Share your thought of become a freelancer and small business owner

[Joanne Wong]

How is everyone weekend so far? I had always wanted to become a freelancer and small business owner so I'm able to detach my self from slowlane and there are some obstacle that I encounter. I hope that anyone who had been there and done that can share thought and advice. This means a lot to me.

 

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[FastNAwesome]

I had always wanted to become a freelancer and small business owner so I'm able to detach my self from slowlane

Freelancing does detach you from having to go to work each day 9-5, and from having a boss. It's very nice in that way. And you also learn how to acquire and keep clients. So in many ways it's similar to a business.

But it doesn't detach you from working, and having to spend your time to earn money. So in that way it's very similar to a job, except now you're self-employed.

This is why it's good only as a temporary step towards something bigger. Ideally you want a business, something that doesn't require you to personally put in hours of work each day.

If you haven't already read The Millionaire Fastlane , I sincerely recommend it.

In this thread there's some solid advice how to start freelancing:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ith-no-degree-no-feedback-no-portfolio.58837/

Another, less obvious way to find jobs is reddit.com, just type [hiring] in the search box.

 

[Joanne Wong]

Thank you FastNAwesome for everything that you shared to me. Yeah I finish the book already. I do agreed with you that as temporary step towards something bigger.

Yup, at first I need to detach my self from 9-5 job so that I have the extra hour to do my startup (which currently in Beta version). Beside that, I need to have $$ to pay for my bill and etc so I'm thinking freelancer would be a good choice to try. I would try in reddit.

Are you running business too?

 

[FastNAwesome]

No, I tried and failed, but will of course try again.

 

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[odihost]

I've done freelancing then hire some people to help. I guess the hard part is you need to have other skillful people to help. If they are skillful then they can just do freelancing on their own. Just need to save money and invest on it.

What's your startup about?

 

[Joanne Wong]

No, I tried and failed, but will of course try again.

Yeah !! Never give up. Fail fast and lesson learn. I'm currently working on this project "now in beta version" - www.invoicifi.com (An invoicing management system). Feel free to test out and give me some comment.

 

[Joanne Wong]

I've done freelancing then hire some people to help. I guess the hard part is you need to have other skillful people to help. If they are skillful then they can just do freelancing on their own. Just need to save money and invest on it.

What's your startup about?

Thank you for sharing your experience, I take note on that.

www.invoicifi.com that is my startup, an invoicing management system. You can sign up for free as this is in beta version now. Do leave me comment after you try it out.

 

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[TedM]

No, I tried and failed, but will of course try again.

Change from "will" to "am trying" and that's me too....

 

[The Duc]

I always tell people that want to see some quick success to start by freelancing. How many business allow you to be putting $$$ in your pocket (remotely and outside the 9-5) within a matter of weeks?

Put up a website, get on the phone and get yourself some clients. For most people there's no faster way to get some early success.

From the beginning, however, you will be putting the systems into place to replace yourself as quickly as possible. You will NOT, I repeat NOT, market yourself as Joanne Wong Freelancer. Instead you will be Wong Enterprises, or Wong Digital Solutions, or some other legit business name.

You might be (will be) just one person at your dining room table, but that's not the image you want to portray to your potential clients. The freelance blogs endlessly debate this subject, but there's no question. If you don't want to stay just a freelancer forever (trust me you don't), use a business name.

Your job from here on out is two fold:
1. Find new clients
2. Find contractors to complete the projects for you.

Rinse and repeat. 1, 2 . . . 1, 2 . . . You're on your way to building your global empire from the comfort of your laptop and smartphone. Congratulations, you're no longer a freelancer. You are a real life business owner.

The downside to this model is that it is reliant on human talent and can be harder to scale. The upside is that it can be very very fast. No need to worry about product development, prototyping, sourcing, manufacturing, etc.

 

[Andy Black]

I always tell people that want to see some quick success to start by freelancing. How many business allow you to be putting $$$ in your pocket (remotely and outside the 9-5) within a matter of weeks?

Put up a website, get on the phone and get yourself some clients. For most people there's no faster way to get some early success.

From the beginning, however, you will be putting the systems into place to replace yourself as quickly as possible. You will NOT, I repeat NOT, market yourself as Joanne Wong Freelancer. Instead you will be Wong Enterprises, or Wong Digital Solutions, or some other legit business name.

You might be (will be) just one person at your dining room table, but that's not the image you want to portray to your potential clients. The freelance blogs endlessly debate this subject, but there's no question. If you don't want to stay just a freelancer forever (trust me you don't), use a business name.

Your job from here on out is two fold:
1. Find new clients
2. Find contractors to complete the projects for you.

Rinse and repeat. 1, 2 . . . 1, 2 . . . You're on your way to building your global empire from the comfort of your laptop and smartphone. Congratulations, you're no longer a freelancer. You are a real life business owner.

The downside to this model is that it is reliant on human talent and can be harder to scale. The upside is that it can be very very fast. No need to worry about product development, prototyping, sourcing, manufacturing, etc.

Great advice.

Once you have clients, you're then also in a great position to find out what other pains they have and cross/upsell them, develop "productised services" (packages), and maybe products down the line. Listen to www.tropicalmba.com/consulting

 

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[Joanne Wong]

I always tell people that want to see some quick success to start by freelancing. How many business allow you to be putting $$$ in your pocket (remotely and outside the 9-5) within a matter of weeks?

Put up a website, get on the phone and get yourself some clients. For most people there's no faster way to get some early success.

From the beginning, however, you will be putting the systems into place to replace yourself as quickly as possible. You will NOT, I repeat NOT, market yourself as Joanne Wong Freelancer. Instead you will be Wong Enterprises, or Wong Digital Solutions, or some other legit business name.

You might be (will be) just one person at your dining room table, but that's not the image you want to portray to your potential clients. The freelance blogs endlessly debate this subject, but there's no question. If you don't want to stay just a freelancer forever (trust me you don't), use a business name.

Your job from here on out is two fold:
1. Find new clients
2. Find contractors to complete the projects for you.

Rinse and repeat. 1, 2 . . . 1, 2 . . . You're on your way to building your global empire from the comfort of your laptop and smartphone. Congratulations, you're no longer a freelancer. You are a real life business owner.

The downside to this model is that it is reliant on human talent and can be harder to scale. The upside is that it can be very very fast. No need to worry about product development, prototyping, sourcing, manufacturing, etc.

Thank you "The Duc". It is a very helpful advice and I appreciated it very much.

 

[Ninjakid]

Being a freelancer is actually a great way to bring in some income if you don't want to work a job and need some money coming in while you build a fastlane business. You just have to remember to manage your time well. Before you quit your job though I'd recommend actually getting some clients.

In addition, it's basically having a small business to. You'll learn about dealing with people, taxes, accounting and all that stuff just from your freelancing gig.

 

[Napoolion]

I have owned one man website business for year and a half now.

The best tip I can give to you. When you are starting out, don't make things too cheap from competition at the start. Many do that mistake, including me. Try to find other ways or niches to compete, but don't under price your products or services too much.

I haven't arrived very far yet, but not too shabby for 22 year old. I am now trying to make a fastlane business and get better at this since you will still find yourself working for long hours.
Also you do still have a boss and it is your client. It is awesome to work with good clients, but sometimes you will find a horrible client, but at least you have more freedom to choose them now. Depends on the business of course.

It can be a hard road, but I like it though. I am sure you will be a business owner for a while and then you also start looking ways to fastlane highway.

Anyway, good luck

 

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[jmusic]

Also you do still have a boss and it is your client. It is awesome to work with good clients, but sometimes you will find a horrible client, but at least you have more freedom to choose them now. Depends on the business of course.

Absolutely true. Best thing is to fire the bad ones. No amount of bending over backwards will make some people happy...