If there's one truth freelancers learn sooner or later, it's this: The economy doesn't care about your pipeline needs. Markets shift, industries contract, new technologies emerge and budgets get tighter without warning. The ups and downs aren't personal, but how you respond to them can completely change the trajectory of your business.
Leveraging your skills on freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer can be a quick way to earn cash. Whether it's writing, graphic design, programming or social media management, these platforms connect you with clients looking for specific skill sets. Start by creating a compelling profile and bidding on projects that match your expertise.
Working solo is one of the benefits of being a freelance web designer. You don't have a boss breathing down your neck or tracking every mouse click. That's one reason why many of us choose this career path. On the other hand, no one has your back when things go wrong. There are no team members to ensure that you're treated fairly or paid for your work. Raise your hand if a client ever skipped town without paying their bill. Yes, we see you!
Before having children, I worked as a journalist for years. I loved my job, and after my daughter was born in 2021, I returned to work full time at a magazine. My monthly salary just covered her childcare fees with little left over. This meant my husband had to cover all other living expenses, with only tiny contributions from me. When we had our second baby, a son in 2023, something had to change.
While it's not unusual for young people to work multiple jobs through college and early in their career, Gen Zers are stacking jobs on top of jobs as a way to DIY their own careers. (One Gen Zer, Carissa Ferguson, says she's earned more than $144,0000 selling voiceovers, content creation, and copywriting on Fiverr's platform.) Of those surveyed, 67% said that multiple streams of income were essential for a sense of financial security.
This is market research plus iteration, not prompting and hoping. You study a niche, save dozens of top-performing thumbnails and reverse-engineer common patterns. Then you deliver variants and test their click-through rate. What you're selling is better performance, not a JPEG. You have to justify why someone should pay you to design their thumbnail instead of doing it themselves. You have to show that you understand which thumbnails perform well and which ones don't, and why.
Imagine spending your work day posted up under a thatch roofed cabana next to the ocean. The clicking of your laptop keyboard merges with the sound of crashing waves and once your work day wraps up you spend the rest of the evening surfing. Perhaps you'd rather spend rainy mornings working in a cozy cafe before wandering cobblestone streets in Europe.
I started at Disney in 2011 with an eight-month internship as a cast member. My end goal was to go back after finishing my degree and rise through the company's ranks.
For years, living abroad felt like a dream. In my mid-20s, I'd left my home in Canada in 2012 with an EU passport in hand. I moved to Brussels, where I built a marketing career and earned a Ph.D. During a stint living in Rio, I even met my now-husband. Together, around 2020, we landed in Portugal, which we'd thought would be our forever home. It seemed like a great fit as we both spoke fluent Portuguese and wanted to stay in Europe.
It was super structured and ran like a well-oiled machine; I needed a little more ownership and a little more chaos. After about three years, I quit to scale my side business: I'm a full-stack email marketer who creates email campaigns - including email copy, design, development, and implementation - for direct-to-consumer and business-to-business companies globally. I use the platform Fiverr to find clients. My prices range from $100 for a single brief to $3,000+ per month for a done-for-you service.
