Turn Your Quarantine Into Cash

In these trying times, it’s good to know we can still come together to celebrate what’s most important in life: raising chickens and naming them after TV characters.

With record numbers of layoffs and unemployment rising like a helium-filled dumpster, a lot of us have turned to what we call survival entrepreneurism. That includes full-time self-employment, freelancing, and stringing gigs together like so many Hobby Lobby clearance rack seed beeds. Not only is this #entrepreneurlife a way to make ends meet when absolutely no one is hiring, but it’s a method of advancing one’s career. Starting your own business right now is the lemonade many have made out of the nasty-ass lemons 2020 has given us.

I myself transitioned to full-time self-employment when I lost my job just as the coronavirus hit the fan. Yet while this makes me a card-carrying millennial entrepreneur, it’s not something I’ve written (or thought) much about!

To be honest, starting my freelance business and then making it my full-time job was, in the words of our Lord and Savior Bob Ross, “a happy accident.”

As usual… I have no idea what I’m doing.

Every so often when I’m researching money topics, I sigh dramatically and collapse onto my fainting couch, limp wrist held to my clammy forehead in the very picture of Victorian femininity. “Oh woe!” cry I, “This money shit is so confusing and complicated! If only some genuine professional would do the research for me and just let me copy their homework!”

Which is usually when I decide to interview an expert instead of doing the work myself.

Enter Katelyn Magnuson, the self-styled Freelance CFO and Mother of Chickens (long may She reign). Katelyn’s whole thing is working with small business owners and freelancers to take the practical steps necessary to bring their passion to life. Her courses, Facebook group, and free resources are not just full of empty platitudes and cheerleading… she actually has made her own business out of setting up the businesses of others.

So when Bitch Nation clamored for information on becoming “solopreneurs” (Katelyn’s word, but I’m stealing it), I knew she was the hero we needed and deserved; someone to cut through the bullshit and give us some step-by-step guidance.

If you find today’s discussion helpful, you have our Patreon donors to thank. This topic lost out in our monthly content poll, but I could tell from the comments that it would be really helpful to some folks. So we did it anyway! (You’re welcome, Patrons Patricia, Lydia, Josh, and others.) Yuge, yuge thanks to our donors for their support and enthusiasm. If you want to ask us questions, or pitch cool article ideas to us, we’re always listening at Patreon.com!

Freelancing in plague times

Piggy: Are you ready for my first hard-hitting journalistic question?

Katelyn: Yep! Go for it.

Piggy: If you had any super power, what would it be and why?

Katelyn: Teleportation. I love to travel, but have a bad back, and frankly hate the time it takes to travel. Plus, convenience.

Piggy: Damn, that’s a good one. Ok you passed the test. We can continue the interview. Your nom de guerre is the Freelance CFO. What does that mean? 

Katelyn: It means I’m a Chief Financial Officer both for freelancers, and on a contract basis. My core beliefs are education and empowerment without patronization.

Piggy: As you know, we’re living in The Plague Times™. How do you think things have changed for millennial freelancers since the coronavirus shut down so much of the economy?

Katelyn: Do I ever! In my opinion our world has changed dramatically both when it comes to business and finances, and socially. 

Piggy: Girl PREACH.

Click here to read the full article originally published in Bitches Get Riches.