Making Connections to Grow an Online Business

Making Connections (Networking) is imperative when starting an online business.

 

So far I am doing assignments on Fiverr. It's ok, but I would rather make more money for the time that I have invested for each assignment.

I'm on level two training with Wealthy Affiliate. My website via Wordpress is up. It still needs some content to be added and photos too. I am learning about keywords. WA recommended using Jaaxy to look for keywords that do not have much competition (other businesses using the same key words), and you want to find keywords that have a bit of traffic. You can get 30 searches free before you have to pay for their services.

oDesk was recommended to me by a fellow WA member. I'm in the beginning stages of getting my profile completed. 

My mom told me about Job Quote. I am also in the beginning stages with building my profile. 

 One of the big advantages for subscribing with Wealthy Affiliates, oDesk, and Job Quote is that you can set your rates. oDesk does take 10% of what you earn for each assignment. In order to receive more support and perks, Wealthy Affiliate members need to become Premium members which costs $47/mo. The big allure for Wealthy Affiliate is the awesome video tutorials. They offer the best tutorials I have seen thus far. Also, they have a strong community which provides members the opportunity to  make connections and receive support, if needed.

I don't know enough about Job Quote yet, so I will share more info as I become more involved with them.

Oh, I forgot to mention Linkedin. I have been becoming more involved with the groups that are relevant to my occupational interests. I find that there is more activity there than posting on my home page. 

Top Ten Jobs In Danger Of Becoming Obsolete

My dad came home this afternoon and said that he heard on the Jillian Barberie and John Philips show that journalism was one of the top 10 jobs to become obsolete in the near future. Immediately, I went to the computer and listened to the podcast of today's talk show.

The gentleman they were interviewing said that people who are employed by the newspaper industry are in danger of losing their jobs because a lot of people are reading magazines and newspapers online. I don't feel threatened by this since most of my work is done online. I'd like to see a robot write as well as I do And with my personality and life experience HAHA!

What a busy day I had yesterday

Boy, I was really hustling and bustling yesterday. I had three assignments to complete on Fiverr. One was web content for a roofing company. Another one was entering 25 points of interest on guidelet.com, and last one was editing a manuscript. With the manuscript, I learned a great lesson. Always do a word count before you get started. I assumed the people who ordered the assignment knew my rates. They were expecting me to edit over 4,000 words for $5. So I was concerned about how to approach the buyer about the subject. I didn't want them to get upset with me and give me a bad review. So I delivered a portion, 1,300, words that I edited for them, and left them a message about my rates. I wrote please do a word count of your manuscript, and pay accordingly. Thank goodness they seemed to be ok with this. They added four additional assignments to complete the editing process. Whew! That went well.

Now I have eight assignments to complete, so back to work I go. Also, I am writing a tour guide of Santa Barbara. I love going to that train station because it's near the beach.

How do I create a story?

I am in the process of writing two books. One is for children and the other is science fiction. When I am conjuring up a story, I think of it as watching a movie. I see my characters become 3 dimensional..  Their physical features and personality come alive in my mind. I see them interacting with people and their environment. For example, in my science fiction novel, I developed a male librarian within a few minutes. I saw him as a well-dressed man in his forties. He is calm and composed and detail oriented. Also, I envisioned him walking around in the library and interacting with customers. Maybe some of the ideas about his character stem from watching Giles, the librarian, on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. My librarian is not an exact replica of Giles. For instance, my guy is Hispanic; however, he does reflect the conservative and professional image of Giles.

The development of my story line came from an article that a gentleman posted on Craigslist. He was looking for someone to help him develop a fiction book in which the main character would be a middle aged male who becomes an amateur detective. He decided that he wanted to go in a different direction with his story, so I decided to keep working on my story. As I continue to write this story, my mind constantly conjures the content for me to write down. One of the areas that I need to improve upon is pulling out the three dimensional story from my mind onto paper. Sometimes I struggle with describing the scenes in my head. 

That is where reading other books come into the picture. The author's setting descriptions help trigger my creativity in using the best adjectives to incorporate into my story.

Exploring Wealthy Affiliates

A member from one of the groups I belong to on linked-in recommended that I check out Wealthy Affiliates. I have only been a member for a couple of days, so I am still learning about all the services that are available. It is free to become a "starter member." For the first seven days, you have all the privileges that a "Premium" member has. The one thing that I really like about this company so far is the step by step training videos that they provide. First, you start off with creating a profile, and then you learn how to create your own website by using Word Press. That is where I am right now. There is also an option for blogging, and they encourage you to interact with other members in the Wealthy Affiliate Community. I asked Kyle, on the owners, a question, and he responded to it almost immediately. I will keep my blogger fans posted as I continue to go through this process. Oh! The most important component is that the goal is to make money from your website. They call it finding your niche. I am planning to advertise my freelance writing and editing business on this site.

It's not easy working with family

My mom and I have been working on revising her business website. We have been going back and forth as to the content that should be on each page, especially the services page that includes the fees for different types of dog training. I told her in a loving manner that she is the most difficult client that I have ever had. After pondering upon this for some time, I think that it is harder to work with someone who has a dual relationship with you. When I am doing my freelance writing for other people, I can keep it strictly professional; however, it is hard to do that with the person you are living with. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we have finally come up with web content that we find appropriate. Whew! What a relief.

The squeaky keyboard gets the grease!

Last week, I sent in my complaint about Fiverr to the Better Business Bureau. Today, I received an e-mail from Susan from the Fiverr support team.

Susan (Fiverr Customer Support)

Jul 08 00:07

Hi there,

We would like to apologize for the delay in our response. Your account has been restored. There was a mistake in reviewing your account with our Trust and Safety team. We will review that matter internally to help improve our process. As a token of your patience in this matter, we are adding $20 to your account on us to purchase Gigs of your choice.

All the best,

Susan

My account has been reactivated.  I am still waiting to hear about the $20 I earned last month.

Here is the response in regards to the money I earned in June 2014.

Susan (Fiverr Customer Support)

Jul 08 04:20

Hi there,

You're very welcome!

I checked and $4 have already cleared and $16 are still in awaiting clearance.

Fiverr has a 14 day clearing period since the day of completion to ensure buyer satisfaction. If your funds haven't cleared by then please let me know and I'll be happy to look into it for you.

All the best,

Susan

Dream Job

For the past seven months I have been exploring working from home options. At first, I was willing to take any form of employment as long as it did not involve working in an office with a supervisor breathing down my neck. Today, my mom and I were discussing what would be my career path of choice. So I sat down with a pen and note pad and wrote the following:
1. I want to build up a freelance writing and editing business that produces a steady income for me.
2. I want assignments that are interesting and challenging.
3. I want to create a schedule in which I can work at a reasonable, non-stressful pace.
4. I want the flexibility to be able to take my lap top and work from anywhere that I choose, so I can spend more time with family and friends.
5. I want clients who are happy with my work.
6. I want clients who will gladly pay for the time that I have invested in their project.
7. I want to receive joy and satisfaction from the assignments that I accomplish.
8. I want to enjoy the learning process and the knowledge that I gain from each assignment.

Fiverr: Adding Insult to Injury

Here is a good example of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. Before I was blacklisted by Fiverr, I had an assignment to complete by July 2, 2014. Fiverr sent me a warning e-mail in regards to not completing the assignment by the deadline. Since there was no way I could access my account, how was I supposed to complete the assignment. Then they sent me another e-mail saying that the customer cancelled the order. Wow! They sure no how to make a girl feel good.

Here are the e-mails:

Fiverr: Warning! You are late in delivering order FO42EB7623F5.

Fiverr <noreply@e.fiverr.com>	Jul 2 (2 days ago)
to me

Dear michellemason,
You missed your estimated delivery deadline for order FO42EB7623F5, 'provide writing and editing services'.
Note: If you fail to submit your completed work within the next 24 hours, certified83 will be entitled to cancel this order.
Thanks,

The Fiverr Team

Fiverr: Order FO42EB7623F5 was cancelled - late delivery.

Fiverr <noreply@e.fiverr.com>	Jul 3 (1 day ago)
to me

Dear michellemason,
certified83 cancelled your order 'I will provide writing and editing services for $5'.
Review the reason for this cancellation here: click here.
Thanks,

The Fiverr Team

NEA funding idea

Ever since the whole "Fiver incident," I have been thinking about an idea to pose to the NEA for funding. It would be nice to have a similar site that is non-profit, so they won't take a dollar for every five dollars you make. This would be a spring board for budding artists, writers, poets, graphic designers etc... to get their work recognized; so they can make a living off of their talent.

The Keys Are Mightier Than the Sword

Thank God for blogs. They provide a great place for people to vent and express frustration with life, work, whatever. Life is had, and it's comforting to know that there are other people who are going through the same struggles that as we are. The key is not to get discouraged and to keep on tapping on those keys and let your words be seen.

I sent a complaint against Fiverr to the BBB and RipOff Reports.
We cannot let companies like Fiverr bully us hard-working, everyday folks who want to make a little extra money from working at home around!!!