By now it's become completely normal to send invoices to my clients as a freelancer. But that took a long time to arrive.
As I've already described in detail in another article, I registered my then-still-part-time self-employment in early 2023. But through the wrong motivation and the wish to make quick money online via shortcuts, the result logically failed to appear. Even after many fresh attempts over the years, the first money kept me waiting. When I then issued my first three-figure invoice this February, for the first full month of podcast editing, it really felt like a revelation.
Out of that realisation, I offered the services and skills I'd carefully trained and acquired over the years. I got to support an exciting travel podcast with editing and social media, and now got paid for it. Basically my first »online money«, and through her, my first long-term client, it became the new monthly »routine«.
It was a really good feeling, also from the thought: if I can earn 1 € online, then I can also earn 1,000 € or 10,000 € or 1,000,000 € online. And I owe all of that to this first invoice, which took away the mental hurdle and showed me this bigger perspective on the viability of this self-employment.
On top of that comes the feeling of freedom: when I'm travelling, I can work wherever I am, as long as I have my laptop and good Wi-Fi. Being able to write my invoice from Australia, then from Sri Lanka, or most recently from Iceland, that feels more than good.
Looking back, I'm very grateful that I didn't listen to my setbacks. That at the first signs of challenges I didn't give in, but kept trying again and again and trusted my persistence to stay with it, and that's now paying off in many ways.
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