Meet the winners of the PeoplePerHour Freelancer Awards: Sam Dwyer
This is part of our series of PeoplePerHour Freelancer Awards 2017 interviews with winners.
Sam Dwyer, the winner of The Digital Brain Of The Year award, says that freelancing on PeoplePerHour has allowed her to build her own business while being a full-time mum.
How and why did you get into freelancing?
I found myself freelancing in 2012. I had returned to work after maternity leave on reduced hours and the drop in pay was quite a big hit. We were also getting married that year, so money was already stretched. I had always been a fan of writing and wondered whether or not I could actually make some money from it. I stumbled across PPH whilst looking for ways to make money at home and thought that it might just work for me! 5 years later and after quitting my job, I carried on with my freelancing full-time and have never looked back!
How did you get your first client?
My first client was won through the usual bidding route back when hourlies didn’t exist. It was a relatively big job and took me a while, but the satisfaction was amazing. She ended up becoming a regular client, one that I have worked with several times over the past 5 years.
What is the most enjoyable part of being a freelancer?
That is easy. Being able to be flexible with the hours that I work and spend time with my kids. I worked full-time when my older daughter was little and I still feel that I missed out so much time with her. Being able to pick them up from school now is a great feeling.
Not just this, but the satisfaction of knowing that I earn money for myself is one of the biggest benefits too. It can be hard sometimes balancing the books, but every penny that comes into the bank has all come from me and knowing this makes me proud.
And what is a pain?
One of the biggest pains of being a freelancer is that you never really get away from work. I find myself still checking my messages on holiday or even at weekends and this means that it is hard to get a break. But I am learning the best ways to manage my time and make sure that I sometimes put the phone down and concentrate on the things around me. I am really lucky that I have an understanding husband, who knows that sometimes I need to just send that one email.
Thousands of skilled professionals are planning to take
the leap and start working for themselves.
What advice can you give them?
Do it! It is going to seem like the scariest thing that you have ever done, but one day it will all be worth it. It might not be instantly, and there are going to be lots of late nights, money frustrations and maybe some tears. But then it all clicks into place and you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
Image Source: Pexels
How has PeoplePerHour helped you in your journey?
I wouldn’t have a journey without PPH. All of my work has come from PPH, so without this platform, I wouldn’t have a business. I love the fact that it helps me to monitor my workload, manage my finances ready for tax and advertise myself too! I am even trying to rope my hubby into setting himself up with a profile so he can try it out too!
