Episode 17
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Welcome back to the Women in Writing podcast. This week I have Suda on my podcast. She's super inspiring. She has the most amazing blog that you have to check out if you want to create a living from online.
All right. Welcome, dear Sudha. Is that correct? Do I pronounce that right? Yes, you pronounced it right. How are you doing today? I'm doing great. And how are you? I'm good as well. Thank you so much. I'm so excited that you are on the podcast. You are currently in India. Yes, I am in India. And it's an honor to be part of your podcast.
And this is the first time I'm getting featured. So I'm all excited. Yeah, I'm super excited as well, because you have [00:01:00] a really exciting thing going on. You have an amazing website, an amazing blog that you founded. When did you start? Two years ago. Two years ago. Yes. You just want to tell us about that. And I just announced the name.
It's gogetterboss. com. Yes. It's really, I think it's like such an amazing name, so tell us a little bit, like what was your intention about starting it? I always have an interest about trying out different jobs, different domains which is even remotely connected to my original profession, which is in software industry.
When I started my career in India as a software developer I I wanted to try out something new and which is, which would, which inspire me, which would make me feel inspiring. And like I wanted to try out new things. So from childhood, I'm always passionate about [00:02:00] languages.
So I wanted to give it a try in learning French language. So I enrolled for French language and I studied for around five years. Along with my full time job. Yeah. So I completed that one's level as well and I started translating French to English documentation and English to French vice versa.
Yeah that was the time I really got exposed into writing. Content writing, translation, transcription. So it was a new world to me. I wanted to explore a new world because in my country, most of them, most of their parents are like, you have to do engineering right after your 12th standard, you have to do engineering or medical.
That is the only stream that parents know most of their parents. It was not the case in, at least in mine, my family. My mom was flexible enough to just. Allow me to try out different things. So that was my first exposure to content writing as [00:03:00] such. And while I was doing freelance translation and content writing, I got an on site opportunity and I traveled to the U.
S. where I worked for seven years. And those seven years, I did not focus much on writing because I was fully focused into my job. My job was totally occupying me at that time. And three years I was close to three years before when my son was born I was in maternity leave and after my maternity leave, I could not join my work back because I did not have a work from home option in that kind of job.
And I also wanted to take care of my baby full time. I did not want to leave him in the daycare. Yeah, so that creative outlet was what I was looking for at that moment and I started writing again after a gap of seven years. And So because of my background in the IT industry, I developed my own website and I, the website is all created by me.
It's fully by me. I did not outsource anything. Yeah. So it was all done. [00:04:00] Yeah. So it was all done by me and I started writing and I started documenting my experiences as a freelance writer, content writer, whatever I learned and everything. So I also worked briefly as an SEO content writer, so I knew all aspects of writing.
And when I was taking care of my baby, it was. It's so stressful, even though I enjoyed it and writing was such a creative outlet and it kept me calm. And then when my son was eight months old, we came back to India and I want to now continue that full time I don't want to go back to my previous job or anything and I want to continue pursue this full time.
Did you find it at any point, a little bit more difficult to be in India as a location as a freelancer compared to somewhere else. So right now I'm not a freelancer because initially I was doing a are you talking about now or when I started freelance writing? Also like how, when you help like others, [00:05:00] because the the reason why I asked this question is that like one of my first clients, like she definitely didn't get like The same chances, like for example, like writing for professional agency, et cetera, just because of her location.
And I always found that really unfair because she's really genius. She's a great writer. She's a super creative mind. And I find like it's just not fair, if someone is like doing freelance, like it shouldn't really matter where you are. Yeah. That is there. That is definitely there.
And another problem that is country specific is. People will try to undervalue you and they want to pay you less, even if you deserve more. That was my experience as well. And I always feel like it's not like always coming from a bad place, but it's especially like when you just start out that, some people might think, Oh, is she as good as someone that like wrote I don't know, 200 website copies already or whatever it might be, huh. [00:06:00] Yeah. Tell me. And when I started blogging I just wanted to add one more point. So when I started blogging, I really loved the flexibility. I still love the flexibility. Like I can start start with an article in the morning. I can just pause whenever I want and I can continue anytime that I require.
I don't have to report to anybody. It's all my own timelines and my own creativity that I show in my blog. And that, so you show that in your blog and like the main focus of your blog is really when I just look at your blog right now, like you have a lot of like super interesting topics covered, especially like for people and especially I think for ladies when they, want to make money, for example, like 11 ways to get paid to lose weight, like it's not only freelancing, but it's really like inspiring, okay.
I can get paid losing weight. But or get paid to test websites and, like you mix it up with a lot of like interesting topics. So [00:07:00] how is it for you like the writing for your blog, do you generate an income from that? Or is it more to gain an audience and a followership?
I have monetized my blog, so I have started to earn income. My blog is still growing. I have literally grown it from zero to ten thousands of views a month now. So yes, yeah, I have monetized it and I'm also growing my followers. And in future, I want to branch out into digital products, helping people out in making money online, et cetera.
But how did you monetize it? Because there's not really any ads on your blog, right? No, ads will show up. Maybe it's it is not showing up currently, or there is no relevant ad to show up, but ads will show up. As you navigate, you will see ads. But it's not as crazy as some blogs that you see where Like for every sentence you read, yeah, no, it's not the case.
Okay. At times the ads may not pop up because it, it finds [00:08:00] relevant ads and it shows, but ads is my mainstream of income currently. Oh, is it? Okay. So that was like actually my next question, like what your mainstream of income is right now. Yeah it's monetized through ads. And right now I'm growing my followers.
I'm trying to still build my traffic. And like I said, I want to branch out into other teams in the near future as well, and I also have a curated jobs list to work from home, remote options in my blog. I also want to post more work from home jobs so that people, it will help more people.
That is very interesting. That's very cool. I love that. So what did you find? Like, how did you start as a freelance writer? What was like the beginning for you? So I really started writing when I was learning French in my home country. So in my French class, we would be given a set of [00:09:00] topics.
We were asked to write articles. And when you start writing in another language, it really pushes you to an extent you would have never imagined. So it. Really built my focus and it. It enhanced my thinking process and that is when I really started writing and what I did was at that time blogspot was really getting famous.
So I created a blogspot account and I started chronicling my own personal experiences. So that is how I really started writing and slowly it got me so interested that I created a LinkedIn profile and I started reaching out to freelancing. Agencies or companies that would want writers to offer projects.
That is really inspiring. That is really cool. And I think All this I did along with my full time job. I used to do it during the weekends. Yeah. And that's another thing because I feel like Sometimes when someone doesn't have a job and they need to [00:10:00] generate money from freelance writing, but they just start out, I feel like for a lot of people, it's a lot of pressure, right?
It's bad. No, if they don't have that income, like it's almost like I see it in my students, like all the time, it's like almost blocking them. I feel like the people that are more successful, especially at the beginning the people that have a stable income, just because they it's a different kind of like energy behind it.
Like it's not. Coming from a place where, oh my God, if I don't make this work in the next three weeks, I, I don't know how to pay my rent or something. And that's obviously not the place where you want to come from. But on the other hand, it doesn't need to take a long time if you know what you're doing.
Yes. And another best option is to do it start doing it as a side hustle. Like when you are already in a full time job, you can explore different fields like I did. Like I already had a full time job and a stable income, and I started writing as a part time writer, as a freelancer. And, slowly. As the nuances of the new [00:11:00] industry the difficulties, challenges, like it's not rosy everywhere, right? So every industry has its own cha set of challenges. So the more you get to know about it, you'll take informed decisions and you'll have some money saved in your pocket.
So if you want to make a jump, that should really be there like you, you need to have a savings so that you don't feel that pressure. Yes. It's all about like that transition a hundred percent. And I think too it's still so rewarding yes, it can be scary, but it's still so rewarding, especially if you look for the flexibility, working from home, you want to leave your nine to five job, or you want to also have the possibility to make more money.
Like after a while, if you know what you're doing, I found that all true for me. And to be honest, yes, I was in freelance writing way before I really made good money and I could live off it. But for me, it was also just because I treated it as like a side thing. And [00:12:00] once I said, okay, I have to make it work.
I have to make money doing it. Then it Clicked and it's, like it's not for everyone, but for some people. And it was true for me too. Like that kind of pressure was good for me to me going. And I think that's what it is about like keeping going. Yes, that mindset is definitely required.
And like you said, pressure is a good thing too. If you don't have a deadline or if you don't have the determination, if you don't put at least some amount of pressure in yourself, then you'll take it as a hobby or it will always remain as a side hustle instead of becoming your primary source of income.
Yeah. That's a very good point because then you just, if you just treat it as a side hustle, it will always stay like that. But if you like, Become a professional. That's what I, like, when I talk to my students as well, and tell them, Hey, you have to think as a brand, you have to think as a professional, they're like, but I'm not a brand, I'm just like a person.
And I just want to be a freelancer. But [00:13:00] no, you are a brand at this point, like you are professional. You are, it's something business related. You have to make sure, and almost a new level, new devil, because a lot of people, when they finally get successful, like they're like, Oh my God, now I have this pressure to hit this deadline, yes. But, you have the possibility to, work as a freelancer. Yes. You have to hit deadlines and, you have to communicate with your clients and sometimes you might have a client that's not so nice, but most of the time it just works out well. Yeah. And yesterday I was listening to your latest podcast about you being in financial debt and how you came out of it, that was really inspiring.
And it was a story of courage and resilience. Like I really enjoyed listening to that podcast. And even in that you had mentioned that during your younger days, you used to write as a side hustle and then transitioning from your family business, you're into full time into writing business.
It is a good thing. Like you always have that passion on your side and [00:14:00] then you understand the industry and then you finally jump into it. I think that is really inspiring. Yeah, thank you so much. I thought I want to share that because I feel like, like a lot of people might think, like, when you are successful and when you yes, you made it work that people might think or see also with your blog, oh, she was lucky, or It's just like you created that for yourself, but it was maybe because you were lucky, but I wanted to show them to it's not all, it's not about luck really.
It's about staying persistent and also believing in yourself and having to make things work. And like everyone has like different things to deal with. And I know that, Some people are like in way worse situations than, just having financial debt, but, it is definitely something that puts a lot of pressure on you.
And like a lot of people can relate because they might face like a similar situation. And it's not Oh, you're lucky. Like you just, I don't know, like it gives you a lot of empowerment as well that, I can pull myself out of that situation. [00:15:00] And I can create like an income working from home and it doesn't have to be like, Oh, I fully rely on like an, employer or whatever,
Because then you always rely on someone else. And yes, that is true. Yeah. Like you said, perseverance is very important and also patience and you must be willing to take risk as well. So in my case, I left my job my comfort zone and I stepped out of it. And then I came into something. to start from the scratch.
And I'm still not even making one fourth of my original previous income, but I'm still pushing it and I'm taking small steps every day to reach my goal. So I think perseverance and you also need to be patient because nothing happens overnight. That also really helps. I think so too. And that's the thing, like when you see like small success and that's obviously you also learn a lot.
For example, like I always say, I had these two [00:16:00] transitions from like my full time job into writing. And then from my writing now into coaching, that was like a big transition as well. And I learn, because I said to everybody like has, yes, you can definitely make 10k a month writing, like in like for an agency and professionally but like for people like that are just starting out like that might not be like because they, if you don't believe that you can do it, and obviously it's difficult to hit that like from month one. And it's possible.
I'm not, I don't want to say it's impossible. But obviously, it's really difficult. I don't want to give anyone like a false hope hey, You start now and next month you will hit your first 10k. That's not how it works. But if you like hit your first, I don't know, 100, 500, your first thousand dollars, then you're like, Hey, I can build that.
And then you know what you're doing. And then you get faster and you raise your salary all the time. Yeah, I follow a person called Justin Welch on LinkedIn. So he he writes about [00:17:00] solopreneurship and writing online and everything. So he he wrote once that if you can make 1 online, you can make 100.
If you can make 100, you can make 1, 000. So that is what I tell myself every day. Yeah. That's what I say. That's what I say. That's what I say. Yeah. And go from there. That is so cool. I love that. Yes. Because that's like then almost like you can create like this effect for yourself and you can create like more income and yeah, you can figure it out.
And obviously making money online is. a dream for so many, but it doesn't have to be a dream if you just go for it. And also if you also listen to people that, made it before, or like also people that, you can trust, like as mentors, as coaches, and obviously there's so much out there.
And I'm not saying like every coach is a good coach, but I think. That's also the reason why coaching gets like more and more popular is that people [00:18:00] like to learn from people that have been through something and that figured something out, like the hard way, and now they can share it.
And save like them a lot of time. Like it's almost like buying a shortcut. Yeah. I think those are the best kind of mentors. That is the kind of mentors I would want to reach out to someone who has learned from their own experience and they want to help out the people.
Yes, definitely. And I think that's the thing, because it doesn't have to be. Like it doesn't have to be you have to hire like a coach for everything in your life, but I think it makes life so much easier. And it's like also a really good alternative also for like the traditional, Oh, we just have to go to university and, have a specific degree because that's a question like a lot of.
My writers say oh, do I need a special, a specific degree and this and that, but it can definitely be like something that, I don't know how to say it, but yes, a certificate, maybe for some areas, maybe it's really helpful, [00:19:00] but I think like Experience and then also what you can give to someone is not only about a certificate because some people hold I don't know, copywriting certificates, for example, but if they don't understand the audience, and if they don't like communicate with a client, then will not be able to create like the same good job as someone that is really listening and really understanding what this person wants, right?
Yeah, and many of the writers, they may not understand the business side of things. So that will be a new entirely new learning experience for beginners, at least. Yes, definitely. I 100 percent agree. That is so good. Thank you so much for that conversation. So last question, what is like the one thing that you would tell like new people that want to go into freelance writing?
Like what is the number one tip that you would like share with them? I would say start now, just don't wait, just don't [00:20:00] wait for a certification, don't wait for the right time. Now is the right time. So start now. Yes. That's what I would like to see. That made me laugh. Yeah. That's perfect. Yeah.
Start now. Now is the right time. And that's also I see what a lot of like my coaches said as well. Like I hired business coaches now, especially going into the coaching because, I had to figure out like funnels and this and that and community building and whatever, but it's really about.
When they said Oh, start now, do it now, at the beginning I thought Oh, do you just want to, do you just say that because you want to sell it now or, but at the end of the day, yes, of course, like you have to start, somewhere because I have one of my best friends, like she's amazing.
But she had a hundred thousand different ideas about her career and she didn't know what she wants to do for a long time. And she came up with a new idea basically every single month. And then she finally went for something, and now she's super happy in her career.
But it's sometimes about trying it out doing something before we have that saying in [00:21:00] Germany where Before you like overthink it and study it, just experience it. Yes, overthinking will lead to paralysis analysis. So it's better to start now and you'll definitely figure out a way to become successful.
That is for sure. Yeah, a hundred percent. And it's also inspiring that you are also like a mom. How old is your little one now? What did you say? He is turning three next month. Wow, congrats. Thank you. Oh, my God. That's so good. It's just everything changed after he was born. Like I left my job, I totally started a new career.
I learned so many new things, like both as a mom and in my current profession. So And that's, I think it's that's just something to cover here at the end. It's something like amazing that I see also, like with a lot of my friends, when they became moms, everyone [00:22:00] sees these moms online that, when they become moms, they like start multi layer marketing or whatever it's called, like selling something online, but it's really about like that, Dream because you're right, like motherhood changes, like everything.
And of course, like it's true for the father too, I would say, like it changes a lot for them too, like including the hormones and everything. But I think like the main thing is really for the mom. First of all, like that's my, one of my business coaches says that as well, like this womb power is like creativity and like really create a ship and also like leaving that legacy.
Like leaving something that your little one can be proud of just because you're creating something so great. Yes. It is all about finding balance at the end of the day, being able to spend time with a family kid while also pursuing your dreams. So I think writing is one, um, like it, it really changes your life.
It offers [00:23:00] creativity, gives you balance, flexibility, everything. Like I really love writing and I'm so happy with my business right now. Yeah, definitely. I think writing is also something that. It's so healing, and it is I don't know, it's just amazing especially like if you can make that career out, if you can create a career out of writing, that's obviously a dream for so many people, and it's also something that I think a lot of people like our age, I'm not sure how it was for you, but like that a lot of people say Oh, it's not possible.
Like you cannot make money online or like they think if you say I want to make money writing that you need to write like a bestseller and make millions off of it and like the film and whatever, like that's actually not the case, right? Yes, I agree.
Perfect. Yeah. Very cool. Thank you so much for that conversation. That was definitely super inspiring. I will [00:24:00] definitely pop your website below and yeah, everything that you want to share. Excited to have you in my world and yeah, I cannot wait to see you grow and see everything that's, everything good that comes out and I would definitely recommend it to.
anyone like check out the blog because there's so much wisdom and there's so many things that they can learn from there. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be part of your podcast and I hope we remain in touch as well. Yeah, definitely. Very inspiring. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Suda, for being on my podcast. I'm just excited and thrilled. Like this, like network and the community that I built over the podcast is just so mind blowing. Like over the last couple of weeks, I spoke to so many inspiring other [00:25:00] women. So if you enjoy the podcast, please review it, please share it.
It would mean a lot. If you have any questions, just reach out to hello at with Christina. com. Thank you.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
