Now we’re gonna get into the good stuff, but first, let’s talk about reality.

By now you’ve heard me say it too much…freelancing takes time. It’s not something you should start in a rush, and that’s partially because being in a rush means you can’t be as picky about your clients.

If you think I’m gearing you up for something, I am, because to get money fast, you have to compromise on a few standards. Those are probably going to fall under…

Not all of them at one time, but you’re probably going to have to bend on at least two. Here’s an example.

After I lost that $3K in a month, I KNEW I had to make it up quickly. My answer came in the form of a job creating social media posts for doctors and spas. It paid $100 per 20 posts for each client.

Now…I don’t write content that consumers (in this case, patients) read, but push came to shove, so I gave it a shot (niche dimension). I also don’t like social, and my rate is $25 per post, so this initially looked like a bad fit, but I put my pride on the back burner for a second and realized that if I pushed my speed (comfort) could push out those 20 in an hour, I could make $100/hr (pay rate), which isn’t too far off my preferred $150/hr minimum rate, even if I was creating content I wasn’t fond of (services).

They were offering 10 a month, but I knew I could talk them into taking on more, because places like this always need consistent help. Within about 2 weeks I’d gotten the go-ahead to do 22, making up of the bulk of lost client income, and that’s just with an hour of mentally light work each morning.

I’ll tell you flat out that I found that job on Indeed. I’m also going to suggest Upwork and especially Fiverr to you, and you know why?

Those are the sites with the people who want to work with freelancers NOW. You don’t have time to wait for content marketing to kick in or do the the dance of cold contacting on LinkedIn to convince them that your work can help build their business. (Fiverr especially, is known for its speed in payment turnaround.)

You’ll still have to be selective...don’t go scraping the bottom of the barrel (stay away from anything below two dollar signs on Upwork for example), but you’ll probably need to be a bit flexible with who you work with to get some money in the door quickly. (And don’t forget to toss the keyword “ASAP” and “immediate need” into your searches.)

Megan