How to overcome the comfort zone, become a freelancer without going bankrupt?

Question

Freelance

Here is such a problem that appeared: I have been working in the IT field for many years, quite successfully, I earn not bad money ( let's say more than 3K euros after taxes ), but I understand that I am in a " golden cage " and I am not developing as I would like.
What to do? - go into your own business / freelancing.
A family man ( i.e. I support a family, own something, pay a mortgage , in general, I have something to lose ).
Attention to the question ( just like in What? Where? When? ) - How to most gently overcome this barrier and successfully get out of the comfort zone?
How to withstand the dive, not fall and not break, after all, you have already gained some height? Who has experience?

Answer 1

For starters, answer yourself the question "Why are you uncomfortable with the current golden cage"? You can not write here, but decide for yourself.
Next, you need to realize that freelancing is a subspecies of business. There is a book by R. Kiyosaki "Cash Flow Quadrant". There, all people working in the economy are divided into 4 parts:
Freelancing is the P segment . You work alone, maybe you earn more than working for hire, but then you got sick, it blew you somewhere, the temperature is 38.5 .... I doubt that you are made of steel and you can write code in this state.
Segment P was described very well by Mr. Zalogin from Locus Media. He said something like this: "You are a bicycle man - while pedaling - eat, as soon as you stop - you fall."
Turning to your question about leaving your comfort zone.
The first thing I recommend before starting your business is to pay all debts. Close your mortgage, pay off your car loan, pay off all consumer loans, etc. If you fail (the first pancake, usually lumpy), at least you and your family will not end up under the bridge.
Second- maintenance of the family. None of your earnings should affect your wife/child. Your relatives should at least have a roof over their heads + food on the table. Calculate how much you pay for utilities + food. Then you multiply this amount by 24 months. This is your family's financial cushion.
The third is planning. A business without a business plan is nothing more than a hobby. From the age of 16, he sought to earn money online. I sold links to sape.ru in 2008-2009, worked with traffic in 2010-2012, sold Chinese knick-knacks from 2013-2014... Now I have gone into the development of one SaaS solution. For the first couple of months, optimism is gushing out of your ears, you think "Yes, everything will be, yes, this is garbage, I will overcome ...." But then the black bars begin: the TIC of the site in the planned update did not grow to the desired value, your site is in 9th place in the search results, instead of 3-4 items you need, goods from China are stuck at customs.... Yes, I can list the problems that I had indefinitely... And time is money: you need to pay rent, wages, advertising, loans, etc. d. If you don’t pay, swearing begins, from Maxim Alexandrovich I immediately turn into a scammer, a scammer, a bastard ... oh, in general, you understand the essence. Think 2 steps ahead, that's what I want to say
Quadruple - do not start a business from scratch. Pert Osipov (Business Youth project) in one of the videos said that we do not appreciate the most valuable thing we have, we take it for granted, when for other people it can be compared to a diamond among a pile of glass. You have been working in IT for some specialization for more than a day, so continue this specialization further. Do your favorite thing.
Fifth- Don't try to do everything yourself. When I launched my very first online store for Chinese trinkets, I did everything myself: I drew the design, typeset it, set up advertising, called customers, carried goods to the post office .... In general, I did everything! Moreover, behind all this routine, I did not see that my site was not working efficiently, I was losing sight of 20% of hot clients, 10% of my parcels disappeared in the depths of the Russian Post ... You, as the first person of the company, must know all the processes of your enterprise, otherwise You will not be able to manage it, but you do not need to do all the processes yourself. Outsource a part or delegate to a hired employee.
sixth- I got very burned on this about 3 years ago .... Set clearly achievable KPIs (key performance indicators) for your employees. For example, I have a callback order form on the site. A person writes his name and phone number there, after which this data enters the CRM. For managers who process customer calls for me, one of the KPIs sounds like this: call the client back within 15 minutes after receiving a request from him, if it arrived during business hours. Moreover, you must formulate all KPIs as accurately and in detail as possible. I myself work with KPI like this: a person has a basic salary and a basic set of KPIs that he needs to fulfill. If he fulfills them - he receives a salary, he performs better - he receives a salary + bonus. Moreover, my salary is small, about 6 tr, but my lower salary is about 2.5 times higher.
The first 4 points are how to get out gently, the second two are how not to fall off.
In general, I can say about business in the Russian Federation that it is relatively easy to do it. It is enough just to do something well and treat your customers humanely. In about 1 year, you develop a certain base of contacts (suppliers/partners/clients) who know you and trust you. And then the main thing is not to lose it all.
All your relatives/colleagues/friends can say to you "What are you talking about, now sanctions, taxes, corruption ..." Believe me, all this is garbage! You can work and earn money under pressure, and when it is removed, you will get explosive growth. And all these excuses about sanctions, corruption, high taxes ... Yes, it's just that someone plays a point!

Answer 2

Advice based on personal experience.
1) Start working remotely on a short-term (up to 3 months) project, combining it with your main job. Work on a remote project for quality, sacrificing personal time for some time. At the end of cooperation with a remote employer, he will enlist his recommendations.
2) Ask at the current job to transfer part of the tasks to remote maintenance, if possible. Argument with your experience and recommendations of the employer from the remote project.
If it didn’t work out, repeat point 1) and continue to gain freelancing experience, expand the list of acquaintances in the field, gain fame in the field of your specialty through a sarafan.
After some time, you will develop a customer base, remote collaboration skills, respect, fame, and you will be able to switch to freelancing without losing $. Good luck

Answer 3

I didn't read the comments above, but I condemn :)))
I'm almost 40. I understand that I started when the computer had several LEDs as a monitor, and several toggle switches and buttons as a keyboard.
And then fuck - IBM-compatible computers.
Flash was cool.
Java. PHP ASP then .NET and away we go, shoppies. Head spin.
I will sit with my ass in a comfortable chair, realizing that I will not be able to catch up with the quick-witted youngsters.
If earlier he himself soldered a piece of iron and wrote firewood for it, now give a specialist in layout, in CSS for the database and an admin separately for each technology.
And while my head is sitting on top of my ass, in which there is a lot of experience, I will sit with my ass in a chair and get loot.
And in my free time from my family, which is almost non-existent, I continue to solder and poke my glasses into everything new.
And when they trample me from my comfortable chair, then I will put up evidence and collect honey. Or make beautiful wooden things. Or something else that was hundreds of years ago.
And in the coffin, I saw a midlife crisis soar.
What do you want.

Answer 4

I think the resource is full of active freelancers who want to get > 3K euros by working in a strong team on interesting projects. Have paid vacation, pension experience, honey. insurance, coffee, cookies and a cleaning lady in a comfortable office, participation in specialized conferences, a good record in the resume and at the same time time for the family. I would venture to suggest that this looks like the dream of any (well, almost any) Russian freelancer. There are also owners of backyard web studios, riveting like seeds garbage landing pages and conveyor your very own and truly original web site of five templates. For the latter category, the dream is unrealizable due to the weak professional level. I would change the job that you have (if you are not cunning) only for the best one or for my own instagram, telegram, moneygram etc. Freelancing in your case, in my opinion, is just a step backwards. Working for an uncle (even a foul one) is not such a tragedy.

Answer 5

First of all, you should forget about pseudo-smart quotes like "leave your comfort zone." Having gone to live in, I'm sorry, a city dump, you will not find success, so on the contrary, you need to enter your comfort zone as deeply as possible. After all, this is all we need as a biological species!
In fact - if you are a professional, with a portfolio, with experience and skills, you can work with high prices for your services, perhaps even on foreign exchanges, and earn at least no less. If you don't have the above, well, you'll have to work on less profitable projects for the first time.
And yes, IMHO : freelance for prof. development is not suitable. Rapid development is possible only in a promising company that creates the conditions for this. And freelancing is a place to implement existing skills.

Answer 6

I've been freelancing for a year and a half now. I advise:
Good luck :)

Answer 7

Given the current exchange rate - 3k euros per month on hand - this is great money for a non-management position and very good for a managerial one.
Even if you can earn comparable money freelancing, there will be many more hemorrhoids.
There is a variant of working on recommendations for a lot of money - but this must be purposefully approached, and again, there is no stability.
Going into your own business seems to me more interesting financially - but it will require completely different skills from you and a complete change in life.

Answer 8

Man, don't repeat my mistakes)
Freelancing is not such a ball as it might seem.

Answer 9

It's best to lose everything and your comfort zone will find you.

Answer 10

I got out of my comfort zone when I had 30k rubles left on my account, which would be enough for a month, I can’t do it differently, now I got into freelancing, while it’s warm and good here.

Answer 11

If I got 3k euros, I would just sit and not rock the boat. Objectively, a person no longer needs to earn so much

Answer 12

How to most gently overcome this barrier and successfully get out of the comfort zone?

gradually create a new foundation under your feet without breaking the old one.
in other words, without quitting your job, use free resources to create new assets - invest time and money in knowledge and acquire new skills, so that in which case there is confidence in the future. ("tomorrow's bottom" - it turned out philosophically)

Answer 13

About my comfort zone, I have the opposite, for example, it was never comfortable outside in offices, so I went to freelancers and remotely (here I was just lucky, the customers who made the project offered to participate in several projects, but on an ongoing basis).
I abandoned freelancing, it seemed to me not effective in terms of earnings, I worked more than for my uncle, but there was less profit. At some point, I began to understand that it was impossible, health is more important than such a pursuit of money.
The only plus of freelancing for me is that the projects are small, they do not have time to get bored, that in large offices after a couple of years I just started to give up and feel sick from a long-term project. )
And of course, there were small projects that were really complex and interesting,
freelancing can also be considered as a pumping of skills, for example, if I have already taken it, I will bring it to the end, I will not quit. There is nowhere to retreat, you have to Google in a short time, study the documentation, look for solutions.

Answer 14

It is surprising that a lot of respondents who are not freelancers dissuade a person, considering that his income is already normal. :) Well, of course, 3 Kevro is just a dream income for many, and they do not understand "that his mother does not suit him in this life?"
For a topikstarter - do business, go freelancing: don't be afraid, everything will be ok. Can you pick up 2-3 specialists from the company? Do you feel like they're following you? The more you do it.

Answer 15

I read and read, and halfway through my hand reached for the calculator ... At first, along with the majority, I thought: "Wow, 3000 €, that's a good salary, they would sit and don't blow their mustache."
Then, multiplied by the average rate 55₽ = 165,000₽. If you live in Moscow time, with such obligations, mortgages, etc. are pennies. I have a family budget ≤ this amount, I have a long series of obligations ( no mortgage, but kindergarten, clothes, shoes, food, warm, wash, have fun, relax, play and many, many more ) and at the end of the month there is little left.
I would like to suggest investing part of the funds - H: government bonds ( low-risk investments and at the same time good returns ), but here you need to understand whether there is available capital to be released.
Here they advised me to go into my own business (I'm talking about trading!) , but you need to understand that in order to trade, you need to have such a mindset ( to be a salesman ). I have half of my family - IT specialists ( one of me is a humanist ) and I am 100% sure that if they open their own store, they will die in half a year ( please do not take this as an insult, these are statistics of success in trading among those and financial or humane specialists ).
In my opinion, for your experience in IT, and even having a desire, it would be a great option to start your own project ( maybe even start-up ). Little by little, assemble a team and develop some area ( cloud tech, b2b, b2c - services and more), vooschem everything in which you will be special.
The example will be subjective, but: "I myself work in the field of business processes and I am related to IT only in so far as. But I really wanted to join this area. And over time I came to the conclusion that I need to do something of my own. Here on a toaster ( it so happened ) I met a like-minded person and started working on my project , where I can realize myself in a field close to me. into the whirlpool ( read, your project ) with your head ), since " war is war, and lunch is on schedule " and no one will save us from our lists of responsibilities.
And to smoke on the stock exchanges, spend another n-number of time earning a reputation among 300k freelancers ( let's remember the Law of Large Numbers ) and no one knows whether it will work or not... Do you need it?
Wish you luck!
PS If anyone is interested, we will soon blog on Spark, where we will tell you everything in more detail about our service, but for now only pre-production .

Answer 16

Of course, I don’t know how freelancing is in the field of UX, but in the field of web development, I personally don’t know a single cool professional who would quit his job in favor of freelancing.
Yes, and I myself, no matter how much I looked at the orders both here and abroad, did not see anything interesting.

Answer 17

Do it smoothly,
in addition to the main work, do freelance projects. And not just to do, but to do them very well.
Thus, replenishing its base of regular, paying and adequate customers.
How to get enough regular customers, you can think about how to reduce the main work.
If you really want to.

Answer 18

Look around freelance exchanges (including foreign ones), compare how much you get now and how much you would receive as a freelancer. Ask yourself "is it worth it?".
If you realize that you are "rotten" at your job, take care of your project in your free time.

Answer 19

Yes, there are people here who have risen comparable in freelancing or independent work)
A few points are not clear:
1. What do you want to do in free swimming? Is it design, management, coding, analytics?
2. In any case, freelancing is unlikely to pull out such an amount alone, you need a team and it will have to lead.
But in essence:
Of course, you need to follow your personal desire, and if it pulls you need to listen.
You are now in the “golden cage” and the entrepreneur often finds himself in a client cage (there are many customers, you are the decisive link and you can’t leave or rest anywhere) or a staff cage (there are hired people if you don’t find an order, they will scatter and you have already spent time looking for them , training and lapping).
If I were you, I would go the following ways:
1) Do something industry specific. With such a salary, you are a professional, file your professional magazine, portal, exchange. If you want to take orders, then there you will promote yourself
2) Fund your ideas by hiring third-party developers. Well, can you allocate 30 thousand rubles a month for investments? Hire a programmer from the outback, give him a task and he will cut your service at full time remotely. If you do not slow down, then in a month everything will be ready. Here, you can either launch a new project every month, or launch one and then invest in promotion.
3) there is also a purely investor option, but we’ll leave it for now ...
And yes, before starting freelancing or your own business, all loans must be closed to anyone ...

Answer 20

Pay off your mortgage quickly first. And then you can be left without an apartment and a family. Without this, it’s better not to twitch anywhere, you are responsible for the family. In life, sometimes you have to step on the throat of a song and wait for a more convenient moment. Especially when you are responsible for loved ones.
On freelance, you will work out these 3k euros with much more sweat. It is easier for you to try to get a job in another company.
A business starts with sales or an order. Otherwise, this is not a business, but a game of roulette with a sad result. There are no sales - we do not twitch anywhere. You need some kind of "pillow" so that you can live at least a few months. If you want to open a company, then find an intelligent partner and someone who can sell your services.

Answer 21

As a principle, it is advised to have several sources of income - simultaneously, at different stages: something completely new, something at the development stage; something that has almost exhausted itself, and so on. Then, if one is covered, then the rest will keep afloat.

Answer 22

What if you start teaching as part of your main job?
Based on the results of a project, write a report for a thematic conference, speak there. Little by little, accumulate a store of knowledge that can be transferred, compose methodological materials, teach people theory and practice.
On the positive side, I see the opportunity to visit interesting places/cities/conferences without interruption from work, to meet people of the same interests. The opportunity to receive money for your knowledge, make business acquaintances and useful connections. Along the way, receive orders for projects that you told people about.

Answer 23

How to overcome your comfort zone

In Russian it sounds like this: "the eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing"

Answer 24

Work somewhere in the slums of India for a couple of years or some similar country. You will find out the value of money and greatly expand your comfort zone, as well as an understanding of what exactly you want from life will come.

Answer 25

separate work from home

Answer 26

Cool question, I'm in a similar situation. And personally, every day I am convinced that it’s definitely not worth running away from a stable job into freelancing, especially if you are a family person. Here, the only adequate option is to open your own business, but only if you are at least 90% sure that the business will work out ... And you definitely shouldn’t break ties with the old employer!

Answer 27

I will not advise anything, but I support morally! Only in my case, I have to rent a concrete box in Nerezinovoy for a lot of money, and there is no work in my native region (

Answer 28

I advise you to start saving money while you decide, it will be easier with them anyway.

Answer 29

And just change jobs - did not consider? When you sit in one place for a long time, cockroaches usually breed in your head about the fact that there are super-conditions here, and you won’t find better. However, it is not :)
3k is not such a golden cage, especially in Moscow.