Please tell a few words about yourself, your qualifications and your work history.
I live in Virginia, Near Washington DC. I'm 29 years old and married to a Graphic Designer named Josie. She works in a firm in Washington DC. I have worked in a few design companies, including Supon Design Group in Washington DC, one of the largest and most famous firms in the world. While there I really learned how to design. I started using eLance about 18 months ago, in order to get some work to fill my spare time while teaching. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and have taught college for 6 years.

How did you become a a freelancer? How did the internet help you in this process?
I have always freelanced in my spare time, but it was always difficult to find work, especially the kind of work that I enjoy doing: Logos. A friend mentioned eLance to me and I signed up. When I first started I was only charging about $50 for a logo. Before I knew it, I had so many many requests that I had to raise my prices. I have been raising them gradually over the months; now I get $500 per job! What is good about elance is that I can choose the projects that I would like to do, and say no to the ones I don't want to do.

How did you win the first work assignment at elance and how did you manage to increase your earnings at the marketplace?
When eLance first started, sellers could place a "fixed price" listing where for example it would say in your profile that you charge $50 for a logo. Then buyers could select you directly without any bidding as part of the process. My first job was a logo for ShopBaskets.com.

Do you advertise your services elsewhere on the internet? Do you use other freelance marketplaces?
I only use eLance to get work, but I am hoping to get my web page up and running soon at markfertig.com. I also get a lot of "word of mouth" jobs, where a past client has recommended me to a friend.

Tell a few words about organizing your work. Do you share assignments with others or do everything on your own, how much do you work a day, your schedule, etc.
I like my job because I am able to do most of my work at night and sleep during the day. I am a night person! I do most of my work myself, but I will occasionally hire someone to help me when I get really busy. I have a group of 5 people that I will select to help me depending on the type of help I need. My workday is 8-12 hours per day; but I get to choose when those work hours occur. One drawback is that I usually work 7 days a week, and clients expect that you will work over the weekend. My phone is always ringing.

Do you think it makes a difference where you and the buyer of your service live, or geography has absolutely no importance today?
Geography does not make a difference. I have worked with buyers in 10 different countries and all over the U.S. I really enjoy that part of my job.

Do you miss personal interaction with your clients or telecommunications technology totally make up for it?
I do miss meeting with my clients face-to-face. Sometimes I think that I have to do extra work because I am not there to explain my designs as thoroughly as I would like!

How does the fact that you work at home affect your lifestyle?
It affects my life a great deal! I am able to go play golf whenever I like. If I have to take a day off, I am the boss and can do so when I want. When I do take a day off, it's always a struggle to catch up on my missed work though!

What would you suggest to people who want to start a freelance career / want to work independently from home?
I wrote a big article that provides advice for people wanting to start out. You can see it at eWorkingWomen.com. I also designed the logo for that site. My best advice however is: If you want to be a Graphic Designer and work for yourself like I do; then make sure that your talent and abilities as demonstrated in your portfolio are good enough to get clients and keep them. If you want to do this, you must be prepared to charge low prices in the beginning to get work and provide extra services in order to make your clients happy. Reputation is very important. Most of my work comes from word-of-mouth as I mentioned above. It is very important that I do my best to make all of my clients very happy!