Work4dollars - inspirarion part 2

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More inspiration for you. You can make it, I promise you. You just need inspiration and guidance. Work4Dollars would advise you to get some remote unskilled work, such as data-entry jobs, while you work on your chosen remote business or skilled remote jobs for the big bucks. We can be your mentor, just subscribe to our newsletter.

5. Virtual Assistance With Stephanie Lay

Falls Church, Virginia, USA – born, raised, and currently living there

Q: How Do You Support Yourself?

To be honest, I’m super grateful to still live at home with my parents, which allows me to keep my expenses low. Freelancing has been my main source of income for the past four years after I left a corporate job.

Q: What Was Your Biggest Struggle In Going Remote, And How Did You Overcome It?

Impostor syndrome I was changing careers from events to virtual assistance because of the pandemic and had a hard time believing that it was something I was capable of.

Even after I got my first couple of clients, I would run into an obstacle and immediately believe that I had no right to be a virtual assistant (VA) if I couldn’t figure that one thing out.

I had to shift my mindset to believe in “progress, not perfection,” and trusting how others see me. I had a wonderful support system of people who had gone through the same struggles, so they were able to help coach me out of imposter syndrome.

Q: How Long Did You Work Before You Were Able To Go Completely Remote?

My first small client came in the door in July, and it was a slow journey to book another one. In the meantime, I focused on my VA coaching course and building relationships within my online communities.

Things really accelerated in September after I had gained more experience and become more confident in myself and my skills. I’m happy to report that as of October, I am not taking on any more clients because I want to leave room to grow with all my current clients!

Q: What Advice Do You Have For Someone Who Wants To Write Their Own Remote Work Success Story?

Have a support system in place. I joined an online community full of members who are either already remote or trying to go remote. I never would’ve gotten to this point without their encouragement and willingness to help me on my journey and I plan on paying it forward with new members.

Find Stephanie online at www.stephanielay.com.

6.Online Education With Ellen Orr

Q: How Do You Support Yourself?

Primarily, I teach K-12 students virtually, in one-on-one, small group, and class settings. I also work as an educational consultant, helping caregivers and teachers solve problems they are encountering with their students. Finally, I work as a freelance writer for a handful of small publications.

Q: What Was Your Biggest Struggle In Going Remote, And How Did You Overcome It?

When I first began considering the switch, I became incredibly overwhelmed by all of the decisions in front of me. Should I become a copywriter? Should I start a blog? What is my niche? Do I need to learn about Google AdWords, SEO, hashtags, every social media platform? Do I have to make a TikTok?

Not only was I overwhelmed by all of the details, but I also felt a bit of dread: Would copywriting or blogging make me happy? Would I find it fulfilling? I’m a teacher at heart; it’s the emotional connection with my work that gives me the energy to do it well.

Copywriting, while surely lucrative, just wasn’t going to do it for me. So, I freaked out a little.

But, when I settled into myself, I realized that I could channel my passion for education into a viable remote job. I guess the struggle, then, was trying to contort myself to look like what I thought a “remote worker” was supposed to be — and I overcame that struggle by tapping out of it, choosing instead to create a remote path that worked for me.

Q: How Long Did You Work Before You Were Able To Go Completely Remote?

For six years, I supplemented full-time work with remote gigs, but for most of that time, I had no interest in relying entirely on remote work.

When, in the summer of 2020, I set out to work 100% remotely, I felt like I had a leg-up because I’d already made so many connections with potential clients and publications. In August, I put the word out that I would be accepting more students and clients in the fall.

By the time the leaves began to change, my autumn and winter were already filling up, giving me the confidence to take the leap and quit my full-time job.

Q: What Advice Do You Have For Someone Who Wants To Write Their Own Remote Work Success Story?

Get honest with yourself about what you need from your work. Will remote work fund your pursuit of fulfillment elsewhere, or do you need remote work both to pay your bills and be inherently fulfilling? You can’t build something that will support your needs if you don’t know what your needs are.

Find Ellen online at www.ellenteaches.com.

7. Instagram Coaching & Biz Mentorship With Sophie

Originally from London, and currently living there during the pandemic.

Q: How Do You Support Yourself?

I have my own business consulting and coaching people how to use Instagram to market their business online. This includes coaches, entrepreneurs or online serviced based businesses.

I built my Instagram account organically by documenting my travels and I used it to secure collaborations in the travel industry. I also mentor people who want to start an online business but are looking for that extra support to do so.

Q: What Was Your Biggest Struggle In Going Remote, And How Did You Overcome It?

I’d say the biggest struggle was learning to adapt to fully remote working. I had worked from home a lot in my previous job, but it’s completely different when ALL of your work is remote.

You’re working for yourself, with yourself.

It was challenging to organize and manage all the tasks without needing to report to someone above me.

There are so many advantages to being your own boss, but it does take a lot of self-motivation and discipline.

It can be tricky at first, but that’s normal and to be expected. Any transition is difficult to navigate at first.

The other thing that can be a problem is feeling isolated. I’ve made some amazing online friends through my work (Kayla being one of them!).

Network lots: this is how great friendships can be made. Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without some of my online friends. We already have plans to meet after covid allows!

Q: How Long Did You Work Before You Were Able To Go Completely Remote?

Before specializing in Instagram marketing, I worked as a social media manager. Due to the nature of the role, I was fully remote from the start. That’s the benefit of working online: as long as you have a WiFi connection, you can work.

Q: What Advice Do You Have For Someone Who Wants To Go Remote?

I find this Q hard to answer because I feel I have so much advice to offer people considering remote work.

My bigest piece of advice would have to be related to mindset. It’s something that shouldn’t be underestimated in the journey to remote working or entrepreneurship.

You will 100% have people tell you your idea is silly or it won’t work. It’s sad, but you should fully prepare yourself for that negativity from others.

If you don’t brace for that, you risk that negativity holding you back from achieving what you want.

If you have a skill and determination to work hard and succeed, then you can absolutely work remotely and on your terms.

Have the belief you can do it and you’re more than halfway there. There will be obstacles and setbacks of course, that’s all part of the journey.

What will set you apart from the others that try a remote career is not your knowledge or skills, but the sheer determination to pick yourself up and refuse to give up until you’ve got there.

Remember to enjoy it. You’re working to create a life you can live on your terms.

Find Sophie online at www.travelphilosophie.com.

8. Corporate Work Gone Remote With Krystal Nagle

Originally from Lake Wallenpaupack, Pennsylvania and currently in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania

Q: How Do You Support Yourself?

The vast majority of my income comes from my job in corporate as a project manager for a Fortune 500 life-sciences company. However, I also receive income from a travel brand that I built with my husband.

Q: What Was Your Biggest Struggle In Going Remote, And How Did You Overcome It?

The biggest struggle of going remote in corporate is finding a company/boss/role that will fully support remote work. Regardless of how far the world has come, I’ve found there can definitely be a stigma in big-business around working remotely.

My company is fairly progressive with work/life balance policies. But of course, there are still major pockets of people and groups that have more traditional “in-office” values.

To overcome this, I recommend two steps:

Get serious about what you’re willing to give up in order to work remotely. For some companies, this may mean forfeiting promotions and career opportunities. For others, it may mean not being able to build the same connections you could in-person.

This is why it’s important to get clear on what you value most in your job/career and assess how working remotely would impact that.

And secondly, find a company with values that are close to yours and pitch them. Ideally, this is the company you already work for, but that’s not always the case.

Personally, I decided that I wanted to be able to continue to bring value in my career and I sought out an area that supports me and doesn’t see full-time work as a step-down.

This step is continual, as you’ll want to make sure you consistently have support through your different roles and jobs.

Q: How Long Did You Work Before You Were Able To Go Completely Remote?

I spent 8 years working for my company before I went full time remote, but truthfully, the time doesn’t matter in corporate.

Some companies are super traditional and will still have concerns around full-time remote work, no matter how long you’ve worked and proven your credibility.

Meanwhile, more innovative companies are seeing the benefits of remote work and will offer it to even a new employee.

Q: What Advice Do You Have For Someone Who Wants To Write Their Own Remote Work Success Story?

Everyone’s remote journey looks different – explore your options and then make it happen in a way that works for you! The tale of the 9-to-5er that quit their cubicle job and became a digital entrepreneur overnight is a sexy story, but it isn’t for everyone.

You don’t have to give up your career, risk your life savings, or travel non-stop to be a remote worker. This is something I didn’t realize when I first started and the idea of becoming remote felt out of reach for so long… until I decided to write my own story.

Now, I can live where I want, travel where I want (outside of working hours), and continue to build a career that’s valuable to me!

Find Krystal online at www.krystalandericnagle.com.

9. Freelance Writing With Renee Robinson

Originally from Sydney, Australia, currently living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Q: How Do You Support Yourself?

I work at a bookstore, and freelance write on the side

Q: What Was Your Biggest Struggle In Going Remote, And How Did You Overcome It?

There were two big struggles for me, one being covid. I was on track to freelancing full time when the world shut down, and lots of businesses could no longer afford to take a chance on a newbie.

The other big struggle was putting my name out there. It was SO embarrassing at the start advertising my services in Facebook groups, or just sending cold emails/DMs to businesses who MIGHT be interested in what I had to offer.

I can’t tell you how crazy it was to have people actually respond with interest! I definitely had to overcome a lot of imposter syndrome and pretend I was a lot more confident in my work than I felt.

Having people actually pay me to write continued to confirm that I can do this, that I have the talent, I just had to believe in myself!

Q: How Long Did You Work Before You Were Able To Go Completely Remote?

Like I said, I was on the road to full-time before COVID hit. I had been working on my blog for about a year before I started offering my services to others.

For me, it was vital to have a portfolio to show what I could do—I wanted clients to see for themselves what I could do so they could trust in my work.

Note from Kayla: Renee’s path highlights an important opportunity: if there’s something that you want to do for others, start doing it for yourself and use it as a portfolio! Your skills can start to be developed today, and used to get you client work down the road. I have resources for you to start learning Pinterest and SEO here.

Q: What Advice Do You Have For Someone Who Wants To Write Their Own Remote Work Success Story?

It’s a lonely world. A big part of the reason I went back to working in retail was because covid closed all the creative work spaces where other freelancers might work.

Just know going into to remote work, you really are on your own, and you have to be VERY comfortable in your own company. Your community will largely be virtual, but I promise this is much easier to cope with when the world is open!

Find Renee online at www.youngandtrekless.com.

10. Teaching English & Pinterest Management With Kelsey Frey

Originally from San Jose, California and currently in Colorado

Q: How Do You Support Yourself?

I have several different jobs at the moment! My most stable gigs are teaching English online and Pinterest management. I also do some freelance writing and graphic design, and earn a little bit from my travel blog.

Q: What Was Your Biggest Struggle In Going Remote, And How Did You Overcome It?

I didn’t know how to actually make money! I knew I had lots of skills, but just wasn’t sure how to find opportunities to monetize them.

I’d been working in the education sector at an environmental nonprofit, and enjoyed teaching. I stumbled upon teaching English online a few months before I quit, and since I was already working primarily in the education field, I figured it would be a good fit.

Freelance writing and graphic design were things I wanted to try out, too. I ended up finding some freelance writing gigs through word of mouth and Facebook groups (more on that below).

Q: How Long Did You Work Before You Were Able To Go Completely Remote?

I actually gave myself a month off before I started teaching English online! I had already landed the job, but was pretty burnt out from working at the nonprofit and wanted to give myself some time to decompress.

The other jobs that I now have came later, and although I did start my blog 2 years before I left, I hadn’t monetized it yet.

Q: What Advice Do You Have For Someone Who Wants To Write Their Own Remote Work Success Story?

Figure out your skills, and really think about what you like to do. Is there a way you can combine those two things into your perfect remote job?

If there’s something you’re interested in but don’t have the skills yet, I’d highly recommend taking courses! I fell into Pinterest marketing after I took a course to learn about it for my blog.

I posted about it on Instagram, and 2 people messaged me asking if I could manage their Pinterest accounts! Tell people about what you’re doing, and follow/network with potential clients on social media.

Facebook groups are also gold mines for finding clients.

If you want to look for a remote position rather than starting your own online business, It’s a Travel O.D. posts a ton of companies looking for remote workers on her remote job directory.

And lastly, if you’re brand new: try and offer your first client a “newbie” deal or work for free in exchange for a review or experience. Don’t do a lot of work for free or for a too-low price, but it may be helpful to practice on your first client. You’ll build up confidence and get experience this way.

Find Kelsey online at www.sightsbetterseen.com.

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