. A fresh new design, new features and more were introduced and the freelance world found itself united against the mighty PPH who dared to change things. I mean really, did they think they owned the site?

I’ll admit that at the start I found many of the changes bewildering. Everything had moved, I couldn’t find a thing and while some of the changes made perfect sense the reasoning behind some of the others was certainly not obvious. Many continued to scream, shout and throw tantrums over the changes however over time most people have come to realise that the changes were for the best and that adopting a Moaning Minnie stance wasn’t going to earn them any cash!

Thankfully the door was left open for feedback across the PPH forum, Facebook, via the support team and more. I myself was one of the lucky ones to enjoy a Google+ Hangout with the big boss himself at the time who was very open and receptive to feedback and over the past six months the feedback received has been actioned and the site works better than ever.

Personally I find PPH a fantastic place to pick up one-off pieces of work or to forge on-going working relationships. I have earned a substantial amount through the site and have enjoyed finding new and interesting projects and people through it. While not all of my business comes from PPH some does and it all adds up folks.

The issue that many people have had with PPH in the past is that people always posted jobs wanting people with real skills to work for peanuts. This was seen as belittling the worth of the freelancer, although no-one HAS to apply for a job if they aren’t happy with the terms. PPH have put a lot of work into making the platform a fairer place for all. There are still very low rate jobs that do pop up occasionally and I was once questioned regarding why I had bid on one of these. My answer was:

You see that X wants me to do this work for £7 an hour and that I have bid for this job. What you don’t see is the proposal that I have sent or the actual amount I’ve said I will work for. Through writing a compelling proposal explaining what I would actually work for and why the client should pay that, I have been known to triple if not quadruple the amount originally offered AND have gone on to enjoy future projects with that same client at the higher rate“.

PPH is a platform to be used to identify new work opportunities and to increase your own visibility in your sector, and it works.
If you have any questions about my experiences with PPH ask away as I am happy to answer them and if I can’t I will direct you to the right support solution. This business tool is one to look into further and which will if used properly, especially since the changes have been implemented and the kinks ironed out, increase your income.

There is a fantastic system in place on PPH where you are able to receive feedback for the work you have done and even leave it for your clients,  To see more visit my profile at pph.me/nickicawood
There is a fantastic system in place on PPH where you are able to receive feedback for the work you have done and even leave it for your clients,
To see more visit my profile at pph.me/nickicawood 

**This post has been entered into the “Be a PPH ambassador” scheme (a chosen freelancer gets a shiny badge and could win some £ to use on the site) however I only endorse sites, tools or cheese that I really do like and my content remains very much under my own control. This means that you may confident that when I recommend something I do it because I truly believe in it.