An Inspiring Father’s Day Interview With a Fiverr Seller

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What better way to celebrate Father’s Day on Fiverr than to post an interview with a top rated seller Michael C., who lives in Portland, Ore., and just happens to be a terrific dad. Michael, whose Fiverr handle is Soulmanpro, is thriving in the Gig Economy, doing what he loves to do while achieving financial freedom. And for Michael’s family, this has made all the difference.

How you came to Fiverr is a great story. Can you share it with us?

When my third child, Kylie, was born with Cerebral Palsy and other medical issues, I realized I needed to do something that would allow me to work at home. I created an Internet startup BirthdaySHOUT, which helps business professionals communicate with their clients in a fun and personal way, but soon found that an Internet business is a challenge to build and a bigger challenge to market. About a year ago, I saw the Jeff Probst show and heard about Fiverr.com They had Professor Puppet on and a guy who makes decisions for you. I thought, “This is for me!” I’ve been selling for eight months now. My Gigs include voiceover work, jingles and personalized video birthday greetings.

Tell us about your adorable daughter.

She’s five and doesn’t use words yet. She has limited use of her right arm and uses a walker to get around, but she loves new experiences and going places. Her name is Kylie, which means “Boomerang.” We say she’s going to come around like a boomerang and learn to walk, talk, and use her right arm. Just like a boomerang looks like it might never come to you, Kylie may not make the progress we want at the moment we want it, but we have no doubt she will “do it all” in her own time.

How do you balance being such a dedicated father and running your Fiverr Gigs?

I have a garage studio, so I can complete Fiverr jobs at any time. A perfect example of how Fiverr helps our family is the days that Kylie has a therapy appointment at the same time our boys need to be picked up from school. I can accommodate these types of situations because Fiverr lets me work from home.

What’s your favorite part of being a dad?

Influencing my kids to pursue a passion they have rather than simply a paycheck. The paycheck will come if you find your passion.

What’s your advice to other fathers?

Embrace all the facets of your relationship with your kids, the highs and the lows. Family isn’t about things being perfect. It’s about celebrating and remembering the highs and trying to solve and communicate through the lows. With this approach, you can teach your kids to overcome many of the relationship obstacles they will face and to be better parents to their own kids in the future.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

Our family has benefited in so many ways from me being a seller on Fiverr. In addition to the money and working from home, my kids get to see their dad doing what he loves while supporting the family. Watching me be creative has inspired my boys to think big and out of the box. Ezekiel, who is 10, has even talked about ideas for Gigs on Fiverr. Give him a few years and you may see his name on your seller list!

With more than 1.5 million dedicated new entrepreneurs on Fiverr, we know there are many inspirational stories about how the Fiverr-fueled Gig Economy is making it possible for you to transform your careers and live your dreams. If you have an interesting story to tell, please share it with the community as a comment to this blog post.

Happy Father’s Day!

How to Make the Most of the New Fiverr Storefront

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New storefronts are coming and we want you to be ready to attract new and repeat sales. The new Fiverr optimizes the visual experience by allowing sellers to include more images, including a cover, that can drive potential buyers into your page. Think about what your virtual window should look like. Do you have a cover image ready?

Let’s take a look at some of the new image features so you can get ready for the new Fiverr right now — regardless of whether you have access to the new Fiverr now or not. Click any of the images on the right to enlarge them:

Cover Photo - This is your shopping window in the online world. Half the sale is done when people can see exactly what’s on offer. The new Fiverr allows sellers in some categories to do just that. Images must be at  1100 x 260  pixels, JPEG, full frame from side to side and a maximum of 2MB.You must own the imageNo Ads are allowedNo text is allowed on your imageGig Photos – The new and improved Gig gallery allows you to showcase three images as well as video. Images must be 682 x 459 pixels  nd can be no more than 2MB each. Keep in mind that adding a video can increase your sales by over 200%.Gig Title – Your Gig title can be up to 80 characters. Make sure your title is short, clear and to the point.Gig Description – You have 1200 characters (not words) to provide potential buyers a compelling description of your product or services. HTML formatting is acceptable. Be as descriptive as possible so buyers will know exactly what to expect. Be sure to classify your Gig with tags.Editing Gigs - All you have to do is go to “My Gigs”, Go to the Gig you want to edit, click the settings icon and select edit. There you can make any changes you want to your Gig content.

If design is not your area of expertise, you might consider what some of our beta users have done and use a Fiverr seller to create the best image to sell your product.

Share your experience creating images that sell with the Fiverr community in the comments below.

How To Play By the Rules on Fiverr

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Madmoo, You’re a Fiverr Super Seller

madmoo (a.k.a. Ang) has been a member of our community for over 2 years now. Those of you who are on the forum already know her as being a super helpful and supportive member of the community.
Ang offers a number of creative Gigs from stop motion, to custom made messages. You may recognize her Gigs where she’ll draw your logo or message on the frothy cup of cappucinno, or write out your message on toast with alphabetti. These are just a taste of the creative services madmoo provides!
Her Gigs were such a success that last September, she made the decision to leave her day job and focus on Fiverr full time! Anyways, I’ve done enough talking.
Over to you Madmoo!
A friend (Sam Cornwell) emailed me to say he’d found this site and knew I’d find it interesting. I set up an account and didn’t really expect anything to come of it.
I was shocked to get my first order around a week later and that was the start of my Fiverr addiction. I added a few more Gigs and gradually built up my sales and reputation.
I maintained my day job and did my Fiverr work in the early mornings, at night or weekends. A lot of my Gigs rely on photography. Seeing that I prefer natural light, my time was limited.
My greatest fear was getting a negative review, and whilst I would never even come close to the deadlines, I am a perfectionist so I would never deliver anything I wasn’t 100% satisfied with.
After around a year on Fiverr I had the opportunity to cut my hours at work so I decided to work part time. On my days ‘off’ I was able to work on my Fiverr orders. Somehow, because I had more time to devote to the Fiverr side of things, I’d get more orders, complete them quickly and felt in a better position to actively promote what I do (I have a Facebook page devoted entirely to my Fiverr work).
The decision to leave my job completely last September wasn’t hard for me. My job was pretty tedious and certainly not creative – I worked in a call center. The chance came up and I took it. Mine isn’t the sole income in the house, my two daughters are grown up so the financial pressures aren’t there.
Now, my life is no longer stressful and I can organize my days as I wish.
I find it hard to see myself as successful. It’s one reason I love getting feedback – when someone appreciates what I did and tells me I’m wonderful or awesome, it makes me smile.
Getting an order that auto-completes sometimes feels like a kick in the teeth, especially if I feel I did a great job. It’s like holding the door open for someone who then walks through without saying thanks. I know lots of people don’t see it that way, and lots of buyers probably don’t give it a thought.
I’ve always been creative but never really stuck at any one idea. Being on Fiverr has focused my mind. My Gig ideas tend to come to me in the middle of the night or I will see something online or in real life that sparks an idea. I love thinking up new Gigs. My biggest challenge now is to keep the Gigs fresh!
To anyone starting out or setting up new Gigs, first of all do something you enjoy. Don’t try doing something you’re uncomfortable with since you will struggle and start to resent it.
Getting that first sale is always the most difficult part and even though I’ve been on the site for over 2 years I try not to forget that each sale is important and it often takes a buyer who is trusting to take that leap of faith and be the first.
You can help yourself by having clear titles, descriptions and instructions, good Gig photos and realistic lead times. Communicate with your buyers throughout the sale where necessary. Don’t assume they know the procedure or how things work.
Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and ask yourself how you’d feel to receive the work you did.

Thanks for sharing your story and amazing tips medium.