I have had several microgigs turn into big assignments. My first one was several years ago. I started by writing some travel reviews and short articles for a publisher in the UK. After a few months of steady small jobs for them, the editor happened to mention that another division was doing an update of a Las Vegas travel book geared for Brits.
This translated into a two-week trip to Las Vegas for my wife and me, including a ton of free shows and restaurant meals, plus a several-thousand-dollar paycheck to do the update on the book.
My finest memory was sitting at a sushi restaurant overlooking the Treasure Island lagoon, watching the free shows below while my wife and I enjoyed a four-hour chef-tasting extravaganza and received unparalleled attention and service. The meal, which would have run over $1,000, was complimentary because I was updating the travel book.
My most recent big gig came off some microgigs critiquing lesson plans for teachers. It turned into a $4,500 assignment to overhaul an international studies curriculum. And yes, I am using that money to head to Portland, OR in the fall – one of my favorite places to be around that time.
I recently traveled to Sedona, AZ with my wife. We arrived after traveling all day to check into a motel that was saddled between two awesome red rock cliffs. I signed into my microgig accounts to see I’d received two orders while traveling.
So the next morning over coffee and breakfast I sat on the motel’s patio, spending a leisurely time between admiring the pine trees about us while working through twenty minutes of microgig assignments, chatting and enjoying breakfast. Each day was spent strolling through antique and New Age shops, enjoying meals at funky restaurants, all bookended morning and evening with 20-30 minute stints of emailing and completing my gigs.
That first day on our short “vacation” I earned $91, which more than paid for our motel that day!
