Struggles of a Part Time Freelancer

Freelancing in India with a full time job is actually a hobby you're monetising. This is precisely what I'm doing. 

I've realised I need to write for my sanity in whatever way possible, money is a far secondary motivation. You think I'm lying? Honestly, more often than not, projects pay less than the cost of a packet of family pack lays. This is because:

a) As I'm a full time 9-6 slave & a part time freelancer, I'm don't have a lot of past clients who can back my work or whose brand names I can leverage publicly 

b) I don't know the current industry rates of a freelancing job and rely on the person hiring me to be fair with their rates

c) Like Ross & Rachel, I'm on again, off again, on again, off again with my projects which makes it difficult for me to get back in the game and I end up starting at beginner rates all over again 

What does work in my favour is that my past clients keep coming back to me and that's how I end up continuing my gigs. 

Today, an agency I used to work with in 2020 called me as they wanted to re-hire me as a freelance writer and I realised how much I enjoyed working on different projects for an agency. I've also written long form content for edu-tech companies, lifestyle brands, real estate companies & food brand. No, no skin care brands, as I work in this segment, I take very less work to avoid conflict of interest. 

This call led to me googling on current rates of freelancers, how to get a freelancing job and I went through multiple blogs & websites. I didn't find anything useful. The websites that are out there for freelancers are designed for full-time freelancers who have the time to go through the multitude listings and apply to the jobs they like. What someone like me needs is a listing platform where I can just list my price list and anyone who is looking for a freelance content creator can reach out. If you know any listing platform like thing drop it in the comments below!

I'd already created a price list for myself before doing this research and to not make my few hours of work useless I'm pasting my price list below. Yes, I'm marketing my services unabashedly. If you or someone you know is looking to hire a freelancer ping me at Maini.mahak@gmail.com - post my office hours :)