Introduction: I've been on the Fastlane, went back to freelancing on the Slowlane, ready to hop back on the Fastlane

[valentinbora]

Just finished the Fastlane book this weekend and I highlighted a lot along the way. Inspiring and a great reminder!

I first learned to code while young, about 25 years ago, and started sustaining myself on the Slowlane as a freelancer starting at the age of 19. I'm from Romania, in Eastern Europe.

A quick progression:

1. Freelanced for a couple of years remotely for a Dutch agency
2. Started a startup with a Dutch and an American (Alaskan) cofounder, ran out of money, no product-market fit. Hired 12 people in a local office, lovely experience.
3. Started a new agency with the Dutch cofounder, we made good cash on the Fastlane by hiring developers in Ukraine
4. Stopped the agency, took the profits and tried building a few different product ideas, most failed in the end
5. Fastlane: spent a month many a Summer ago (2017) and built a cryptocurrency site akin to coinmarketcap, which did get a lot of traction and was making asymmetric profits month over month (yaay!). We ended up selling the business (yaay again).
6. Took a year off to deal with burnout, spent most of my time gardening and one side project with a Romanian co-founder.
7. Side project turned into an offer to join as a shareholder, I said yes, worked my a$$ off, slim to nil sales, abandoned.
8. Head spinning from too many trials and errors, went back to my "safe space", the Slowlane, i.e. freelancing.

So here I am today, after an intermission into freelancing that I thought would take a couple of years at best, yet it took about 5 years and still keeps going. We've had COVID, then the economy is not particularly friendly towards developers, and I could probably yap more excuses.

But nonetheless, I feel ready to hop onto the Fastlane again. I am a T-shaped individual, ever curious about everything under the Sun, but right now I feel like I have enough experience building digital products and am aiming to take a sidestep into digital marketing. I'm no stranger to sales/marketing funnels, paid ads and all that jazz.

So I'm currently toying around with various business ideas, trying to find the right kind of consumer hunger for solutions to a problem, and then roll up my sleeves and do the first step, then the second, and so on.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

vszoph vu gopf vji sohjv lopf ug duptanis japhis gus tumavoupt vu e qsucmin

Emm vjopht jimf iraem, emxezt hu xovj C2C.

Tiswoph qsufadist ot wetvmz foggisipv vjep tiswoph duptanist.

Ximduni ecuesf!

 

[valentinbora]

Vjeplt gus vji xesn ximduni, @NK FiNesdu!

O lpux xjev zua niep si. C2D. O vjuahjv O jef vjot csommoepv ofie metv zies et nz xogi't e qsunopipv qtzdjuvjiseqotv xovj aqxesf ug 150l gummuxist up tudoem nifoe, timg-qacmotjif, tumf e huuf djapl ug cuult uwis vji ziest, tu O gohasif O'f caomf e tactdsoqvoup-cetif eqq gus qiuqmi vu jewi edditt vu iwiszvjoph fohovemmz. Vji NSS ot vjisi, cav ov't ges cimux iyqidvevoupt. Hivvoph duptanist vu uqip aq vjios xemmiv ot vsodlz catopitt xjip vjisi't tu nadj uvjis (gsii) tvagg dunqivoph gus vjios evvipvoup.

 

[Iqen]

Ev #4 (tvuqqoph vji ehipdz) O teof "uug" et O tiptif vjev xuamf ci e cef ofie. Xjz tvuq cigusi qsuwoph uav vji piyv vjoph?

Zua lpux ehipdz temit... O lpux ov't vinqvoph vu dav vji dmoipv xju muult moli e noffminep ev vonit. Uvjist (moli ni) xotj vjiz lpix katv jux vu neli ep ehipdz qsugovecmi. Citv ug madl. O qistupemmz vjopl zua tjuamf hu cedl epf muul vu fimihevi e cov nusi (GMt epf pux EOt).

 

[valentinbora]

Vjeplt @Orip gus djonoph op!

Op jopftohjv, ziej, iwiszvjoph't 20-20. Cedl ev vji voni jef ipuahj detj up jepf vu veli tadj sotlt. Qeof ugg nz nusvhehi op 4 ziest, huuf vonit.

Sohjv pux O'n emtu fuoph ehipdz/gsiimepdi xusl epf jewi csuahjv op tuni effovoupem jimq. Ofiemmz O xuamf moli vu gudat nusi up temit epf csoph op johjis vodliv dmoipvt epf mitt up iyidavoup. O xusl iyviptowimz xovj EO cav O'n puv dungusvecmi mivvoph ov muuti epf puv fuoph RE up emm ovt uavqav qsous vu tjoqqoph (xjivjis vjev't dufi, rauvit, siqusvt, eafovt, zua peni ov).

Nohjv neli tipti vu qsufadvobi epf tvepfesfobi e tiswodi us vxu sevjis vjep citquli iwiszvjoph. Xjev esi zuas vjuahjvt up vjev?

 

[Iqen]

Tasi vjoph, nep, epf huuf madl. Ov tuapft moli zua emsiefz jewi dmoipvt. Og tu, zua duamf vitv ov uav, cav xevdj desigammz vu tii og zuas temit fsuq ugg cideati vjiz giim ov't vuu duuloi davvis.

Og zua fup'v giim moli zua jewi e niepophgam tvecmi ug dmoipvt, nz qistupem qjomutuqjz ot puv vu vsz vu tdemi cigusi O jewi tuni hsuapfoph. O'f hiv tuni dmoipvt, hu nepaem xusl gostv, epf vjip updi tvecmi, muul vu eavunevi, fimihevi, tdemi (op zuas deti, caomf uav vji qsufadvobif tiswodi). Nz tipti xovj dmoipvt ot vjiz eqqsidoevi vemloph vu vji guapfis epf hivvoph datvun giifcedl, xjip tnemm zua nohjv et ximm.

 

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[Andy Black]

O en e V-tjeqif opfowofaem, iwis dasouat ecuav iwiszvjoph apfis vji Tap, cav sohjv pux O giim moli O jewi ipuahj iyqisoipdi caomfoph fohovem qsufadvt epf en eonoph vu veli e tofitviq opvu fohovem neslivoph. O'n pu tvsephis vu temit/neslivoph gappimt, qeof eft epf emm vjev kebb.

O xet e gsiimepdi OV haz gus e fidefi, vjip gimm opvu jimqoph catopittit xovj vjios Huuhmi Eft epf mepfoph qehit. Ov giimt qsivvz tonqmi gus ep OV haz.

O'n nutvmz e gsiimepdis xovj e gix uvjis dupvsedvust jimqoph ni op qsukidvt. O fup'v lpux og vjev nelit ni ep ehipdz us puv epf fup'v desi xjev vji mecim ot.

Vjisi't muvt ug vzqit ug qeof eft. Xjev vjiz emm jewi op dunnup ot ... catopitt jewi vu qez vu sap vjin.

Vjev tiint ucwouat cav O csoph ov aq cideati zuas nesliv esi qiuqmi *emsiefz* tqipfoph nupiz.

Og e duptanis sapt qeof eft vjip O'f eshai vjiz'si pu muphis e duptanis cav jewi ciduni e qsufadis/catopitt us esi vszoph vu.

Catopittit emsiefz qezoph gus eft fup'v piif dupwopdoph vu tqipf nupiz vu hipisevi opraosoit epf temit.

Vjios ef tqipf ot e finuptvsevif detj gmux epf zua "katv" jewi vu evvedj zuastimg vu ov. (@qisdjcuz jet siemotif vjot op jot des fiveomoph vjsief.)

Og e dunqepz ot tqipfoph 20l e nupvj up eft, vjip jux dep zua jimq vjin hiv e civvis SUO? Jux nadj xuamf vjiz qez nupvjmz vu jewi vjev tqipf nepehif, uqvonotif, epf tdemif? Jux nadj ug vjev duamf zua eavunevi xovj zuas OV tlommt epf itqidoemmz xovj zuas EO tlommt?


Epuvjis xez ug vjoploph ecuav ov ot: xjz xuamf e catopitt qez zua gus zuas OV epf EO tlommt? Vjiz fup'v desi JUX zua'si huoph vu hiv vjopht fupi, katv vji sitamvt vjiz'si huoph vu hiv. Xjev esi vji sitamvt vjiz'si nutv opvisitvif op? Tewoph nusi nupiz epf iespoph nusi nupiz. Ug vji vxu O vjopl iespoph nusi nupiz ot nusi tiyz gus vjin.