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23/11/2017 0 Comments entrepreneur interviews - series 1interview 3 - anne rainbow, the scrivernervirginAnne is a writer, editor, author and blogger. In this interview she talks about the life of a writer, how she ensures she covers all the bases in her business, and her favourite tools for writing, and marketing. Anne, what do you do, why do you do it and how did you get into it?
I am the ScrivenerVirgin, blogging about how writers can make best use of this amazing software, and hosting the Simply Scrivener Special webinars to demonstrate Scrivener features and answer writers' questions. I am also the RedPen Mentor, helping writers to achieve their dreams! I've always been a teacher at heart, and I love seeing others - especially writers - acquire knowledge and understanding and then enjoy success. How long have you been an entrepreneur? Even when officially employed, I've always also worked for myself: writing, teaching, etc. Although RedPen goes back more than a decade, the current 'portfolio' started when I set up my website and began blogging about Scrivener in September 2015. I've been helping writers to learn how to edit their manuscripts through online writers’ groups and face-to-face workshops forever, but it was in September of 2016 that I self-published my book EDITING The RedPen Way: 10 Steps to Successful Self-Editing. Since then, within the ScrivenerVirgin website, http://www.scrivenervirgin.com I've set up the RedPen Editing, Training and Mentoring service. What are the biggest benefits of entrepreneurship... and the downsides? Working as an entrepreneur means I have total freedom to work on what I enjoy, when I like and in circumstances that I engineer for myself. At home, I have an office to myself, and technology means I can work, using my laptop, anywhere in the world... so we travel too. Writers and other artists can so easily become absorbed in their work, and turn into recluses, cutting themselves off from the 'real' world. I think the same is true of entrepreneurs. When my children were young, they complained that I didn't show them enough attention. Now, on my second marriage, my partner is an artist, disappearing into his studio for hours. Individually, we are impossible to live with; together, we make a great team. What are the most important lessons, or realisations you've had about life as an entrepreneur? Although I am one person - one head and one pair of hands - I need to separate the various roles that need to be mastered. I am the boss; I am the worker. I write the words, I have to market them too. I am responsible for my own success - and need to apply myself to whatever needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and to complete everything in as professional a manner as I can. A very strong work ethic helps. Waking early and having little need for sleep is a bonus, but it's also easy to wear yourself out, so time for recovery needs to be factored in. Most important, is the time needed for the 'boss' to think ahead. What are the top tools that have made a significant difference to your business? I use so many...
You can connect with Anne at: http://www.scrivenervirgin.com. Contains copyrighted material from the book: Entrepreneurial Espresso.
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9/11/2017 0 Comments ENTREPRENEUR INTERVIEWS - SERIES 1INTERVIEW 2 - COREY WILSON, THE ONLINE FREELANCERCorey is an established part of the "gig economy". He has worked for Fiverr.com for a number of years, and earns a full-time living via the site. In this interview he shares his views about the realities of freelancing online, the importance of flexibility when you have family members to care for, and his favourite software for business. Corey, what do you do, why do you do it and how did you get into it?
One night in 2013, I was browsing the Internet and found a link to Fiverr.com. I'd already tried registering on Freelancer.com and Odesk, (now Upwork) but they were so difficult to set up and required a ton of information before I could even start bidding for gigs. I'd also need to pay extra to increase my number of bids and to pass different tests. It didn't sound promising, so I didn't upgrade to paid membership with them. I wanted something simple and I found it in Fiverr. $5 didn't seem like a lot of money, but the website looked modern and interesting, so I signed up. My one and only gig was beta reading ebooks. I download a lot of Kindle books and the Indie ones always have so many mistakes, from grammar to plot holes and ugly covers - I thought if I could read them before they got published, I could prevent a lot of common errors which would help the authors get better reviews and sales. I posted the gig, it got approved and then I forgot all about it. Then, one day I got an email telling me that I'd received an order. I logged in, read the book and got my first 5-star review. Then I added more gigs - things I already knew how to do: audio transcription, PDF to Word conversions, mind mapping, online research and data entry, and that was the start of my business! What are the biggest benefits of freelancing / entrepreneurship? Unfortunately, as my monthly income increased, so did the health problems in my family - getting a full-time job was no longer an option. I needed flexibility and time for waiting rooms, trips to the ER, and home care. No employer would tolerate that much absence. That is the greatest benefit of freelancing. You have a deadline, but you don't have to work on your gig from 9 to 5, you can work on it at 5 a.m. You also get to work on so many diverse projects. No two days are alike, and as you work, you're always thinking of ways to complete tasks faster and better, and about skills you could learn to improve your value. It's very dynamic. Also, there is nobody standing over your shoulder telling you how to do your work. You can do the job in whatever way you want, as long as the buyer gets what they need. The downside is that you never know when your next order will arrive. Summers can be very slow, with days without any orders. That can be nerve-wracking if you have bills to pay. Can you tell us the top tools that have made a significant difference to your business?
You can check out Corey's Fiverr gigs here: https://www.fiverr.com/carbor Contains copyrighted material from the book: Entrepreneurial Espresso. |
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