Granted, I've taken a few detours along the way, which has led me astray and left me feeling like I could have accomplished more by now. Despite that, I've been putting in work over the last couple months to build back up and start offering my skills to clients again.
I'm starting by renewing the certifications offered through HubSpot, as I intend to start using their CRM to keep track of clients and scale my business the right way. The first course I finished was Content Marketing, and I have a shiny new certificate to show for it!
That one I've had in the past, so it should be a breeze. Just have to watch the videos to refresh my memory on the key concepts, then take the exam.
Once I've finished up the rest of the courses offered by HubSpot like Social Media and Email Marketing, I intend to move onto Coursera to take a few more advanced courses that will offer certifications from accredited universities and colleges.
Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.
Tip-toe if you must, but take the step.
-Naeem Callaway
I've worked in restaurants and whatever other mindless jobs came along for nearly 20 years, and I can't say I'm very proud of what it's allowed me to offer my children... I've wanted for a long time to find a better means of income to provide them a level of security I never had in my youth. I've always been a master procrastinator, but it's time to shit or get off the pot.
Building a portfolio of certifications will open doors I've never been able to step through, and allow me to get into a real career rather than just working a minimum effort, minimum salary job. Learning is one thing, but I'm also applying the knowledge gained through these certification courses to attain new clients, and I'm back to writing freelance articles!
In the last week, I've written 6 articles across a number of random topics, and I have two more to write for the client I recently picked up. It's not much yet, but there's work being done behind closed doors that will hopefully give me as much work as I could ever handle, helping me finally achieve my goal of receiving a full-time income so I can work on my own time and have as much of it left to spend with my children in these younger years.
Another large reason I'm making a push to learn everything I can about marketing and putting it into practice is to build toward my idea of driving around the country in a camper van hosting events to promote the Hive blockchain! I hope to have an "official" announcement of this project in the very near future.
I intend to start a website and blog based around the project producing relevant content to spread my reach beyond Hive, and these courses will give me the knowledge to create a successful content campaign around the niche and build an audience before I've ever got the van outfitted and road-ready.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been rough in many ways, but there's always a silver lining. It's given me the time required to take these courses without interfering with my daily obligations, and it's also proven to many industries that a lot of work can be done remotely. I feel the number of remote jobs available will greatly increase over the coming years, and I'm positioning myself to be ready to fulfill one of them.
In the meantime, I'll continue to offer my freelance services to everyone who finds value in them, and build my portfolio while I search for that dream job that will give me both financial freedom, and the freedom to live life on my own terms. If you need anything written, click the banner below to view my modestly priced services!
