Marius C – Buying First Condo after Freelancing through FreeUp

Freelancing is fast becoming the best alternative to a corporate career.  With the number of hours people spend on traffic and the stress a full-time job entails, more and more people are looking to freelancing as a worthy alternative.

Though money can be a huge factor, it’s the freedom and the lifestyle that draws people towards the gig economy.  Where else can you find a source of income that lets you have command of your time and work anywhere you want?

But this is not to say that freelancing pays less.  If you factor in the daily expenses commuting to and from the office, you’ll find there’s a huge opportunity to save more money.

Such is the case of Marius, a freelancer on the FreeUp marketplace.  Marius has made his dream of buying his first condo a reality after quitting his regular job and becoming a full-time freelancer on FreeUp.

Below is the interview we had with Marius where he talked about his life before and success after becoming a freelancer.

How did you get into freelancing?

It all started on December of 2016.  I was at a point when I was starting to feel frustration about how my career was unfolding.

Back then, I was working for not less than 60 hours a week.  I was also commuting for like 7 hours a day because of the traffic situation. When I started doing the math, what I found out left me dumbfounded.  I wasn’t earning nearly enough to cover my expenses, let alone to help me achieve my dreams.

It was then that I realized that I needed to do something about it. The first thing that came to mind was to try my luck in another country where I could earn more, especially since Certified Public Accountants were in demand in Australia at that time. I started searching for opportunities online.  It was during one of these searches that I come across a freelancing site.  It dawned on me that I have an expertise that I can offer online.  I wouldn’t have to leave the country to earn more.

I spent the next three months searching for a project, building a profile, and going through several failed interviews.  All my efforts started to pay off when I finally landed my first client. That’s how it all began for me – and the rest is history, so to speak.

When did you join the FreeUp Marketplace, and what attracted you to it?

I joined FreeUp in March 2016 and have been with them since then.  I’ll never forget the day I got interviewed by Chiqui, one of FreeUp’s recruiters, because I was doing my laundry LOL.

I love being part of FreeUp.  It has some of the best support group members I’ve seen.  In my opinion, they also have a great community of freelancers you can count on when you’re in need.

Tell us about your first months working through FreeUp, and how your career as a freelancer.

Like any new endeavor, my first few months were really challenging.   It was tougher because FreeUp had just transitioned from Quickbooks to Xero when I came on board.

I was hired to be one of the internal assistants, supposedly as an assistant of their bookkeeper who for some reason started to not show up for work. It was at this point that Nathan started onboarding me on how everything works on the bookkeeping side.  I had to study how things were currently being done. I also had to think of ways to improve the process.

Fortunately, I am an expert at what I do.  I was able to deliver the best service – what FreeUp was expecting from me.  It wasn’t easy, but I knew I had to step up not only for FreeUp but also for my career.  So that’s exactly what I did. (And I got a nice hug for it when Nate and Connor came to visit!)

What has FreeUp allowed you to do in your life that you weren’t able to achieve before?

I love answering these kinds of questions.  Since I am working from home, I now have more time for Facebook.  Just kidding!

FreeUp has been a big help not only on the financial side, but also in other aspects of my life.

1. Because of FreeUp I now have more time to do the things that matter to me, things I love. I can now go running or biking in the afternoon while everyone else is stuck in traffic going home from work.
2. I am now also able to travel to different places without worrying about missing work because I am location independent. All I need is an internet connection and I’m good to go.
3. I am now also financially stable. Thanks to FreeUp, I was able to achieve the things I only dreamed about.  Most notably, I now have my own condo unit which I don’t think would have been at all possible if I was not working online as a freelancer.
4. FreeUp has also made it possible for me to help my family and contribute to the community in ways I couldn’t if I was working a regular, full-time job.

How is your career as a freelancer doing now?

I’d have to say that I’m doing great and that I’m in a good place. Though my earnings are considered average compared to the top freelancers on FreeUp, my accounting knowledge and great books like “The Richest Man in Babylon” and “The Millionaire Next Door” have helped me make the best of my earnings through saving and investing.

I am well aware that I can earn more by getting more clients if I really wanted to.  I also know too well that my health and the time I get to spend with the people I love is more important.  They are more valuable to me than money, but at least the opportunity is there if ever I want to take it.

Do you have any advice for other freelancers who want to grow their freelancing careers?

I’m really glad you asked.  If there’s one important piece of advice I would like to share, it’s that you can’t do freelancing simply because you want to.

If you are going to pursue a freelancing career, you need to ask yourself why a client who’s in a different part of the world would hire and pay you. There is really only one reason, and that is because you are capable of making them money because of your skills and expertise.

Be the expert in your field, offer your best service (including top level communication), and you’ll surely have a fruitful freelancing career ahead of you.

Conclusion

Marius is just one of the thousands of freelancers around the world who have found their niche in freelancing.  Like most people, Marius’ journey started with a problem that needed to be solved.  Frustration led him to the world of freelancing where he now thrives and has found the fulfillment he couldn’t find in full-time employment.

Freelancing brought a ton of benefits into his life – from simply having more time to do the things he loves, to buying his first condo, which he considers a dream come true.

There’s a lot to learn from Marius’ story.  One of them is that if you really want something bad, you have to do something about it.  You have to work hard on tasks and work hard on yourself to achieve your dreams.  Marius’ success is proof that everything’s possible with hard work.

Are you also getting tired of the 9-to-5?  Do you want to spend more time doing what you love while still earning enough to make a living and make your dreams come true?  If the answer is yes, then what are you doing about it?

Take a moment to think about the skills and the talents that set you apart.  We want you to list them down and research them against the most common tasks small companies and startups are looking for today.  Are you a great fit for online work or do you need more experience? If you want to start a successful freelancing career, you need to start honing your skills and developing experience and expertise online.

Get down to business so you don’t have to drag yourself to work every single day!

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Noel Rosos is a personal development writer, motivational speaker, entrepreneur and founder of Life’s How You Live It, a personal development blog dedicated to helping people live the life they’ve always dreamed of.  He is also a writer/contributor for Arianna Huffington’s wellness site, Thrive Global.  He is an affiliate marketer, a full-time husband and father, and a self-proclaimed FAILUROLOGIST.