In the second instalment of our freelancer stories, we speak with Paul Mah, a prolific tech writer, blogger and content marketer in Singapore who started his freelancing journey about a decade ago and never looked back. Paul works closely with
Content.co, a platform that matches businesses to a curated network of top freelance talents in marketing, editorial and specialist fields.
1. What started you on this freelancer's journey?
After completing national service, I went to work in IT. I did programming and set up networks. I loved IT and did it for about five years. One day, I saw this post on an online tech portal asking for tech writers. It was looking for writers for short blog pieces – about 100- to 150-word summary of news developments. This was at the beginning of the rise of content marketing. They were experimenting too and wanted to churn out articles to drive more traffic to their site. Me? I was looking to earn some supplementary income. I sent some samples, they liked it and commissioned me to write more. It didn't pay a lot, but it worked out perfectly for me. I get to read about IT developments and news, write about them in short snippets, and get paid for it.
2. What do you like most about freelancing?
Obviously, there is the flexibility. A lot of people like to think of freelancing as sitting on the beach in Phuket sipping your wine and trying to do some work. But the truth is, if you are going to be relaxing all the time, you are not going to get any work done. Having said that, you have the flexibility. For instance, if your child is sick, you don't have to call the boss for the day off. If you need to stay home to run some errands, you can. But you do need to top up the hours somewhere else. I've worked in McDonald's, in cafes, rented offices, at home – wherever it suits to get my work done.
Freelancing also provided me the opportunity to expand beyond my social circle and meet some of the most brilliant minds in different industries. I once had a chat over coffee with someone in the region who was an expert in a specific programming language widely used in corporate websites and blogs. He didn’t have a full-time job in the traditional sense of the word, though he has published books on his area of expertise. He did technical consultation with some of the big tech companies such as IBM, on top of freelance programming gigs with businesses. He has his own family and children, and I could see that he was contented and derives great satisfaction with this path that he has chosen. It made me realise how the real narrative to the gig economy is about the matching of skills and passion to the task, as opposed to trying to fit people – often forcibly – into template positions or job titles.
3. What are some of the challenges?
Working with multiple clients. Also, freelancers usually only get paid after everything is completed. Some of the projects that freelancers are working on could be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances and issues outside of their control; such as when someone in the company falls sick or a key person needed to sign-off on the project was away for two weeks. Any delays in projects can delay payments, and this could be a real issue if the freelancer is expecting a certain amount to come in at the end of the month. Timely payments is one of the challenges that I believe the government is trying to help freelancers with.
4. How do you think freelancing have evolved in recent years?
There are a lot more tools and resources to help freelancers, one of them being freelancers' platforms. I could see the problems that freelancer platforms are trying to solve when I started using them. It's hard sometimes for new players to get recognised. Platforms create trust and provide assurance to businesses that the freelancers they engage are not fly-by-night operators, which helps the freelancers get jobs. It also helps the freelancers to have a well-defined process for requesting and making changes to the scope of work.
5. How has freelancing changed your life?
Having been in the workforce previously, I can say that there were days where I dreaded going to work. Certainly, there was this job that started off really well, but eventually saw me having to drag myself to the office every day. I was fortunate to find a niche that I am wholly passionate about, and I genuinely look forward to each new day. It is liberating not having to dread Mondays; indeed, there is always a sense of mild disappointment when Friday comes around. I believe this is what freelancing is about: Having the freedom of doing what you love, and having fun doing it.