Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheena Fronk.
Sheena, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My husband’s promotion brought me to Atlanta nearly three years ago. So, like most transplants here, I took the first decent paying job I could find. I’ve known my whole life that sales isn’t for me, so after working sales for just over a year, I quit my job to pursue my true passion: writing.
After joining a few groups on Facebook, I was lucky enough to meet a few people in Austin that were willing to give me some work. I worked on a few projects, but they were all more social media focused. While I was grateful for these opportunities, I really wanted to focus on writing for email newsletters, websites, blogs, and marketing collateral.
I accepted a full-time job with a local design agency, which involved daily blogging, content for websites and social media copy. I quickly realized that I much prefer creative writing and decided to take some time to go back to freelancing. So here I am!
Has it been a smooth road?
Freelancing is never a smooth road. While it may seem like freelancers sit around at coffee shops designing websites or writing copy for varying projects, we have to do quite a bit of work to get there. Freelancing is all about personal branding, networking and creating a portfolio to get work. Income is never guaranteed, which is why a solid work ethic is crucial. No work, no income.
When you look back, can you point to a period when you wanted to quit or a period that was really frustrating?
There have been many times while working for small companies and/or large corporations that I have wanted to quit. When it comes to freelancing, those occurrences have been few and far between. Freelancing offers such flexibility and the ability to take on projects that are interesting to me, so the desire to see things through the end is pretty high. I’ve been fortunate to work with some really great people on awesome projects.
What advice do you wish to give to those thinking about pursuing a path similar to yours?
Perseverance! Freelancing is essentially constantly job searching to find projects and work that not only pay, but are fun, interesting and overall good opportunities, too. Don’t give up when you’re having slow months and make an effort to network with people EVERYWHERE. Many of my projects have come from people in Austin, so don’t limit yourself to just one city. Join LinkedIn and Facebook groups dedicated to freelancing so you can learn about how freelancing works, taxes (the worst!) and how to get jobs. Create a portfolio and make sure you read EVERYTHING before posting it; if someone sees typos on your portfolio, chances are they’ll move on.
By far the most important aspect of freelancing is finding a mentor who can steer you in the right direction. I was fortunate enough to find my mentor on my second real project. He taught me about freelancing taxes, how to network with other freelancers, the best way to get work, and acted as a sounding board for any ideas and questions I had about nearly anything freelancing related.
What are you looking forward to?
As an adrenaline junkie, it should come as no surprise that I’m most excited about my honeymoon to New Zealand. My husband and I are complete thrill seekers who love the outdoors and we can’t wait to take on New Zealand!
Professionally, I’m really excited to take my career to the next level. I have felt for a long time that I was stuck in an “entry-level” rut, so now that I have a few years of experience under my belt, I am excited for what’s next. Without change, there’s no chance of growth, which is what I am truly after.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sheenafronk.journoportfolio.com/
- Email: smf668@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smf668/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenafronk
