I Got Paid $12 For My First Ever Freelance Copywriting Job

And now I get paid 10x to 20x that…

$12 IS BETTER THAN NO DOLLARS — RIGHT?

It was October 2016 when I got into the freelance writing game — and — I had no idea what I was doing.

My Backstory

For the previous 2 years, I lived in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. I taught English to more than 65 private students and bicycled to every lesson throughout two small towns.

On days when there was a typhoon, I would insist on being open for business. I expressed my readiness to ride my bicycle and deliver my lessons as agreed in our contract!

This impressed my students, but they always insisted on rescheduling the lesson. It’s no surprise why they called me a Crazy Canadian, but — I’m starting to digress.

When I was under pressure to expand my teaching business and open a real school, I thought seriously about my situation. After downing a few beers at an all-you-can-drink Izakaya, it suddenly dawned on me:

I hate teaching English.

So I quit, then sold my business (i.e., introductions to students) to another teacher who wanted my contracts. Then, I cycled around Kyushu, took a ferry to Okinawa, and bummed around the island before my flight to Taiwan.