Interview with Featured Freelancer: Stef Gonzaga

For today’s featured freelancer, we are going to meet Stephanie Gonzaga.  You’ve probably seen her comments of your favorite posts. She’s usually providing great feedback, useful tips, or much-needed words of encouragement.  And her post about working for Clients in Other Countries was very well received!

We are pleased to present Stef Gonzaga:

What kind of freelancer are you?

I’m a freelance writer, specializing in blog ghostwriting, web content writing, and catalog copywriting.

I enjoy writing for online stores

How did freelancing change your life?

Well, let’s just say I’m a “virgin freelancer”, meaning I never went through the corporate life as most people have. I started freelancing during my second year in college (I’m still a university student) because I wanted to be independent from my parents financially. It worked and gave me so much more, such as creative freedom, access to a lot of knowledge, and time to spend for my family.

What is the value of a freelancer?

Well, a freelancer is first and foremost a professional with big dreams and goals. The best part is that he can meet these goals, or surpass them, without depending solely on employment — a.k.a. set salaries. He can also be creative and smart in what he does for a living and with his lifestyle, which is what I find most appealing with my career as a freelance writer.

I get to be as creative as I can be while boosting my career and doing what I love. That’s also another great thing about the freelancer: he gets to do what he loves and is the most passionate.

Does working outside of North America affect you?

Well, working with international clients like from the US or the UK has challenges such as communication and security in terms of getting paid. I make sure to be as clear and straightforward as I can be with my clients to avoid issues.  For example, whenever I’m done with a particular phase of the project, or the project as a whole, I never fail to send an email about it. I also make sure to be professional, reliable and fun to work with, which always makes them feel comfortable when working with me. The nice thing about working outside of the US is the income I’m receiving from my work and being able to impress clients with my English skills despite being a Filipino.

What’s the best advice you can give to new freelancers?

Set an example if you want your clients to respect you as a freelancer.  Be reliable, honest, and true to what you say about yourself and your services. If you want your clients to pay you well, do the work assigned to you properly.  If you want clients to pay you at all, be professional and firm with your terms, follow-up on your invoices, and be prepared to take action. If you want to win more clients, start by working on projects you believe in and where you are confident in doing good work.

Which project are you most proud of, and why?

I guess it would be the projects I do copywriting work for, the best being the content of an Australian art store. I also loved my work as a catalog copywriter, writing product descriptions for a scarf store in the UK and a bank checks store in the US. Hopefully I’ll get to fulfill my biggest dream, which is to write descriptions and content for women’s accessories stores like Coach and Gucci or baby product stores

Where are you going to be in five years?

Definitely graduated from university, working in my beautiful home office, living in a nice safe home, and spending quality time with my husband and kids. I can also see myself helping out in organizations for animal rescue and building my own chicken and cattle farm. I love animals.

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Who should we interview next? If you have a freelancer that you are just dying to know more about, nominate them in the comments section, and we’ll see what we can do.