#185: My First Year of Freelancing after Corporate Burnout, with Abby Nieten

Deliberate Freelancer

Today’s guest is Abby Nieten. Abby lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana, area, with her husband and three sons. A year ago she launched her freelance business, Shining Waters Editorial, where she is a copy editor and proofreader specializing in business content and nonfiction manuscripts. 

Abby also recently launched a monthly newsletter called Stream of Confidence, which is for authors, writers and other business professionals who want to create and publish content that impacts other humans. It offers a steady stream of encouragement, inspiration, connection and quality assurance tips to help you publish your work with confidence. 

In today’s episode, Abby and I talk about:

  • How a layoff led to her freelancing career. 
  • Feeling undervalued and burnt out in the corporate world. 
  • How she prepared for freelancing while still working full time. 
  • How she’s getting clients.
  • Trying to figure out pricing. 
  • Four pivotal lessons she’s learned over the past year. 
  • Why she wishes she had taken a break between being an employee and starting her freelance business. 
  • Just do it — you don’t have to wait until you build the perfect structure and business plan before you start freelancing. 
  • The challenge of finding the right client mix to provide more stability. 
  • The importance of keeping a “sunshine folder” of evidence of your good work. 

Biz Bite: Explore the technology you’re already paying for before buying the new “shiny object.”  

Resources:

  • Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
  • Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group
  • Abby’s website: ShiningWatersEditorial.com
  • Abby’s Stream of Confidence newsletter
  • Abby on LinkedIn 
  • Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
  • Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn

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