Get ready to be inspired by an incredible story of a determined mom who transformed her life by starting a successful freelance writing business. In 1999, Abbi Perets was a college dropout with a baby and a husband who wanted a change in his career. She decided to take control of her destiny and venture into freelance writing, unsure where it would lead her. Her first gig paid just $25, but fast forward to today, and she has a flourishing freelance business, balancing the responsibilities of being a mom to five kids, two of whom have special needs.
Abbi’s journey didn’t stop there; since 2017, she has empowered other moms to follow in her footsteps and start their freelancing businesses to create the ideal work-life balance. If you’ve ever considered working from home, ensuring a consistent income while being there for your family, you’ll want to hear Abbi’s story. Grab a pen and paper and get ready to take some notes on how you can achieve your career goals without sacrificing time with your loved ones.
Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast
Reasons to Start a Freelance Writing Business
Moms always have a lot happening. It’s wild all the time. We juggle children, husbands, and everything that comes with being a mom. Abbi has five children, two with special needs, and a husband who travels 175 days a year. She also lives in Tel Aviv in Israel. Needless to say, she is busy, moms are busy, and we are all busy! She also runs a successful freelance writing business, built in the most beautiful way.
Reason #1: Flexibility in Freelance Writing
As busy moms, it can sometimes feel close to impossible to get in the car and make it to work on time. Freelance writing allows you to work remotely, so you can work from anywhere you please. Abbi has two children with special needs, so for her, this meant working from therapy waiting rooms most of the time. Some weeks her son had appointments five days a week. She would bring her laptop and get to work while still supporting her son.
I highly doubt many traditional nine-to-five jobs would have allowed moms to be out of the office several days a week. Working from anywhere is one perk to starting a freelance writing business. Sitting in the waiting room with a laptop, generating income for your household, and being present for your children may feel like a dream. However, it is entirely doable. Abbi is proof.
Abbi’s youngest was born without an ear. They got him to the U.S. for this amazing mind-blowing surgery where doctors built him a whole external ear. Of course, this meant Abbi needed to be in the States for six weeks. Abbi’s freelance writing business enabled her to do just that. Since starting her freelance writing business, Abbi has had the financial ability to cover the trip’s expenses and the flexibility to work while in the States.
Reason #2: Peace of Mind
There always seem to be those situations in everyone’s life where you don’t know why it’s happening. Like, you assume it’s a test from God or something. This was one of those situations for Abbi. Her third son was diagnosed with leukemia right before his 10th birthday. He ended up having a lot of complications from leukemia over the span of a few years. Their lives were thrown upside down a matter of hours after discovering his diagnosis. Because of this, Abbi learned how critical being a freelance writer was.
Being able to continue working through crazy life-altering situations was such a blessing. Abbi was able to keep contributing to her family’s income, work from where she needed to, and didn’t have to worry about it impacting her employability later on. Life can be so chaotic at times, and in a typical office job, your work can’t just stop. When things happen and we must be present as moms, freelancing can give you peace of mind. Knowing you can stop and actually be a mom when needed and then pick up and resume your freelance career afterward is empowering.
“Knowing you can stop and actually be a mom when needed and then pick up and resume your freelance career afterward is empowering.”
Mompreneur Trailblazer: Abbi’s Journey to Freelance Writing Success
What stands out the most about Abbi is how much she paved the way to having her own freelance writing business. She started her business many years ago with no internet and just a library of books on freelancing. This shows how much tenacity a mom can have when she’s determined to create the life she wants.
There were so many unknowns she had to navigate. Having to learn how freelancers make money, having those hard conversations with your husband, and then the learning curve when diving into a new business.
How Systems & Freelance Writing Empower Moms to Thrive in Life and Work
We talk about systems and Systemize Your Life all the time. Abbi’s story portrays the spirit behind Systemize Your Life. This is what moms do! We figure out how to show up for what we are meant to do.
I never want women to feel like they can’t do that because their life is too overwhelming. This is why I am so passionate about systems. Every woman has tenacity; we’re built that way. But, every woman will not move forward because of so many things that we’ve been inundated with and don’t have the tools and resources to do. Systems are about providing you with the tools and resources.
The necessity to financially contribute to a household in order for it to function is most women’s reality. So, having to work and not knowing how to do that while we pour into our homes leaves so many women unbelievably compromised. Abbi’s story is a blessing. She didn’t have to feel compromised because she discovered freelance writing.
How Freelance Writing Transforms Lives Amidst Motherhood’s Challenges
There are so many options in today’s online space for moms to make money from home. Specifically, there is network marketing, creating a brand, virtual assistant work, and so much more! Freelance writing is another incredible option. Many moms may have yet to have the opportunity to develop a full-blown career before having children. Even if you could, now you’re a mom, right? Now, you have to figure something else out because you are in the thick of motherhood.
While Abbi was navigating her son’s cancer journey, she was in several Facebook groups with other moms with kids with cancer. So many moms struggled to make ends meet while paying outrageous medical bills. They had to make really, really difficult decisions. Abbi began sharing her journey with freelance writing, hoping it might help other moms bring in an income.
When you’re a mom, caring about others is an instinct. We want to fix problems when we see them. The moms in the Facebook groups were struggling, and Abbi wanted to do all she could to help. Several of these moms began implementing what Abbi suggested and started making an income. They could buy something as simple as groceries, which was incredibly powerful. Freelance writing became a lifeline for these women.
Empowering Women on the Path to Prosperity
Abbi realized that helping others get their own freelance writing business started was indeed what she was called to do. People were counting on Abbi in a positive way to help them get through this rough patch in their life. Abbi realized she wanted more of this and began looking for how to scale her current work. This is how Successful Freelance Mom was born, and Abbi started pouring into women.
Breaking the Dichotomy: Why Women Can Have It All and Thrive
As women, I don’t believe in false dichotomies. We shouldn’t have to choose between our kids and our career. I firmly believe that every woman can have both. So many women feel the opposite, but I know this can be true.
Nobody’s perfect, we all make mistakes, And we are constantly bombarded with these false dichotomies where people are trying to tell us that we have to choose between this thing and that thing. My immediate gut reaction to that is always no; I want them both. I don’t want to choose; we should not have to choose. Why would I choose chocolate or peanut butter when I can have both in a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup? It just doesn’t make sense.
Growing up, I was always taught that you had to choose between your career and your family. I literally broke up with my high school sweetheart because he wanted to have kids, and I wanted a career then. So, I went on with my life, and I did love my career. It supported me through some tough times while being a single mom. It makes me want to help other women who may be in that space still.
Discover the Freedom, Fun, and Flexibility of Building Your Own Business
You may be thinking, what is this freelance writing business? You don’t want to be the face of a big business, but you love writing. Freelance writing may be a great fit.
There are tons of resources for getting started at successfulfreelancemom.com/go. You can sign up for Abbi’s free email course on how to become a freelance writer. It gives you a great starting point, and it’s a lot of fun.
Exactly What Freelance Writing Doesn’t Demand
Starting a freelance writing business doesn’t look like building a following on social media. It doesn’t look like spending a ton of money on all these crazy tools. It doesn’t look like starting some huge email list, either. You don’t need any of this to be truly successful. You need a handful of clients; that’s it. You’re looking to have four or five consistent clients who are paying you every single month. It doesn’t take hundreds of followers on Reels or Tik Tok, just a little bit of dedication.
Empowering Moms of All Ages
What’s cool about freelance writing is that you can scale it up and down. Younger moms who have just had kids can start to detach from the corporate world as they dredge into motherhood. However, they also want to still contribute to their household, or maybe they just want something for themselves. They can start their freelance writing business now while their kids are small and scale it as they get older.
Many women in their forties have devoted themselves to being the mom at home while their kids were growing up. Suddenly, their kids are in high school and they have all this free time. So, they begin rediscovering themselves and their passion for writing. They can start turning that into a business, make money from it, and find their self-identity again, which is so exciting.
The Thrills of Freelance Writing Across Diverse Industries
Another fantastic part of freelance writing is working for clients in different industries. As you write for clients, you also research, and you learn things you never imagined you would be learning. Many of the topics are fascinating, and it keeps the job fun.
Freelance writing is especially great if you are writing for an industry that directly translates to your life. Abbi speaks about writing for a client who teaches parents how to parent more effectively. She gets access to all the resources and learns from the parenting coach as she writes things out for the client. Getting to see the back end of people’s businesses is another perk. It is so cool.
Unleash Your Inner Writer and Embrace Success with Abbi’s Expert Guidance
Freelance writing can also be addicting. You can put in hours without realizing you didn’t stop for lunch. You get to write different things for different clients all the time. You can get really into it. Even if you don’t feel you have the skills to start freelance writing—think again.
If you enjoy writing in your journal, explore freelancing. Abbi can break down all the steps for you and show you how. You may not have time, or your life is in shambles. That’s even more reason to start! If Abbi can teach a broken mom that’s hurting in the middle of supporting her child with cancer how to make $400 bucks, then she can teach you, no matter your season of life. Abbi can guide you and help you with all the tools and resources to succeed. No matter your excuse, you can do this! Start by looking at Abbi’s resources.
Want to create your own success story?
I’d love to hear how many of you are inspired by Abbi’s beautiful freelancing journey. Hop on over and share your feedback in our FREE Facebook community or DM me on Instagram.
Being inspired is just one step to writing your own success story. Remember to start your journey at successfreelancemom.com. As you learn more about freelance writing, make sure to check out the Balancing Business Series to find out how to maintain a work-life balance and be successful in business.
To explore how to also have success in your home, visit Chelsijo.co/SYL. If you enjoyed today’s content, it’s a great resource.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have any resources that will help me while I'm building my business?
Absolutely! Explore my “Fundamental Needs” workbook to simplify your life to its core essentials. Then, dive into the “Time Blocking” workbook for focused time management. When your ready to dive into systems for you biz, check out Systemize your Biz!
