Lessons I Learned During My Autonomous Work Journey After Failing University

I stayed at the university for six and a half years and could not complete my degree in Engineering in Geology. I could only pass 42 subjects out of 56. Left the university and came back home. Like a handy example of next-generation failure. I wasted my family's money, time, and expectations. For the next eight years, I struggled with money. Handouts from my family members were one of the two means of my survival and covering expenses. My only income was from tutoring children from grade 1 to grade 8. The pay was so little that I could only cover 15 to 16 days of daily expenses, even though I ate and lived rent-free in my parents' house. I am a nicotine addict. In October 2018, I decided to go in a new direction by learning a skill that can pay the bills. I chose to pursue content writing. I practised for close to six months, using dense notebooks and pens. Next, I started reaching out to business owners for their writing needs. In the beginning, I worked at low rates to perfect my skill at the expense of the client. Now, after seven and a half years, I have worked with 42 business entities. 30 companies from my country and 12 foreign organisations. Also, in the meantime, I delivered over 3 million words of content. Moreover, I passed the EFSET Proficiency exam and became a C2 proficient user of the English language. Here are three lessons that I learned during my autonomous professional journey that'll help you succeed in your career. The Market Rewards Action When I started content writing, my first client assigned me a 500-word article. I completed it in one day, and the money was in my account the next day. My next client asked me to write two articles daily for her and committed to pay at the end of the month. I delivered 61 articles to that client in a calendar month. I received the payment as per commitment. It was my first large sum earned from content writing. Over the next seven years, I experienced that whenever I delivered the full quality within deadlines, my payments never got delayed or reduced. The market pays for the quality delivered within deadlines, no matter your skill level. Oftentimes, my clients ask me to deliver an assignment in a short time due to the urgency of the situation. For that, I always skip everything and sit down to deliver the required quality in the given time to meet the client's goals. This attitude of action strengthened my relationship with clients, making me a reliable person to work with. If you are going through hard times, take action. The market will reward you and solve your money and cash flow problems. Your Portfolio Matters More Than Your Credentials. After serving 42 clients, I was never asked by anyone to show my degree or any certificate. Every one of my clients inquired about my past proof of work or portfolio. My clients always asked about my rates after reviewing my portfolio because it was proof of work that no one can deny. In the beginning, my portfolio had a few samples without much diversity. Due to this, many deals could not be materialised. With time, I added more and more samples to my portfolio. I witnessed a moment when a client agreed to my demanded rates right after seeing a few of my samples. If you are starting out in the market, start by building a strong portfolio. Next, things will become easy. The More Value You Create, The More You Earn My start was blog writing. Product descriptions were added next. Later, I offered technical writing, business writing, and PR writing. In short, the more value added by my stack of skills, the more I got paid. If you are starting out, try to deliver as much value to your client as you possibly can. The income will follow. Wrap Up As a fellow professional, I suggest three things to do to grow your independent professional career. Show up and take as much action as you can. Build a portfolio that opens money discussions. Deliver the maximum value that you can deliver with your current capabilities. Success will chase you.