Krishna: Giving up is not an option, keep trying!

A person who never gives up, Krishna found her passion for content writing when she began writing on Quora. She left her engineering job for personal reasons and felt a lack of self-satisfaction post that. However, like a star, she shined bright and writing became a part of her. She believes that having a website for an online portfolio and marking a presence on social media platforms is a great way to get more clients. She suggests developing the habit of reading to stay aware as a writer. According to her, flexibility is a major perk of freelancing, while time-management proves to be a challenge for freelancers. We admire her attitude of going out of the way to help others. With her perseverance and dedication, she is going to achieve many more milestones. We wish her success as she moves towards unfolding her full potential.

Read her rollercoaster journey: 

Introduce yourself to us? Where are you from? About your family, parents? How was your childhood?

Hi, I’m Krishna from Kolkata. I was born and raised in Kolkata. I continue living here with my big family including  my parents, two sisters, uncle and aunt and their two kids. 

My childhood is similar to any other girl child in a Maadu family. I was constantly reminded that you are a girl, you need to do this and that. I never liked that attitude, but at that time I couldn’t do much about it. I was good in studies, scored well and my parents were happy. So all in all, it was all okay. 

Post doing studying computer science, why did you choose the field of content writing? Speak to us about your love for writing?

I always wanted to be an engineer and Java has been my love. I also got a job but due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to leave it and stay back home. At that time, I would work for my father in his business. But the kind of satisfaction I wanted to have was missing. 

Two years passed and I started feeling bad. I wasn’t independent. Every time someone would ask me about what I do, I had no answer to it. It was then I thought I must do something. I started using Quora and my first answer got a good response. So, I thought that I could do this.

I am not a social media person but then I downloaded Instagram and just scrolled through it day in and out. One of my Quora friends suggested that I take part in a blogging competition. Though skeptical, I went ahead and won the runners up prize. 

There started my journey as a writer. Initially, writing was one way of soothing my mind or saying a resort to what I was doing. But now, it’s a part of me. I won’t say that I am only about writing, but yes, that’s one milestone achieved. 

How to make an online portfolio as a writer? Tell us about blogging and having your website? Mention the value and the credibility it adds to your portfolio?

An online portfolio is important but then there are other ways too. I have a website of my own and I update it from time to time. However, I think that social media sites are more relevant these days. I am active on LinkedIn and Twitter and I get good clients through those.

I am not always asked to share my work as my LinkedIn profile is updated and they get enough content to consider me as a writer. Keeping this aside, blogging is extremely important. Not only for the ones beginning their career (because they are naivè) but for every writer, because ‘Why only write for clients?’.

Also, you don’t have to have a website to start blogging. Websites such as Hackernoon, Thrive, Medium, etc, accept guest posts. You can simply create your profile and get started. This is the best way to build an online presence. 

When you have something published under your name, you are in a position to speak and say, ‘Yes that’s my work!’.  

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

As I said before, freelancing happened by chance. I wasn’t planning to do anything of this sort. It’s like the pieces of a puzzle kept adding and here I stand as a freelance writer. 

As a freelancer, how do you market your services? Tell our readers about your essential marketing strategies.

Initially, I leveraged Facebook. I got some good clients, and I still work for them. Presently, I endorse LinkedIn. The platform offers tremendous opportunities for everyone. All you need to do is show up, stay active, engage, put content, and done. 

The algorithm works in an inbound manner and if you do it right, you will automatically get leads. I have generated around 30+ clients from LinkedIn in 4-5 months. Mark my words, I said clients. Leads are three times the number. Just go ahead and start now. 

I keep my focus on the content, i.e. the quality that I put in. I am a technical writer and I love writing about them. The best I do is research, reach out to people in that sector, talk to them, and pitch my services. Remember, it’s not always about asking for work but also offering help. I don’t charge for everything I do. 

I help my clients build their LinkedIn profiles as an incentive. Make sure you don’t ask too much. 

How to stay aware of the happenings around the world? Mention, if any recommended tools or resources for this.

Awareness comes from reading. The more you read, the better. I am active on Twitter, the storehouse of recent events. Social media is the best place to stay updated, given you are following the right channel/person. 

Apart from this, any newspaper of your likes. I prefer The Hindu. Go ahead with any other of your choice. Another thing that I do is, type in the sector in the search bar and click on news. This is the best way to stay informed on a particular thing. For example, if I want to know about the advancements in ML models, I type this in Google and click on news. I have everything I need to update my database. 

As a writer, how do you deal with writer’s block?

Precovid, I used to visit a happy place that I have, every time I faced a block. However, these days it’s playing chess and my guitar. I spend hours playing chess and humming through the chords. I just love that.

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

The advantage is that you get to work as per your wish. You can schedule and plan the day your way.

I wouldn’t say there’s a disadvantage. But one thing that makes freelancing a bit tough is time management. Freelancing might prove to be tough, especially for people who tend to procrastinate. When you don’t have that dagger on top, managing time is hard. 

What is the one thing about clients that you dislike? What can they do to improve your work life?

Not getting a response from clients. Whether you like my work or not, whether you want to hire me or not, simply send a message. No is always better than staying silent. It’s okay if you aren’t happy with the quality or not okay with the payment. 

We get that, hence, don’t keep us waiting for no reason. Just tell us that this won’t work out. That’s it.

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

I want to be known as a person who never quits. There’s been a lot in my life both personally and professionally. I have seen people quit or just give up but that’s not me. I know I can do anything I want to. All I need to do is keep trying and have faith. 

Krish isn’t only a writer. There’s more coming for the world to see. 🙂

Do you feel content with yourself as you look back or do you think you have missed something?

One thing that I never had and will never have is regret. I hold myself accountable for everything I do. Good or bad, I was totally sound when I took the decision and  executed it.  So, yes I am content with all I have done and there’s nothing I missed. I am here because of all the things I did in the past and I am really grateful for that. 

Krishna can be reached out on Refrens, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Along with technical skills, soft skills are extremely valued in the workforce today. Read our article on ‘Essential Soft Skills You Should Develop‘ in order to stand out amongst competitors.