It would be an understatement to say that I have agonized over this post. All for a good cause, though — it’s time to announce the winners of our three birthday prize-packs!

Before we start, I’ve got to scold you guys a bit. Firstly, for being so incurably enthusiastic (we received over 700 entries), and secondly, for being so compelling! Your entries were funny, heartwarming, tear-jerking, creative and refreshingly honest. While this made reading all 700+ entries a lot easier, it made the task of picking just three winners a whole lot harder.

In the end, I decided to compile a shortlist with my favorite responses for each prize-pack, and use a random number generator to pick a winner from each. In my eyes, all the entries that made the shortlist were truly equal, and nothing short of Lady Luck could separate them.

If neither you nor your favorites won, don’t be disappointed. Every single one of the entrants was a current or soon-to-be freelancer. We believe the spirit of Freelance Switch is freelancers helping other freelancers, and that same spirit lies behind this competition. When we improve the situation of one freelancer — even in a small way — we raise the standard of our entire community.

With the obligatory introduction out of the way I can move on to what you actually want to know. Who won?

The Writer’s Prize Pack winner is…

Kathryn!

Kathryn is a deserving winner because, so far, she’s a poster-girl for the right way to make the switch:

I’m pleased to say I have been doing my homework in preparation for my own switch to freelancing for some time, and this blog has been a great tool. I’ve cut back to part time in my regular job, convinced my boss to give me unprecedented flexibility by proving I can be most productive when I set my own schedule, cultivated relationships with a few clients to get things off the ground, and set aside sufficient funds to weather the financial ups and downs. I’m currently in the process of investing in some tools, so winning this prize pack could not come at a better time! I would love to celebrate the anniversary of this blog with my own “freelance switch.”

Happy Birthday to all!

Sounds like a dream start to me — the kind of approach we encourage all Freelance Switchers to aim for. The writer’s prize pack will help make sure Kathryn’s launch scores a perfect 10.

The Designer’s Prize Pack winner is…

Juan Javier Fajardo Figueroa!

Juan is a deserving winner because he’s an ordinary guy in Spain making a big move to Mexico City. What motivates an ordinary Spanish guy to move half-way across the globe? You guessed it…

In three months I have to relocate from Barcelona to Mexico City and I need to do a lot of freelance work in order to survive. And why the hell would one move from sunny Barcelona to monster Mexico city? Well, love. I’m going after the woman I love.

We’re romantics at heart here at Freelance Switch, and can’t say no to a good love story — particularly a Spanish love story. We’re also in favor of moving to new places and being able to, well, eat. We’re sure the Designer’s Prize Pack will help Juan make it big in the big city!

The Web Coder’s Prize Pack winner is…

Brian McMurray!

Brian is a deserving winner because he was the first to make a convincing argument for why he should win the coder’s prize pack… in code!

$prize_pack = “Web Coders”;

public function prize_justification($reasons:Array) {
if (count($reasons) > 0) {
return “This array probably has an infinite number of reasons for why I should get the Web Coder’s prize, but really Freelance Switch has been one of my biggest influencers in talking my sometimes-overly-pessimistic, super-worrying, perfectionist self into honestly and truthfully wanting to take a big jump off the fantasy isle of ‘job security’ and take a shot at finding happiness on my terms.”;
};
};
$myReasons = new Array();

while ( -1 < 1 ) {
$newReason = “insert generic reason here”;
array_push($myReasons, $newReason);
};

print prize_justification($myReasons);

I’m not a coder so I couldn’t say if the above is error-free, but if it’s not, that’s an even better reason why Brian should get the prize. All those informative books will help!

To the winners: you’ll be contacted before Monday to arrange shipping and cash substitutes if any of the items can’t be posted to your country.

To everyone else who participated: I found the answers shed a lot of light on the community behind Freelance Switch, where we are at in our lives and in our freelance careers. Hey: you wrote an argument for why you deserve something good. This is something most people don’t do nearly enough (or at all). It may have helped clarify some of the things you appreciate about yourself, and your ability as a freelancer. More than a contest entry, we hoped it would be a positive exercise. We hope you see it that way too!