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I have enough for a couple of months. Thought on doing some freelance work when the money starts to run out. Any thoughts on doing freelance work while working

I have enough for a couple of months. Thought on doing some freelance work when the money starts to run out. Any thoughts on doing freelance work while working on a bootstrapped startup?

NonEUCitizen 15y ago
Do it part time before the money runs out so you won't need to scramble later.
mgkimsal 15y ago
Everyone's different about this, but only having 2 months would scare the hell out of me personally. Given that you've already quit, you may want to reconsider getting more cash in the bank. Your living expenses are one thing, but depending on what you're doing you may need to pay for other skills (design, devel, etc), and cash is king. What would be your plan after the money ends in 2 months? Go get another job? 2 months doesn't seem long enough to develop and test your ideas, nor to make something that would bring in a livable wage, let alone profit for growth. If you've already got a product/service, and the 2 months is just to get sales in the door, that might be a different story, but cashflow can take a while to establish even then. You can do some freelance work while working on the business, but they often interfere. Focus on doing one or the other for a while. Again, everyone's different, but if it was me, I'd focus on getting some billable freelance work in first, getting more cash piled up, then focusing on your idea.
- flexterra 15y ago
  English is not my primary language so maybe I should have said "a few" months (about 5) instead of "a couple".
  - mgkimsal 15y ago
    Ahh - much better. OK - sorry if I was reading that too literally. 5 is much closer to workable. In that case, I'd focus at least one month just on the project and see how close you are to bringing in revenue. If you're close (within a month or two), keep plugging away. If you get down to 2-3 months, I'd focus on freelance work to get your runway back up to 5-6 months at least. Others may work differently, and only you can really tell what's comfortable for you. But I've learned that it's much easier to think clearly when there's several months of cash in the bank at minimum.

I have enough for a couple of months. Thought on doing some freelance work when the money starts to run out. Any thoughts on doing freelance work while working on a bootstrapped startup?

NonEUCitizen 15y ago

Do it part time before the money runs out so you won't need to scramble later.

mgkimsal 15y ago

Everyone's different about this, but only having 2 months would scare the hell out of me personally. Given that you've already quit, you may want to reconsider getting more cash in the bank. Your living expenses are one thing, but depending on what you're doing you may need to pay for other skills (design, devel, etc), and cash is king. What would be your plan after the money ends in 2 months? Go get another job? 2 months doesn't seem long enough to develop and test your ideas, nor to make something that would bring in a livable wage, let alone profit for growth. If you've already got a product/service, and the 2 months is just to get sales in the door, that might be a different story, but cashflow can take a while to establish even then. You can do some freelance work while working on the business, but they often interfere. Focus on doing one or the other for a while. Again, everyone's different, but if it was me, I'd focus on getting some billable freelance work in first, getting more cash piled up, then focusing on your idea.

flexterra 15y ago
English is not my primary language so maybe I should have said "a few" months (about 5) instead of "a couple".
- mgkimsal 15y ago
  Ahh - much better. OK - sorry if I was reading that too literally. 5 is much closer to workable. In that case, I'd focus at least one month just on the project and see how close you are to bringing in revenue. If you're close (within a month or two), keep plugging away. If you get down to 2-3 months, I'd focus on freelance work to get your runway back up to 5-6 months at least. Others may work differently, and only you can really tell what's comfortable for you. But I've learned that it's much easier to think clearly when there's several months of cash in the bank at minimum.