Katie, known on Fiverr® as Missioncatnip, was recently married to the man of her dreams and happily working as a client service representative at a veterinary office when she got the terrible news: a mass in her left lung. She was devastated, but the diagnosis was just the beginning of a journey during which she found amazing reserves of strength and a brand new career…thanks to Fiverr.
What followed my initial diagnosis was two years of countless major surgeries, biopsies, tests and hospital stays. After multiple failed treatments, heartbreak and pain, I finally found a doctor who figured out that I have Sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune and inflammatory disease that causes dangerously enlarged lymph nodes and multiple long nodules in each lung. Now I take many medications, including a weekly chemotherapy injection, to stay alive. Life is hard, but it is also beautiful.
After finding that first lung tumor, I had to leave my job at the veterinary office. With a respiratory disease, I couldn’t work with animals. And with all the surgeries, tests, and traveling to different hospitals in multiple states, working a typical job wasn’t possible.
I was 26 years old and had to make a choice. I could file for disability or figure out a way to make my illness work with my life. That is where Fiverr came in! I’ll never forget the night I discovered it, browsing the Internet one late sick night. I thought, “Why not give it a try?”
I had been an Etsy seller for many years, and I had successfully increased sales for my shop, Mission Catnip Jewelry, using social media and SEO. So I decided that a Fiverr Gig® was the perfect way to share my knowledge with fellow Etsy shop owners.
I began offering my Gigs and received a lot of positive feedback. It is so rewarding to hear shop owners tell me that I helped them get their first sale or that my promotion helped them finally show up in search results. My Fiverr business continued to grow, and it is now a large portion of my income. But I didn’t stop there. My success on Fiverr allowed me to branch out a bit and welcome new clients that are local to my area. I am also the Social Media Director for a few companies.
Fiverr is an incredible platform and it helped me build a new, exciting career. It also inspired me to go back to school and get my Master’s Certificate in eMarketing. Fiverr gave me a platform to find my true calling in the business world, and I love what I do now!
Despite my illness, I know I have been very blessed. My family, friends and amazing husband have been so supportive of my new career, and recently my husband said he doesn’t think there is anything out of my reach. From building me a beautiful home office to late night coffee breaks, he has been my biggest fan, and I’m blessed to have him. My father is also in marketing and has been my mentor. He’s the smartest man I know and I have learned so much from him. My mother is always there for me with a gentle and calming reassurance of “You can do it!”
I always knew that I wasn’t going to let my illness destroy my life. And while my illness has made a “normal” job impossible, Fiverr has allowed me to have a fruitful, blossoming and successful career! I work from home fulltime and am able to balance Gig orders with medical appointments, Cat Scans, physical therapy and weekly chemo shots. No longer let my health define me. This time last year I was barely able to walk up the stairs and now I am back to hiking! Through intensive treatments, exercise and yoga, my breathing is improving considerably. Some of my lymph nodes are even shrinking! Now I feel successful, proud and accomplished. For a while, my health became who I was. I felt lost when I wasn’t working and needed to find my passion again. I have found it through Fiverr!
Do you have an inspiring Fiverr story to share? If so, email it to community@fiverr.com. Include lots of detail, and be sure to include the seller’s username.
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