Challenging myself to become a better writer and more
successful has always been, well, a challenge.
This November, while many writers are taking part in
National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, I have engaged in a month-long course aimed at getting a freelance business up and running.
Since finding Jorden Roper, freelance extraordinaire and
no-bullshit advice giver, I seemed to have lucked out on finding more
straight-forward resources from which to learn.
Sagan Morrow, a freelancer, blogger and freelance coach, based in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, created the Build Your Biz Challenge (BYBC). It is
simple, straight forward and incorporates actionable tips that take 15 minutes
each day to do. This is exactly the type of activity I’ve been looking for!
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| This is a screen shot of Sagan's website. You can see all the great options she offers for freelancers and continuing education. |
I’m super excited to complete these step-by-step activities
each day because they are giving me a great sense of what I need to do as a
freelancer.
Before beginning this course, I’d worked hard to develop my
niche (through help from Jorden) but got sidetracked and lost momentum. My
brain stalled and I couldn’t seem to get back on course.
I began following Sagan’s blog awhile back and even
subscribed to her updates via email. However, my inbox started to overflow with
“help” from several sources I’d thought sounded good. So Sagan’s emails got
lost in the mix, until one day, an email from her caught my eye.
I opened the one about BYBC and was immediately intrigued. I
signed up and am so happy I did!
Her course (which is FREE) is making me think through a
process I would never have been able to figure out on my own. She’s forced me
to revisit my goals and create a few new ones for much further down the line.
She gave us a calendar on which she described the activity
for each day of the month. This is helpful because I can be thinking ahead to
what I may need to research, or just be thinking deeper about an aspect of
freelancing I’d never thought of before.
On top of all this, those taking part in the challenge have the opportunity to be involved in a peer group on Facebook! It is interesting to see what other freelancers want to do, what level they're at and their goals, so far. I've also made a few contacts through the group, and hope to make a bunch more.
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| A screen shot of the top of our Facebook group page. |
I’m excited to see what the next few weeks bring. My main
goals are to have a functional website up and running by the end of November,
and gain at least one client in the next three months (if not before).
The class is totally free, and if you are interested, visit Sagan’s site. The challenge isn’t only for freelance writers, like me. There
are designers, editors, hair stylists, Pilates instructors, and other
professionals taking the course with me! Plus, Sagan has a bunch of helpful
blog posts and other freebies available for your perusal.
Give it a go. At the very least, you may learn something. At
the most, you may be inspired to branch out and start your own business.
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