Purodhika: Let Your Passion Drive You To Success

Started Freelancing in 2018, Purodhika is a full-time freelance content writer and copywriter. Writing has been her passion since childhood, and she best describes herself as creative, passionate, and diligent. For her, the freelancing journey is taking new challenges each day to learn and grow. 

As a freelancer, she highlights the importance of networking and negotiation as a means to ace the deals. She also lays emphasis on skill building including communication, and marketing, management skills. Her biggest learning in life has been, ‘Not everything works the way you want it to, one needs to accept and move on but never give up.’

With the support of her family, and through her hardwork and determination she is having a successful career and a content journey so far. She swears to give her 100% in every situation and task. She aims to upskill herself and build her own brand one day. We wish her success in the future. 

Read her exciting journey:

1. Introduce yourself to us?

I am Purodhika Sharma, a freelance content writer, and copywriter. I graduated last year and got my degree in Computer Applications. 

I’ve been freelancing since my college days as a side gig but started full-time freelancing after graduating. I help brands brew blogs and content that the audience can connect with. Also, I am a yoga enthusiast.

I’m from Punjab, and I live with my family. I’ve been a meritorious kid in school and college, and my parents feel super proud of all my personal and professional achievements. 

2. Why did you choose the field of writing? How did you get introduced to this field? What fascinates you the most about your career choice?

Writing is something I’m very fond of. Even when I didn’t start writing professionally, you’d find me writing journals, editorials, or blogs for myself. I did not plan on choosing the field of writing until I started freelancing during my college days. 

A very close friend of mine, who was a digital marketer, introduced me to the professional aspects and areas of content writing. I started writing for his firm and expanded my services with experience. 

Well, I believe there’s nothing more fascinating than doing something you love. Writing has been my passion since childhood, and building a career in this field is a blessing and a dream come true. 

3. Why did you choose to freelance? When did you begin to freelance? Were you planning it, or how did it happen?

I have loved writing since I was a kid. You know the kind of kids in school who would get excited about an article writing competition. Yes, I was one of them. I used to write many editorials for leading newspapers in the student section. However, it never hit my mind during schooling that I could use this talent of mine as a full-proof profession. 

Fast-forward, when I started my college, I would have ample time to myself and would try new side gigs. I started teaching at an institute, but it did not interest me much. One day, while having a random conversation with my brother, he asked if I’d like to write for his blog. I was super excited and nervous because writing something that’ll be published on the internet was scary for me at that time. I started writing for his blog, and people started loving the articles.

Soon, a friend of mine who was a digital marketer checked my work and asked if I could handle the content writing part for his agency. Well, the right opportunity just knocked at my door, and I took it as a challenge. From that time till today, I have never let second thoughts come to my mind when it comes to my work.

Soon I made an account on LinkedIn and started networking there. It was after using LinkedIn that I started getting leads and more freelance opportunities. So, I’d say writing was something I always loved to do but building a career in writing was not planned or intentional it just happened.

4. How do you build and use your network effectively to generate more leads?

When you’re freelancing, your future completely depends on your networking skills. As a freelancer, you don’t have a marketing team to promote and get you leads. You are on your own. Initially, it was very difficult for me to build a network and find the right people to work with.

Someone suggested to me the networking possibilities on LinkedIn. I made an account, and I found many like-minded people on the platform. It also gave me a platform to share my views and thoughts openly. As I started posting, people would often tell me how they can relate to my content. 

I made thousands of connections and built a strong network on the platform. I started posting regularly, and just by sharing my raw thoughts, I started generating leads. Freelancing gives one the freedom to explore and experiment different skills and networking skill is one of them.

5. How to negotiate your deal with clients? What are the important points and techniques to keep in mind?

Cracking the right deals with clients is all about the right negotiation skills. A freelancer must know how to negotiate to earn good leads. You may quote an amount to the client, but they don’t necessarily agree with your proposition. Each client will always try to negotiate, but you need to know if the negotiation is worth it.

As a freelancer, you should be clear about your quotation. If someone says you’re charging too much, you should convince them why you’re charging that price. Tell the client why your work is worth the price and how it will help their company. Communication is the key here. The better you can present your service, the better clients you’ll crack.

Some brownie points that you need to consider are:

• Find out about the client as much as you can. It will give an idea about the work environment and expectations.
• Fix a virtual meeting to have a clear conversation. Do not fix deals by chatting with the prospect.
• Quote your charges and explain your way of working to give the client an idea about why you’re charging what you’re charging.
• Keep a flexible approach while fixing a deal as not everything will work in your favor.  

Also, it is not only about money. Many clients won’t respect your time and work enough, you need to choose your leads wisely. Do not lower your prices if you know your value as it will not let you give your 100 percent to the project. 

6. As a freelancer, speak about having integrity as an essential characteristic? Tell our readers about being original, giving credits and having a USP with your work and services offered.

I believe integrity is a super-essential characteristic and is not limited to freelancing. No matter where and what job you’re doing, integrity makes you stand out. As a freelancer, your career depends on how honest you are to your work.

It is very important to be authentic in your work. You may think copying ideas are working for you right now, but it won’t in the long run. Even if you’ve used an idea or concept from someone, a simple gesture of giving credit can be great. 

When you’re original and practice integrity, you’ll attract the right audience and surround yourself with like-minded people. 

7. How do you deal with writer’s block? Any productivity tips for other freelancers?

Writer’s block is a real thing, and it happens a lot. Most of the time people around you don’t understand, but it is a hard phase for a writer. I always advise people to not just work but be productive. Most of the time, when we’re only focused on completing a task, stagnation of thoughts begins. 

Here are some ways that have helped me deal with writer’s block and worked best for me.

• I fix a day’s task and do not overdo my tasks. If you follow a pre-set routine, you’ll stay motivated for the day. 
• Yoga is my go-to activity to get my head clear. It refreshes my mind and gets me back to the game.
• Do not try to accomplish extra tasks if you have some time left. People often use their extra time to write and finish even more tasks. However, it is like dragging your mind to burning out. If you have extra time, use it to relax and revive your energy.
• You should never feel guilty or sad when ideas in your head don’t flow as they once did. You can take a break for a few days and concentrate on other activities.

8. What according to you are the most essential skills that anyone interested in this area of work should develop?

I always say that a freelancer is a one-man army. You don’t have a team running around you to manage your work, you’re on your own. 

Some skills that every freelancer must possess are:

• Management
• Finances
• Communication
• Marketing
• Networking & Negotiation

You can also read more about these skills here in a recent article I wrote. 

Some tools that I recommend are:

• Grammarly for editing
• Google Sheets to keep records
• Trello for project management
• Hemingway for editing

9. As a freelancer, what were the biggest obstacles you overcame? What were your worst mistakes?

Well, I had to overcome my set of obstacles before succeeding as a freelancer. I think one obstacle that every freelancer goes through is finding the right clients. As a beginner, you have no idea how to market your service and deal with clients. When you leave a well-settled career opportunity to freelance, you need to prove your potential to the people around you. 

It is both a challenge and an obstacle that one must overcome to convince people that you made the right choice. I was lucky that my family had my back from the beginning, and with the right exposure and opportunities, I overcame such obstacles. 

I blindly follow the rule, ‘The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one.’ I feel every mistake is a teacher and a lesson. So, one lesson that I learned after a few months of freelancing was undervaluing my service when I started. However, now I’ve learned, and I won’t make the same mistake again.

10. What is the one major pro and/or con of freelancing, according to you?

The biggest pro of freelancing is the flexibility and independence that it gives. You get to be your own boss and work wherever and whenever you want. You get to choose your working hours and charges, and I feel this independence is what makes freelancing worth a shot.

One con that freelancing has is its uncertainty. It is a challenging career choice as you don’t get job security here. However, with time one can overcome this challenge, but it does exist.  

11. What mission and vision do you have? How do you want history to look at you?

My mission is to build a strong personal brand and scale my business in the coming time. I would also love to add value to people’s lives through my content. Talking about my vision, I want to learn new things and improve my skills each day. 

I don’t know how people will look back in time and remember me, but I would always want them to remember me for my work. So, the best I can do is help people and keep my audience hooked to my content.

12. What would you do differently if you had to begin your career again? What would you focus on once you restart?

I am really satisfied with my journey so far. I was a very lazy and chaotic person, but freelancing made me an organized one. Now, I feel very content being independent at such a young age. The journey was not a golden ride, and I had my lows, but I have learned from every experience.

I think everything has turned out perfectly for me, and I feel content with my journey and how things turned out. I am grateful for my journey and accomplishments so far.

Purodhika can be reached out on Refrens and LinkedIn. 

Feeling burned out or facing a lack of motivation to work? Read our article on 8 Tips To Break The Blockage for Freelancer Productivity.

Want to become a copywriting superstar? Check out our blog for some insider tips and tricks to kickstart your journey!