Taking advantage of the freelancing for a happier, more autonomous slowlane phase?

[Guest14692]

<div class="bbWrapper">I almost like to think of this almost as a parallel to the Stop Paying Rent: Live for Free thread. The only difference is I&#039;m asking for advice <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-wink.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-shortname=";)" />. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/stop-paying-rent-live-for-free.51893/page-8#post-522044" class="link link--internal">https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...g-rent-live-for-free.51893/page-8#post-522044</a><br /> <br /> The fastlane isn&#039;t guaranteed and it can be a long, enduring process. Everyone on this forum is aware enough to understand this.<br /> <br /> So, while in the slowlane, in pursuit of creating massive value, what are some of the ways we can try to better our life? Can the pursuit of happiness be achieved before making it fastlane? I would sure think so, seeing as how money doesn&#039;t guarantee happiness whatsoever. <br /> <br /> For me, despite how many more or less hours it would require, I would be much happier if I could work for myself, autonomously and on my own schedule. Here&#039;s where most would say &quot;Yeah, who doesn&#039;t&quot;. But I feel like in this day and age its actually in the realm of the possible. If those in the slowlane could make a shift while trying to get to the end goal, I think it could have amazing consequences. I would sure be one of those who would actually make the plunge and go for it.<br /> <br /> This brings me to freelance work or various related forms of self-employment that maybe most don&#039;t know about or haven&#039;t thought of. I take pride in my work, and I know if given the opportunity I could produce at a very high level. But I don&#039;t know how to code or program, etc. etc.<br /> <br /> If anyone has any knowledge on this,<br /> <br /> Will there ever be a demand for US based freelancers?<br /> Do you know of any potential demands in the near future for freelancers? <br /> Is it possible to start and begin learning today? Or is it too late. Are all freelance jobs based on expertise that takes years and years to develop?<br /> Maybe there are some things we already know how to do that people would be willing to pay for?<br /> Is it even possible to try and match what you currently make slaving at an office if you were to try to freelance full time?<br /> <br /> Maybe this could create some nice discussion. Thanks for reading.<br /> <br /> -Joe</div>

 

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[lowtek]

<div class="bbWrapper">There is huge demand for freelancers. I&#039;ve done a fair amount of it myself. It has its ups and its downs.<br /> <br /> Pros:<br /> Sure, you can work any time<br /> <br /> You have a much higher ceiling to your intrinsic value than you do at a job - IF you have sufficient expertise and hustle <br /> <br /> It teaches you to sell yourself in print form, this is a valuable skill<br /> <br /> You can gain a little bit of insight into how other people run their business<br /> <br /> Cons:<br /> It&#039;s still trading time for money <br /> <br /> Landing good clients can be difficult, but not impossible. this is because there are a whole shitload of people out there looking to start affiliate marketing sites, or amazon ebook businesses, etc. rather than trying to provide real value for the market. Even when I have found good clients, the work can be sporadic. You&#039;re constantly on the hunt for more contracts. <br /> <br /> You ARE in competition with lots of other skilled people from the third world who can provide a lot of value for less money. It&#039;s hard to get on that sweet spot of the paretto curve where your first world rates justify your prices, when someone in the third world works for 30% of your rate but provides 80% of the value. This is especially true for skill sets that don&#039;t require impeccable English.<br /> <br /> You typically work for platforms like Upwork, that use funky systems to compare you to other freelancers. I have nothing but 5* feedback, but an 88% job success rating - da fuq is dat shit<br /> <br /> To answer your question about skills: you can freelance for pretty much everything. Just about any skill is marketable, but some are more valuable than others. You just have to see where you fit into the picture.<br /> <br /> If you have a good job, I would definitely keep it and try freelancing on the nights and weekends - it&#039;s an OK little hustle to build some side income. <br /> <br /> <b>Pour that money into your business idea and hire other freelancers to work for you<br /> </b><br /> This last bolded point is the most important. You want to be the boss, not the worker. Everything you do should be with that in mind. It&#039;s OK to start out as a solopreneur, but this phase should be as short lived as possible. You need to use personnel and other systems to scale your efforts as quickly as possible. <br /> <br /> I hope that helps.</div>

 

[Guest14692]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 34879" data-quote="lowtek" data-source="post: 523144" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=523144" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-523144">lowtek said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> There is huge demand for freelancers. I&#039;ve done a fair amount of it myself. It has its ups and its downs.<br /> <br /> Pros:<br /> Sure, you can work any time<br /> <br /> You have a much higher ceiling to your intrinsic value than you do at a job - IF you have sufficient expertise and hustle<br /> <br /> It teaches you to sell yourself in print form, this is a valuable skill<br /> <br /> You can gain a little bit of insight into how other people run their business<br /> <br /> Cons:<br /> It&#039;s still trading time for money<br /> <br /> Landing good clients can be difficult, but not impossible. this is because there are a whole shitload of people out there looking to start affiliate marketing sites, or amazon ebook businesses, etc. rather than trying to provide real value for the market. Even when I have found good clients, the work can be sporadic. You&#039;re constantly on the hunt for more contracts.<br /> <br /> You ARE in competition with lots of other skilled people from the third world who can provide a lot of value for less money. It&#039;s hard to get on that sweet spot of the paretto curve where your first world rates justify your prices, when someone in the third world works for 30% of your rate but provides 80% of the value. This is especially true for skill sets that don&#039;t require impeccable English.<br /> <br /> You typically work for platforms like Upwork, that use funky systems to compare you to other freelancers. I have nothing but 5* feedback, but an 88% job success rating - da fuq is dat shit<br /> <br /> To answer your question about skills: you can freelance for pretty much everything. Just about any skill is marketable, but some are more valuable than others. You just have to see where you fit into the picture.<br /> <br /> If you have a good job, I would definitely keep it and try freelancing on the nights and weekends - it&#039;s an OK little hustle to build some side income.<br /> <br /> <b>Pour that money into your business idea and hire other freelancers to work for you<br /> </b><br /> This last bolded point is the most important. You want to be the boss, not the worker. Everything you do should be with that in mind. It&#039;s OK to start out as a solopreneur, but this phase should be as short lived as possible. You need to use personnel and other systems to scale your efforts as quickly as possible.<br /> <br /> I hope that helps. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> Extremely helpful. Thanks. I&#039;m currently using upwork I&#039;m having someone build a Forex EA that emulates a Trading strategy that I&#039;m testing. I agree that upwork is extremely funky in a number of ways. <br /> <br /> I definitely don&#039;t plan on making any big moves anytime soon, but yeah I&#039;d like to start looking at some skills I could build on and eventually do some side work like you said.<br /> <br /> Thanks again!</div>