25/ Tabula Rasa

It's my quitversary! Life updates and on being a freelancer.

Jun 06, 2024

Tabula Rasa = Blank Slate

Updates from the last year

From the time I quit to present day

Photo of author on a slanting road on the way to Landour — Somewhere between Mussorie and Landour

Exactly 1 year ago, I celebrated my last working day at HP as a cybersecurity engineer with my loveliest team of colleagues [1]. I always wanted to freelance, but graduating in the pandemic left me uncertain. I took up a safe job which gave me a taste of financial freedom for the first time in my life. I’m eternally grateful.

Quitting my job wasn’t hard because s/o to my parents for being the most supportive people on the planet. This year wouldn’t be possible if I hadn’t stood on the shoulders of giants (my parents + savings).

I covered my reasons for quitting in an earlier edition. The plan was to start freelancing right after, but I was burnt out. A couple months of break later (which included fixing my diet and fitness), I serendipitously stumbled upon a chance to work for a travel influencer. As a virtual assistant. Remotely. It was still pretty exciting. I worked as her video editor + designer + researcher + writer and picked up a ton of allied skills.

In Feb 2024, the engagement came to an end. It had hit the ceiling, as certain jobs tend to do. We mutually parted ways, and I interviewed for a couple of jobs (which I got, because of blind confidence and skills) but turned them down because…

I wanted to backpack in the north.

I spent a month in the mountains in what I consider one of the most isolating periods of my life. Apart from a couple of (mis)adventures, I remember being cold and lonely for extended periods of time. The mountains however left me with an important revelation - I absolutely adore cities. I am a city girl through and through. I wrote a love letter to Delhi expressing as much.

Soon as I came back, I found my bank account sitting, crying, wailing in a corner. It was time to make money again. It was time to freelance. *Cracks knuckles*

How did I start freelancing?

This newsletter was the first swing. Having written work published online helps. Don’t worry about shares or subscribers. Ditch the numbers, focus on the skill.
I offered video editing, writing and design as services. My first clients were friends I made during my travels. My next set of clients were people from X.
I was terminally online on X. Posting about work and in general brought tons of opps to my inbox.
I niched down to just writing because that’s what I enjoy most.
My portfolio is a simple, basic AF google drive folder. I need to update it soon, but it goes to show that you don’t need a fancy portfolio website to get started.
2-3 pieces of writing you’re proud of is all you need. Mine are this and this. I have other writing in my portfolio that I share with clients.
If you want to build social capital it helps to be a nice person. Support wins, connect people, be genuinely interested, and offer to help.
My only outbound was reaching out to a senior freelancer I respected and admired [2], asking to outsource work. Here’s the cold DM I sent. Don’t forget to include a ‘hi <name>’!

Reflections on Freelancing

The first month I made peanuts. I experimented with pricing and kinds of work. I offered to do work for a lower rate if I had lesser experience.

3 things -

Allow room for 10-20% of learning in each project. The fun of being a freelancer is you can get paid to learn all kinds of stuff.
Freelancing is back and forth. Don't be intimidated and wonder if the client will dislike the outcome. It's your process they're paying for. It takes two to shape the outcome.
Publish work you love doing to attract paid projects of the same kind. Mine is my newsletter.

Being able to finally match my tech salary is a matter of building skills and confidence.

Do you have questions? Leave a comment :)

Shamikasmruthi’s Newsletter

Discussion about this post