Frustrated Freelancers Discover Brilliant Way to Grow Their Businesses

Having recently graduated from the University, I endeavoured to ensure that employment and I never saw eye to eye.

“Welcome to the real world, it’s tough,” people would advise me, giving their tales of how they tarmacked for years before landing any gig. Actually, most of them are still tarmacking.

Young and hungry, I was determined to prove them wrong armed with nothing but my skills and passion in writing. While in campus I had started doing some online academic writing jobs which would earn me decent money for miscellaneous expenses.

It was now time to see if I could turn that into my 9-5. As is the norm with online writing, the more jobs one does and the better the reviews, the more you get recommended for better-paying tasks – so I became more active with client projects.

With the little money I had saved up, I sought independence by moving out of my parent’s house into a bedsitter in Uthiru – that’s when the struggles of the 'Prodigal son' hit.

[caption caption="A bedsitter in Kiambu"][/caption]

Surviving on one mattress, a few utensils and my laptop I was ready to take on the world. Just like with any business with peak and low seasons, I had to find ways to survive on my unpredictable earnings.

Over time, the internet found itself at the top of my basic-needs ladder sometimes taking center stage over meals.

The challenge of payments didn’t make it any easier. At times remittances would take long – up to 4 weeks to be delivered - something that really threw my accounts off balance.

When I finally received the cash, it would go into servicing a loan (I had many by the way), buying groceries, the occasional night out and paying rent.

My landlord who was initially patient with me began denying extensions on my rent payment, threatening to evict me. At one point, out of frustrations, he locked the door with his padlock to show that he meant business.

That was the time I was forced to stay with a friend. I eventually managed to sort the issue and get money to settle the bill.

Fortunately, those days are long gone with the inception of MPesa Paypal service that enabled me to conveniently link my PayPal accounts to my M-Pesa wallet.

With the service, I get payments on time as the funds are processed to my M-Pesa account in 2 hours to 3 days after transaction confirmation.

[caption caption="M-Pesa Paypal"][/caption]

Additionally, the rates are not detrimental to my wallet as it costs 3% of the amount when withdrawing and 4% when sending to my PayPal account.

Right now, things are looking up as I look forward to scaling up the business. The landlord and I have even become friends again though I might be moving to a better house pretty soon.

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