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I've been an independent business owner and freelancer for the past 8 years. For many of those years I ran my own websites and supported myself from recurring

by Hawkee 13y ago

I've been an independent business owner and freelancer for the past 8 years. For many of those years I ran my own websites and supported myself from recurring income through affiliate links. That was great, but I didn't like the business of customer sales and felt what I was providing no human value. It was basically SEO and affiliate sales. I got out of that and moved to freelance to provide more of a useful service to humanity. This has been quite a change, but it is much less stressful than keeping up with Google's search engine changes. If you're looking for more free time, expect to earn less. In order to earn full time income you'll need to sacrifice your time. I'm fine with this. I earn enough to support the family, but not enough to buy a fancy new car or even to live in a nice neighborhood. I'm happy living lean and don't want a life of luxury. I find a more humble existence much more fulfilling. It really comes down to what sort of lifestyle you're after.

medell 13y ago
I've been down this same path for five years now, leaving five years of corporate behind. It has not been easy, but the flexible I've gained has allowed for travel and piece of mind. I also enjoy talking with business owners and visibly seeing my efforts helping their growth. Smart move with leaving the SEO/affiliate game, as that is racing towards the bottom as more people flock in (you know the type, following the marketing formula to sell an ebook to get that email to eventually close) and search engines tweak their algorithms. I always felt a unease doing that kind of work. Once all the noise dies down, it comes down to doing good work for good companies. Since focusing on being open and transparent and proud of my work, I'm getting close to the point where I am not chasing contracts and can pick and choose clients. And like you, I've been living lean and don't need six figures to live a full life.

by Hawkee 13y ago

medell 13y ago

I've been down this same path for five years now, leaving five years of corporate behind. It has not been easy, but the flexible I've gained has allowed for travel and piece of mind. I also enjoy talking with business owners and visibly seeing my efforts helping their growth. Smart move with leaving the SEO/affiliate game, as that is racing towards the bottom as more people flock in (you know the type, following the marketing formula to sell an ebook to get that email to eventually close) and search engines tweak their algorithms. I always felt a unease doing that kind of work. Once all the noise dies down, it comes down to doing good work for good companies. Since focusing on being open and transparent and proud of my work, I'm getting close to the point where I am not chasing contracts and can pick and choose clients. And like you, I've been living lean and don't need six figures to live a full life.