It's just one place where I started writing, I've found other clients that make up my income through word of mouth, social media, and indeed! The 4k was in the last 6 months and was more to use as a launching point.

For small businesses and portfolio building it's a good option and I made a lot of connections on there. That said, you do have to be picky as many people post low paying gigs. I avoid that, but thankfully there are some good clients on there too :)