Laura Wise has been freelancing as a writer for over 10 years now. So she’s definitely a veteran in the game! Based in the US, in this interview, Laura shares her freelance journey and tips she has for other freelancers.
1. What do your freelance as?
I’m a freelance marketing and communications consultant.
2. What influenced you to become a freelancer in this area?
I started as a freelance marketing consultant but found my passion as a freelance writer.
Several years ago, while living and working in New York, I had the opportunity to take a work trip to Haiti. While there, I met a collective of Haitian women who were supporting their local community and I wanted to share their stories.
I pitched it to a blog, they liked it, and decided to run it. The success of that story gave me a boost of confidence and led me to continue writing.
3. Are you a full time or part-time freelancer?
I’m currently a full-time freelancer. I made the leap from part-time to full-time freelance in July 2019.
4. Do you think it’s important to have a niche?
Yes, definitely! I think it’s important for everyone to find their focus and that thing that makes their perspective special.
Yes, there is a ton of competition, but there is also more than enough work out there for everyone.
By finding your niche and doing it really well, it makes it easier for potential clients to find you and work with you.
5. What would you describe your niche as?
I have two main areas of focus: I help entrepreneurs, brands, and companies tell the stories of black and brown people across the world. I also help my clients to shape and communicate their social impact initiatives.
6. What resources have you found useful as a freelancer?
I use a ton of different tools that help to keep me on track from day to day. I use Asana as my project management tool, where I list out tasks for each of the projects I’m working on.
I use Canva religiously to help create basic graphics when needed. Grammarly is literally a lifesaver.
I use it every day to help check for spelling and grammatical errors. Also, Google Drive is where I store everything.
I love being able to use all of these platforms across my computer and my phone. There are so many more, of course, but these are the tools that I live by daily.
7. How did you become a freelancer?
I actually kind of fell into freelancing. I was in my early 20’s living in Los Angeles. I had gotten laid off from my first real job and had rent to pay.
I’ve always been involved in my local church, and because of this connection was invited to participate in a church-sponsored conference on ending mass incarnation in the United States.
I met some great people there and was offered an opportunity to help with the campaign as a marking consultant. I worked on that contract for the next six months. From there, my freelance career continued to grow over time.
8. What method do you find most useful in finding clients?
To be honest, most of my clients these days come from the network that I’ve built throughout my career. I’ve always been in marketing and communications in one form or other, and many have come to know me for that.
I find that people come to me when they are looking for some guidance in this area.
If for any reason I can’t take on a project, I always like to recommend them to another black woman who can.
When looking for writing jobs specifically, I’ve had the most success searching different Facebook groups designed for freelance writers.
9. What do you like most about freelancing?
When I quit my full-time job last year, it was my dream and goal to be able to work remotely. I wanted to have the opportunity to travel and work at the same time. This year hasn’t gone as planned of course, because of covid, but the ability to live and work from wherever I want is what I love the most about freelancing.
10. What challenges have you found with freelancing, and how do you battle through them?
There are so many challenges while freelancing lol.
Competing deadlines is currently my biggest challenge. When you’re an independent freelancer, you can only take on what you have the capacity to complete.
I’ve found it difficult at times to decide how many projects I can take on and successfully complete. Keyword, successfully!
I would also say that managing client expectations can be difficult at times. Each client (rightfully so!) has a strong vision for what they want. I’ve learned over time that it takes special skill to coach a client through the branding/marketing/communications process, marrying my professional opinion with the client’s vision for a final product that we are both proud of.
11. What tips do you have for those wanting to do freelancing or build their own business?
Consistency! Consistency is so important; you just have to keep at it. If you pitch for an article and you don’t get it, pitch for another. Eventually, with some persistence, you’ll land the right gig for you.
Also, find a community of fellow freelancers. Being a freelancer means you’re self-employed, and being self-employed comes with so many questions. How much should you set aside for taxes? How do you market yourself? If you’re a full-time freelancer, what do you do about health insurance?
Being in a community with other freelancers can help you to answer many of these questions. That way, maybe, you won’t have to make the mistakes that others have.
I’ve certainly learned through trial and error over time, and wish that I had a community to walk me through the nuances of freelance life when I was starting out.
12. What 3 words would you describe your freelance work as?
Story-based, social, and stimulating.
13. What do you like to do in your spare time?
I have a garden that I’m watching grow right now.
I also spend a lot of time working out these days; I love to ride my bike as often as I can.
I’m also an amateur photographer, so I love taking my camera out every once in a while.
14. How do you find the work/ life balance of being a freelancer? Do you have any tips for this area?
I’ll be honest. I struggle here. In this season of covid lockdowns, it’s easy to overwork myself because I’m at home all of the time. But I’m really working on setting solid boundaries for myself.
In the mornings, I reserve time for God to start my day. I also try to get a work out in, in the mornings before I sit down to start working.
In the evenings, I try to stop working at a certain time each day (as often as I can.) I like to have dinner with my family and wind down by watching T.V. at night. It’s really been about setting those boundaries for myself.
15. What key characteristics are needed to become a freelancer?
To be a freelancer, you have to be a go-getter. You have to be self-motivated, resourceful, and tenacious.
As I mentioned earlier, being a freelancer means you’re self-employed, so you really need to be able to tap into that entrepreneurial spirit to be successful.
16. What is the proudest project you have worked on?
A couple of years ago, I worked with a friend and fellow black woman entrepreneur on a project highlighting how large philanthropic organizations can and should be listening to and resourcing African experts while working in an African context.
For example, when a large international NGO is doing work in an African country, they should be tapping into, listening to, and taking direction from African leaders currently doing that work on the ground versus bringing in mostly white professionals from outside of the continent of Africa to lead this work.
I designed the communications strategy for this project. It was fun to work on, and I knew that my work was making an impact, which is always so important to me.
17. Do you have any other businesses other than your freelancing?
I started a boutique communications business, Content Wise Communications, in 2018. It started out as a way to funnel my freelance clients, and now, it’s turned into my full-time job. I like to think of myself as a business owner, and CWC is the platform that I use to power all of my freelance work.
18. Anything you’d like to add?
I recently started a community for black women freelancers, The Black Female Freelance Network, or The BFF Network. The BFF Network is a collective of black women freelancers specializing in marketing, communications, and design.
We’re creating a hiring pipeline of black women in creative spaces and sharing resources along the way.
As a freelancer who’s been doing this for the past 10 years, I’ve always looked for a community of black women freelancers and I never found it, so I decided to create it.
At the BFF Network, I hope that black women freelancers can find that community, find resources to help them on their freelance journey, and find project opportunities. We’re all about black women getting money and keeping it in the community.
If you’re a black woman freelancer, I’d love to connect with you! You can find us on IG @bffntwrk.
And if you’re a Beginner Freelancer looking for some guidance on your journey, check out the Remi Reports Beginner Freelancer E-course.
