Status Update: Recap of the First Week

Good gracious, is it Thursday already? It's hard to believe it's been almost a week since I traded in my stable 9-to-5 for this crazy, awesome, unpredictable world of freelance writing. And let me tell you, it's been quite a ride so far. Methinks it's time for a recap, both for the sake of your curiosity and my personal need for accountability. Here's how the details shake out so far:

Income Status: No drops in the bucket yet, but I suppose that's to be expected. I'm giving myself a 30-day grace period to get some activity going, which is probably more strict than most. 

Potential Gigs: I have two possibilities lined up at the moment; one with a resume writing company, and the other with a local newspaper. I'm currently working on a sample project for the former and waiting for a final decision from the latter. Hopefully I'll know something definite about one of the two by this time next week.

Where the Leads Came From: I'm one of those throw-things-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks kind of people, so at least during the first few months, I'll be investigating a bunch of different freelancing avenues to find out what works for me. Here's what I tried this week:

• Resume Companies: As I said earlier, this is where I got one of my potentials, and even if it doesn't work out, I'll stay with this source for now because I like the possibilities.
• Local Newspapers: Again, the other source came from here. I wrote for local papers during my part-time freelancing days a few years ago, so I know they're a legitimate gig. You won't get rich off of them by any means, but it's a good way to fill in the gaps between paydays or get your feet wet in the biz.
• Online Job Postings: Most of these have been through Craigslist, and so far have been ridiculously low-paying jobs. Haven't any luck with these at all yet, but then again, I haven't put out a ton of applications, either.

I don't know why, but for some reason I like letting folks know about this kind of stuff. I could be stingy and keep the info entirely to myself, but why bother? What would that really save me in the long run? A couple hundred bucks? A couple thousand? So not worth it. Besides, if certain very cool ladies like this one and this one hadn't been generous enough to share their wisdom, people like me wouldn't be here today.

Q&A for the Day: What did you do to generate business this week? What worked for you? What didn't? What possibilities do you have waiting in the wings?