Featured goLancer: Kati Pierce

Kati Pierce is a freelance writer, proofreader, editor, marketer, and entrepreneur. She is also the Founder and CMO of Step Up Services Group, a business service provider for all organizations, big and small.

Kati freelances her content writing and marketing on goLance and through social media. Her writing portfolio includes humor, personal essays, blog posts, social media content, and business writing. She is a huge fan of the Oxford comma, serial commas, and is a self-proclaimed Captain of the Grammar Police.

Kati considers herself a Jill-of-all-Trades, as in she knows a little bit about a lot of things; which she puts into her freelancing, business ventures, and personal writing. She is currently working on an unscripted, reality-based podcast with her husband called Living with the Pierces, coming in January 2020.

Kati lives in Iowa with her husband Joe. They have six sons ranging from 17- to 27-years-old. Kati has one granddaughter with another grandbaby to spoil on the way. Kati and her husband travel often and are looking forward to making a trek to Germany next year.

goLance: Kati when did you decide to become a freelancer and why? Is freelancing your only and main source of income or you provide your freelance services on some other basis?

Kati: I've been freelancing for years and years. Before it was even called that! Before the whole internet thing took off. I'm always hustling! Many years ago, I had a freelance publication business where I created signs, flyers, contracts, etc. for people. I was an early adopter of technology and got a good PC before anyone else, so it made me good money.

Today, I have a small side hustle Step Up Services Group that offers business services to other businesses of all sizes. From marketing to filing articles of incorporation, to anything that a business of any size needs to get a step up. Right now, freelancing and the side gig are the only sources of income I have. But, I am working on a few other streams of income as we speak!

goLance: What’s your opinion about the current state of freelance content writing services?

Kati: Oversaturated. Anyone with an internet connection can be a content writer and charge a few bucks. Good content writers are hard for clients to weed out. You definitely get what you pay for with writing.

goLance: What’s the most challenging part of your work as a professional freelance content writer?

Kati: Getting noticed among the crowd. Most of my clients found me through my writing on Medium or my business website. The love my work but don't necessarily want to or are able to pay my rates as an experienced content writer and marketer. I've also struggled to get noticed on freelance platforms among those who charge a lot less than I do because their quality isn't as good as mine.

goLance: Are you a writer, entrepreneur, freelancer, founder, or all of these? How do you define yourself and all the things you do in the digital world?

Kati: I am all those things and more. I am a hustler. I've been a hustler my entire life. Even when I have a full-time job, I am always doing something on the side. I own my business services company and a small construction company. I freelance all the things. I'm currently producing a podcast with my crazy family to come out in January. I think it's all part of my curiosity to know how everything works and to be able to offer my expertise to clients. It simply adds to my skill set and knowledge base and makes me a better writer and marketer.

goLance: Do you work exclusively on one freelance platform or you also provide your service on some other platforms? How do you compare goLance with other freelance websites?

Kati: I work on almost any platform that I can get my services out there. I've had clients reach out to me on Twitter, LinkedIn, email, etc.

So far, goLance seems to be a fair platform to provide freelancing services. I can't wait for more clients to start using it so there are more projects to bid on!

I recently quit using Upwork once I realized they were not only making ME pay to play but also making clients pay on the other end. They are holding my money hostage, but I will have to write it off.

goLance: What are the goLance features and options that you appreciate the most? Where do you see room for improvements and why?

Kati: I like the ease of use goLance provides as well as not having to pay upfront to bid on projects. I think the only improvement I would make to any freelance platform is to vet out low bidders. I don't know exactly how that would work, but it goes back to fighting to earn what I am worth over folks in other areas with a lower cost of living.

goLance: What would be your word of advice to new freelance writers who have just joined goLance? What’s the best way for them to increase their chances of being hired?

Kati: My advice is always to provide the absolute best customer service you can no matter what. Do not undersell yourself just to win a bid. The best way to get hired is to have a great profile, a portfolio (I'm still working on adding mine), and check for spelling and grammar errors in proposals.

goLance: What can you tell us about the Step Up Services Group?

Kati: I've always done side freelance work. A friend of mine was looking for a side gig as well. We started throwing out ideas of what we could offer with our skills and voila! We offer transparent rates for larger businesses and customized rates for small businesses. We are skilled in everything we offer and if we can't do something, that's where platforms like goLance come in.

Small businesses can hire us to get things done like setting up a website, social media, and other marketing. Bookkeeping, contracts, vendors, event management. Rather than hire someone, it can actually save organizations money to have us come in and get a process going first. Clients love our free needs assessment we provide and we love working with all kinds of businesses.

goLance: Would you recommend goLance to your friends and colleagues?

Kati: I would. If someone is looking for a professional who specializes in something they don't know a lot about, it is worth it to hire it out to see what that new process or website or whatever looks like in relation to the business.

goLance: You also work as a freelance event planning for personal events like weddings. That sounds interesting. Can you tell us more about it? Is this something a freelancer can do?

Kati: I kind of fell into the event planner role. Over 10 years ago, I was a single mom, looking for my next side hustle to supplement my income from my crappy full-time job, when my sister asked if I would be willing to work with her as a wedding coordinator for a wedding. I've always planned events for friends and family, so it seemed like a no-brainer. We had such a great time and the bride and her mother were so pleased with us, they gave us a $200 tip! Kati brain went into motion and from there I realized the skill I had was valuable. Throughout my career for both organizations and freelance, I've planned and coordinated athletic tournaments, fresh meat recruitment (roller derby), weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, bachelorette parties, receptions, conferences, open houses, and pretty much any event you could think up.

Of course a freelancer can do it! That's how I started! The personal side of the weddings and showers and such are my freelancer role. Corporate-type events are part of Step Up Services. Either can be done as a freelancer, but I prefer to do it more MY way for the personal events.

How To Hire Kati Pierce?

If you want to hire an exceptional freelance writer, proofreader, editor, and marketer, then you definitely need to check out Kati Pierce's profile on goLance as soon as possible.