Freelancer Spotlight: Carrie Hauskens

Welcome back to the Freelancer Spotlight series! This series is all about shining a light on the amazingly talented freelancers that are part of The Freelance Writer’s Guide community.

This week’s Freelancer Spotlight is shining a light on Carrie Hauskens, a freelance writer who resides in Chico, California.

You can view Carrie’s full portfolio here. Keep reading to learn more about Carrie’s freelance story.

When did you begin freelancing?

October 2022.

What freelancing services do you offer?

Blog posts, ghostwriting, and articles.

What is your niche?

Grief, infertility.

Give us your background. What were you doing before? What were your initial goals? Why did you want to become a freelancer?

I was an educator for eight years, and decided I needed a change. I've always loved writing and after becoming childfree after infertility, I wrote about it. My expertise is writing about infertility and the many tangents that radiate from that experience. My trademark is vulnerable and authentic writing.

What resources did you use to learn more about your niche, freelancing, and copywriting in general?

To learn how to become a freelance writer I turned to YouTube, where I found The Freelance Writer's Guide videos. These videos helped me understand how to begin a new profession in writing. I also took a writing class from The School of American Thanatology, Writing For Death Educators and was able to focus on my niche.

Tell us how you launched your business. How did you carve out time to get started? How/why did you choose your niche and services? How did you leave the research stage and start taking action on your business?

Starting the business was a bit of a roller coaster. I do best by trying things out, making mistakes along the way and figuring out what works. Choosing my niche was easy, as it's what I've been dealing with for eight years. I kept a blog and through the passing of time my writing has drastically improved, again with trail and error. I set up an account on a few job listing sites and began pitching ideas. Having a tight niche helped me land almost every job I applied for.

How did you find your first client?

Instagram, I share quite a bit on there.

What methods do you currently use to find clients?

Instagram and UpWork, and now word of mouth. I became friends with people in writing courses I've taken and it's helped get my name out there.

On average, how much do you make per month as a freelancer?

When I was only focusing on freelancing, I made about $400 per month.

On average, how many hours do you work as a freelancer?

Around 5 - 10.

How much do you charge for your services as a freelancer?

My rate depends on the job, but the average is $25 per hour. My bigger jobs have been an ongoing project, especially with ghostwriting, and they have been about $250 - $400 per job.

What are your next goals as a freelancer?

Currently, I'm writing a memoir, and I look forward to getting back to smaller gigs. I'd love to take my writing business to the next level by making more money.

What have you struggled with most in your freelancing business? How have you overcome those struggles?

With such a small niche, the job market is tight. I've spread myself out a bit more with writing about education, but it's not my ideal topic.

Do you have any tips for new and/or experienced freelancers? How can they find the success you’ve seen in your business?

Just start writing and building a portfolio online. My blogs started out like a diary and took me places I never expected. The more you practice, the better you become.

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