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You know... I bet you could go indefinitely on freelancing in addition to building your projects. I don't know what your lifestyle is like or what kind of expen

You know... I bet you could go indefinitely on freelancing in addition to building your projects. I don't know what your lifestyle is like or what kind of expenses you have, but I do know that if you're a software guy, there's a demand for it out there. If you're focusing on your projects and just freelancing enough to pay the bills, you might not have much expendable income, and you might even have to scale back your expenses.... but if it affords you freedom, is it not potentially worth it until you get your other projects going? That's my plan at least: replace my day job with a freelancing gig, which should afford me enough time to build out the ideas I have. I actually wrote a blog post about it recently [1] and I have high hopes for it! Hopefully I can be like you some time next year and take the plunge! [1] http://blog.mcdougle.net/creating-acquiring-software-assets/ http://blog.mcdougle.net/creating-acquiring-software-assets/

moron4hire 13y ago
Your wording suggests a subconscious viewpoint that is similar to how people view "dieting". The common view is that the diet is a special case, a difference from the norm. This ultimately sabotages the effort because it makes it an effort, a contrivance that must be maintained. The successful diet--and the successful non-traditional career path--rests on accepting the new lifestyle as the norm, as natural, as default. That which was the old way must become the exceptional case. The journey through the wilderness requires many skills. You can't be thinking about the river you crossed to get to the desert, and you can't be thinking about the mountain you'll climb once through the desert. Be present in your work. I still have family members who think "this freelancing thing" is just a temporary stop-gap until I find "a real job". They have no concept that the freelancing could be an end unto itself. I don't want to be a freelancer for the rest of my life. At some point, I'd prefer to get out of services and into products. It might not even be software, I have been receiving more interest in my artwork this year than I have ever in all previous years. But that's down the road. Right now, I'm a freelancer. Okay, flowery language aside: unfortunately, it's really easy to take on too much freelancing. It's really easy to rationalize, "oh, the client needs the extra effort right now, and at least they're paying, but we'll go back to normal after this, because they're paying." Well, clients are as adverse to change as everyone else is. It's easier for them to keep paying that extra rate than to accept the lesser productivity. Plus, as far as your body and your mental willpower is concerned, the work is indistinguishable from your project you hope to pull off. You'll be working hours for your clients be right back in the situation you're in working for The Man: not enough energy to work on your side projects, beholden to someone else's schedule. That's why I suggested completely unrelated work for temporary sustenance. Bartending, cooking, dog walking, what have you. They usually lack the ability for you to decide to work more. The very nature of the work prevents you from sabotaging yourself. Incidentally, that's why I'm pouring more effort into the freelancing. I'll turn the freelancing into B2B consulting. I've got a couple of subcontractors working for me. I manage their work directly. My clients don't even talk to them. They know about them, they know that they are paying me and I'm paying someone else to do some of the work. But they also know that it's the only way they're going to get more done on the project in less time. Right now, I personally am the biggest chunk of what the client receives. If I can build this large enough, then taking myself out of the coding, at least, shouldn't have that big of an impact to the overall workflow. So for now, I'm a freelancer.
- mcdougle 13y ago
  That's a very interesting take on it. I don't think I plan to do freelancing simply as a "stop-gap." We'll see how my mindset changes as time goes on, but I do hope to actually build a business out of it -- make a good living myself for a while, then hire teams, work on bigger projects, etc. Like I say in my blog post, I will be just creating another job, but it will hopefully be a job on my own terms, essentially. There are the issues you mention -- easy to pick up more work, etc -- but I can do it at my own pace and on my own time. Building software products are, to me, like investing -- building a separate source of income. I'd love to have many different sources of income, one of them being freelancing. I assume once my "investments" can sustain me -- and, as time goes on, I end up with more responsibilities (like a family) I may cut back on the freelancing thing. But for now it sounds great. My point for the OP was that I do think he can sustain himself indefinitely on things like freelancing or part-time jobs that allow him more time to focus on his projects. You do have a point though -- it might not be a bad idea for someone in his position to pick up an unrelated job like bartending.

moron4hire 13y ago

Your wording suggests a subconscious viewpoint that is similar to how people view "dieting". The common view is that the diet is a special case, a difference from the norm. This ultimately sabotages the effort because it makes it an effort, a contrivance that must be maintained. The successful diet--and the successful non-traditional career path--rests on accepting the new lifestyle as the norm, as natural, as default. That which was the old way must become the exceptional case. The journey through the wilderness requires many skills. You can't be thinking about the river you crossed to get to the desert, and you can't be thinking about the mountain you'll climb once through the desert. Be present in your work. I still have family members who think "this freelancing thing" is just a temporary stop-gap until I find "a real job". They have no concept that the freelancing could be an end unto itself. I don't want to be a freelancer for the rest of my life. At some point, I'd prefer to get out of services and into products. It might not even be software, I have been receiving more interest in my artwork this year than I have ever in all previous years. But that's down the road. Right now, I'm a freelancer. Okay, flowery language aside: unfortunately, it's really easy to take on too much freelancing. It's really easy to rationalize, "oh, the client needs the extra effort right now, and at least they're paying, but we'll go back to normal after this, because they're paying." Well, clients are as adverse to change as everyone else is. It's easier for them to keep paying that extra rate than to accept the lesser productivity. Plus, as far as your body and your mental willpower is concerned, the work is indistinguishable from your project you hope to pull off. You'll be working hours for your clients be right back in the situation you're in working for The Man: not enough energy to work on your side projects, beholden to someone else's schedule. That's why I suggested completely unrelated work for temporary sustenance. Bartending, cooking, dog walking, what have you. They usually lack the ability for you to decide to work more. The very nature of the work prevents you from sabotaging yourself. Incidentally, that's why I'm pouring more effort into the freelancing. I'll turn the freelancing into B2B consulting. I've got a couple of subcontractors working for me. I manage their work directly. My clients don't even talk to them. They know about them, they know that they are paying me and I'm paying someone else to do some of the work. But they also know that it's the only way they're going to get more done on the project in less time. Right now, I personally am the biggest chunk of what the client receives. If I can build this large enough, then taking myself out of the coding, at least, shouldn't have that big of an impact to the overall workflow. So for now, I'm a freelancer.

mcdougle 13y ago
That's a very interesting take on it. I don't think I plan to do freelancing simply as a "stop-gap." We'll see how my mindset changes as time goes on, but I do hope to actually build a business out of it -- make a good living myself for a while, then hire teams, work on bigger projects, etc. Like I say in my blog post, I will be just creating another job, but it will hopefully be a job on my own terms, essentially. There are the issues you mention -- easy to pick up more work, etc -- but I can do it at my own pace and on my own time. Building software products are, to me, like investing -- building a separate source of income. I'd love to have many different sources of income, one of them being freelancing. I assume once my "investments" can sustain me -- and, as time goes on, I end up with more responsibilities (like a family) I may cut back on the freelancing thing. But for now it sounds great. My point for the OP was that I do think he can sustain himself indefinitely on things like freelancing or part-time jobs that allow him more time to focus on his projects. You do have a point though -- it might not be a bad idea for someone in his position to pick up an unrelated job like bartending.