How often do you invest in yourself?
…waiting for your answer…
Okay, I know that question can be a bit confusing.
When most of us hear of the word investing, we associate it with the rich or at least the middle class who have a coin to spare. We think of investing in the stock market, bonds, and most recently cryptocurrency.
But, who said that investing must involve large sums of money?
In other cases, it doesn’t involve even a coin.
And, I meant, investing in yourself, not just investing.
So, what is investing in yourself, how can you do it and how can it help you?
What is Self-Investment?
Investing in self is taking time to work on either the physical, mental, emotional, or financial aspect of your life.
Jim Rohn once stated, “ Income seldom exceeds self-development.” In other words, you can never make more money than the measure of your self-investment.
When you work out, you are investing in your physical and mental wellbeing.
When you attend a financial seminar, you are investing in your financial IQ – as Robert Kiyosaki would call it.
When you read a book, you are investing in yourself and so on.
Why am I Blubbering About This Self-Investment Gospel?
Ok, Listen:
In 2017 I decided to venture into online writing seriously. By that time, I was working in my ‘dream job’ as a psychologist in an NGO.
I was getting home at around 5:30 pm from work, shower and sit at my home office and start writing up to around midnight. I would hit the bed, sleep and wake up at 6:00 am to work up to 8:00 am before leaving for work. Luckily, my office was just five minutes away from where I was staying.
I did this for a couple of months, and things were looking up. I got one writing account, and in a week I would make up to Ksh. 10,000. I couldn’t believe my luck. I was killing this online game, or so I thought.
I was making good money in my part-time but little did I know that all the pressure I was putting on myself was catching up with me.
I remember this morning when I got to the office and all my colleagues were giving me this concerned look.
“Bonniey, uko sawa? We ni mgonjwa?” (Bonniey, are you okay? Are you sick?)
My eyes were red-shot. I was looking drowsy and exhausted. The director summoned me and told me to take the next day off. My body had reached its breaking point. I couldn’t keep up with my schedule.
As if this wasn’t enough, I woke up to the most dreaded message on my email:
Your account has been suspended indefinitely!!!
“HAHA, are you freaking kidding me? Are these guys serious!” I was in anguish.
My account had been terminated with over $160! What was happening?
To cut my long story short, I was able to get two other accounts and they were also closed in less than a month!
“I’M DONE!” “Ikae sasa!”
“ I’m a professional psychologist, with a well-paying job. Why am I bothering with this online writing stuff?!”
All these monologues were going through my head.
I took a break from writing for a month. During this time, my wife and I made three major decisions…
We decided to give writing a second chance. To go at it for a year and, “If it doesn’t work out- we’ll be out of the game and focus on our corporate jobs.”
We also decided not to look for work on writing accounts anymore. We were to only focus on getting clients on Upwork and through our social media accounts.
Lastly, we decided to start taking good care of our health. We were to start working out every morning.
Awesome!
Ready?
Go!
It was at the beginning of the year last year. I started pitching on Upwork but… *crickets chirp*.
I started pitching to clients on Facebook and LinkedIn but…. * more crickets chirp*.
By the end of January, we were broke, in debt and frustrated…here’s what worked
“ If It’s Going To Be It’s Up To Me” I kept telling myself.
As months proceeded, we started landing a few gigs from clients on Facebook. Things began to pick up and by April, my wife hand enough work to bring in as much as I was getting from my full-time job.
Around mid last year, one of my e-mentors, Walter Akolo, announced that he was launching his new e-book “ How To Get Client’s To Say Yes!”
It’s like this guy saw or heard how much all my prospects were snubbing me.
It’s like he sympathized with my poor persuasion methods that were repelling clients instead of getting them to listen.
I decided for the first time in my life I’m going to buy a book. Yes, I’ve never, ever bought a book in my life. I’ve never been a fan of books — an unfortunate fact for a writer. But, in my defense, before people start hurling stones in my direction, I read lots of blogs and listen to audiobooks and podcasts.
So, I bought the book. I was reading each chapter and making sure that I implement almost everything he says in the book. I was hungry to learn all the tricks in the book. I wanted to learn from the master himself.
Reading the book seemed like I was having a heart to heart conversation with Walter. He was explaining to me how silly my methods were. How lame my Upwork proposals looked.
I remember when I read the chapter on how to write proposals on Upwork, I logged in to my account and immediately applied for a job following his steps one by one. In less than an hour, I got a message from the client.
“Are You Freaking Kidding Me!!!”
“I’ve been pitching like crazy for all these months, and nobody has ever looked in my direction. Now, a client wants to know how we can work together.”
I was over-the-moon excited!
He was hesitant that I didn’t have a work history on Upwork but I convinced to him by mentioning that I work with most of my clients off Upwork.
Hell yes! Game on.
In the next three months to four months, I had earned more than $3000 from that particular client.
Note that I invested in myself with around Ksh 300 and went ahead to earn more than $3000. That is crazy ROI!
My point from this experience is that, if we as Kenyan writers want to build a career in writing, we should consider investing in ourselves.
If we increase our value, we can afford to charge higher rates
So, go ahead and buy a book on a skill you want to acquire. This post has a whole list of books to consider.
Get a mindset coach to help you remove the mental blocks concerning money and entrepreneurship.
Get into a mastermind group where you can get group mentorship.
Follow particular e-mentors and learn from them
Invest in yourself.
As I conclude, my wife and I have since quit our corporate jobs to pursue writing full time, and we can not even dream of going back.
Online entrepreneurship is a goldmine. But, you need to invest in yourself each day.
Hae walter,i have a furniture business (office and home decor) only a handful of my competitors know something about internet marketing. i want to take advantage of this situation help me out to reach more clients.
That’s great, James. Go for it!
I’m reading this today yet it featured months ago. I needed this though.
I am in need and I don’t know where to start. I’m ready to learn and invest in myself. My Upwork account is suspended and I truly need to be mentored and corrected. I have tried sending proposals but I’m yet to get any approval.
I also need a mentor.
Looking forward to fly like you guys
Regards
Jorwa
Hi Jorwa,
Thanks for your comment and sorry about the Upwork suspension.
You can do it. There are many ways to earn than just Upwork.
Here’s how you can directly reach out to clients https://freelancerkenya.com/money-online/online-freelancing-clients/
Keep giving it your very best!
I am very much inspired. These are the kind of article that makes me think twice about some decisions I made in life. But I believe its never too late, keep doing up doing the good work.
Awesome! That’s the spirit, Faith!
I remember how difficult it was when I was starting. I recall sleeping for less than 2 hours each night. At first I didn’t really believe that someone could make a living out of online writing. Thanks to Walter! He clearly guided me on how to start writing. I now work comfortably for a few hours each day since I am a medical student, and I have never regretted it.
That’s the way to go Taraga.
And, sure, Walter is a great resource.
Hello Bonnie,
That’s an inspiring post right there!
Freelance writing is a business like any other.
To survive the cut-throat competition, you need to invest in your business and create a sustainable income model.
There are lots of disgruntled freelancers out there. They fail to give freelancing their best shot. After a few futile attempts, most give up.
Invest lots of effort, time, and money into your business. If you fall down, get up, dust yourself and get moving.
After all, there’s no such a thing as a smooth mountain.
Great post!
Very true. Just like any other career, to progress, you have to invest in yourself.
Thanks for the inspiring story, its a high time I invested on myself.
Go ahead, John. There’s no better time than NOW!
Bonniey that story is quite inspiring! Investing in myself is my next step. Thank you for bringing it out so clearly.
Thanks Agnes. Remember, next means starting today- not tomorrow.
Another inspiring post from you Bonniey!
Thanks, Lennox. I’m glad that you find it inspiring. Keep on keeping on too.
Great advice Bonnie,
Sometimes I get stuck while bidding on upwork and I would end up postponing everything due to the fact that, “after all my proposal will go unnoticed” This has affected my writing career but am yet to give up.
I want to improve my bidding tips on upwork, and Walter’s e-book will work perfectly well for me. Is the book still available? I will appreciate any help from you guys. Thanks
Great advice Bonnie,
Sometimes I get stuck while bidding on upwork and I would end up postponing everything due to the fact that, “after all my proposal will go unnoticed” This has affected my writing career but am yet to give up.
I want to improve my bidding tips on upwork, and Walter’s e-book will work perfectly well for me. Is the book still available? I will appreciate any help from you guys. Thanks
Hi Kemboi,
I agree Bonniey did a phenomenal job here.
Sorry for the challenges you’re facing.
Yes the eBook is still available. Email me at walter@freelancerkenya.com for details on how you can get it.
Kemboi, did you take physics in high-school?
Remember a law that stated, the amount of force required to initiate movement on an object is usually more than the energy required to sustain the movement of the object?
Simply put, you need to apply more force when pushing an object than you’ll need when it finally starts to move.
Likewise, getting started in this and any other industry is much more challenging. It will need you to be more resilient. It will need you to put in more effort and sadly you’ll be met with more disappointments.
But, it gets easier. Once you learn the ropes things will get easier.
To start, get the book from Walter and start stalking online mentors.
Learn. Be persistent. Keep pushing. Put in more hours than normal. Keep at it.
You’ll thank yourself later.
Hi Bonnie
Great article! Indeed there is no better investment than investing in yourself. I have a question, is iWriter a good place to start writing articles?
I started with iWriter myself and I had a bad experience with it. I once wrote a 6000 words article only for the client to reject my work. SIX THOUSAND WORDS!!!
I know there are some writers who’ve made a killing with the platform. However, it’s basically working for pennies especially if you are at the beginner levels.
All in all, it’s an okay platform to practice your skills and get some feedback on your writing skills.
Hi Bonnie.
Thanks for the inspiring story.
Maina, you’re welcome. It’s time we looked for opportunities beyond the white and blue collar jobs-legit online jobs.
How do I begin online writing?
Christine, have you taken Walter’s free training? I think that would be a good starting point.