Making the jump - your stories

looking for stories of people jumping from doing part-time web work to full

[alexcarter]

I have spent the last hour reading many great posts on this site. What a great site!

Now my post: I am one of those people that has a fulltime "real job" that also does contract/freelance web work on the side. I have done this off and on for many years with good results. I have come to the point where my "real" has become unbearable. Although my real job is as a webmaster for a lage company, I spend most of my time filling out paperwork and cutting and pasting content! Yuck.

I want to take my part time job and make it into a business. My great fear has been that I would not be able to find enough clients to sustain the current lifestyle that my monthly paychecks from my real job provide. But, after reading a lot of people's posts on this site, I am feeling less afraid!

I guess what I am looking for are people's stories who were once like me - decided to finally make the job scary jump into full-time self-employment. How did you do it? Are you glad you did? What were your expectations, and how is life different now?

I know I have the drive and talent to do it, I guess I just need someone to shove me off the cliff! ;)

[coopster]

I'm from the USA, so when it comes to the taxes, etc. you'll have to keep that in mind:

>> How did you do it?

• A very detailed business plan!
  
• I spent a lot of time on Competitor analysis and Target Market analysis.
  
• Make sure you have enough money accumulated to support your household for an extended period of time before the invoices are sent out and payments are received. A positive Income Statement is nice, but CASH FLOW IS KING.
  
• Bill everything Due on Receipt. Net 15? Net 30? ...Net Nothing! Finish job, get paid. CASH FLOW IS KING.

I guess the bottom line is plan, plan, and plan. Then stick to THE PLAN. Oh yeah, don't forget CASH FLOW IS KING.

>> Are you glad you did?
Absolutely. And yes, you are correct, it can be scary jumping off on your own, and not for everybody, but if you are self-motivated and disciplined, you've got a better-than-average chance at making a go of it.

>> What were your expectations, and how is life different now?
Well, I expected long hours -- and I was right. But I was doing that in my "regular" job, so the transition was easy. How is life different now?

1. Working same amount of hours...actually more
   
2. Making more money, actually lots more
   
3. New boss is great
   
4. Paying my own medical
   
5. Paying my own retirement
   
6. Paying my share plus employer share of FICA/Medicare
   
7. Vacations still mean lots of fun...except you no longer get paid when taking them
   
8. Sick days? No such thing
   
9. Bills are still there, and I still need money to pay them -- CASH FLOW IS KING.
   
10. I'm happier, healthier, wealthier :)

I know I have the drive and talent to do it, I guess I just need someone to shove me off the cliff!

Ditto, alexcarter. A good friend was pushing me for over a year. I wanted to, and planned, planned, planned. Finally, it was time to test the plan. I can tell you that if I had jumped when my friend was telling me to, I wouldn't have made it. But by asking questions and planning I am very successful today and very happy. You will be too, just make a plan and stick to it! And of course, make sure you have a little something to fall back on while you are making your millions. I guess if there is one thing I'd recommend you remember, it's that CASH FLOW IS KING! Set aside money! If you're making money, you're paying taxes. And not only will you pay taxes at year end, you will be paying ESTIMATED taxes each quarter the following year based on what you made the previous year. This means, if you have a great year, don't blow the money because you will be paying a large chunk each quarter of the following year. But, as my accountant says, "if you're paying taxes, you're making money -- there are worse problems."

Don't be discouraged, but don't step into it lightly. Plan and execute. And remember, CASH FLOW IS KING. ;)

[graywolf]

wonder where this forum will place in the SERPs in a few weeks for CASH FLOW IS KING? ;-)

[coopster]

Oops, did I convey the wrong message ;)

[dragonlady7]

I'm seeing a lot of threads on this kind of thing lately. I guess there's a lot of interest. I'm also hoping to go freelance soon, as I hate my job. I posted something to that effect, and started collecting information about it, and got PMs from all kinds of people who said they were thinking about it too. Very interesting! If nothing else, I can write a book about all the advice people have given me, because it's been wonderful.
My main frustration is how much of my valuable time my day job takes up. Sure, it pays the bills, but it drains my brain too! Very tiring and annoying. My question is how people manage to make the transition. The way I see it, I'm going to have to spend some time putting in full-time effort without bringing in full-time income, and my problem is I just won't be able to come up with the money for the cushion I need. How have people managed that?

Maybe I can publish my how-to-start-your-business book and off the royalties, I can actually take the time to start my business. ;)

[graywolf]

#14 in two days, things that make you go hmmmmm....

[GarryBoyd]

I guess I've been self employed for about 12 of the last twenty years, with odd employment in between.
Take the message about cashflow seriously, its great advice. Get rid of debts now.
Not having enough cash flow to cover your running costs can get very depressing.
Keep in mind that once you become self employed you are free to sell your time for the best price you can get. You are also free to experimnt with new and different ways of making money, by investing your own time.
Sit down once in a while and figure out the best and worst of your business. Get rid of the worst and seek more of the best.

[eWhisper]

Coopster makes a lot of great points - although, I do have to disagree with the wealthier one. I know several people who now work from home who aren't taking in quite as much as when they were with large firms, although, they are so much happier not having to deal with corporate structure, that they enjoy the money they do have and their life a whole lot more.

There is a certain amount of money each of us wants to live a particular lifestyle, past that, money is nice, but not essential to actually enjoying what you do and the life you have.

[coopster]

I couldn't agree more.

[woop01]

I just turned in my resignation two days ago and my employer simply can't believe that I'm going to 'waste my talent' on this internet stuff. So far, he has refused to accept my resignation. He has decided that guilting me into staying is their best option. I just got out of a meeting telling me how they’ll have to get two people to come in and do my job (I do a mix of engineering and web development) and they’ll have to pay them more than they are paying me.

The part that ticks me off the most is NONE of this came up last month at the annual evals that determine our pay raises. That’s actually the #1 thing that is prompting me to go full time on my sites. When I work for myself if I do something right, I get the rewards in the form of more customers. When I work for an employer and I do everything right, I have to threaten to quit before they’re willing to reward me for it.

[alexcarter]

Good for you, Woop!

My annual review is next week. I work hard here, but I know they'll come up with some lame thing to keep from giving me a raise, just like lat year!

One of the big things for working for yourself is that you control your on destiny. You work hard, you do good work, you reap the rewards.

I know that when I tell them I'm leaving, they flip out too. I look forward to that day!

[Travoli]

> I have to threaten to quit before they’re willing to reward me for it.

It works that way at many places. You have to risk everything to get a raise.

[coopster]

Cold hard facts are that sometimes you are just another number on the bottom line. It certainly doesn't give off that warm fuzzy feeling, does it?

I experienced the same situation, folks. However, I left on very good terms, gave 5-6 weeks notice and kept my personal feelings to myself. I didn't burn any bridges. It didn't help. Any separation in a relationship is "bad". If it was any good, there would never be a separation! I could tell the management team and Board of Directors was not pleased. I'd really hoped they would have wanted for me what I wanted for me, but you could sense the frustration and disappointment that they couldn't control the situation. It killed them, made them uneasy. I think they tried to show the others what it can be like if "you try the same thing." In a way, it made me feel like, "Hah! I got 'em! Sure showed them!" But the ethical/moral side of me felt terrible. I don't like being treated that way, and I vowed not to do so to others. I went about business as usual with the same daily energy and smile until my resignation date and it was great.

My advice is to rise above it, be the better person and exit gracefully.

[moltar]

Can anyone give any specific examples of planning?

I am a student right now. I don't (and never did) work for any company that is related to what I do on my own.

I currently have a few customers. I've designed several websites myself. Have a few coming up soon. And I've never searched - it was all through networking.

But what I am wondering is how do you actually go and look for customers?
What should be in the plan?
How do you make sure that there is always income?

I live in Canada btw, and it's easier with health and all that.

I don't want to go and work for anybody after I finish my education (if i ever will), I want to go straight into self employment.

[woop01]

I didn't say I've done anything rude or burned bridges, in fact I’m giving two-months notice and have already begun the process of finding a replacement for myself. I’ve even agreed to do some part time contract work with them (in one of the now six conversations I’ve had with different managers) on some stuff that is extremely specialized.

In private some of the managers are actually extremely happy for me. Going out on your own is something that just about every person who has ever had a cubicle dreams of.

How do you make sure that there is always income?

You can’t, and if that’s not an acceptable answer, you should seriously reconsider working for yourself.

[coopster]

I'm not sure about Canada, but the US has a Small Business Administration with some good information (sba.gov -- see the Starting your business link).

[Ivana]

But just like you can't make sure there is always income when you work for yourself, you can't always make sure that you have a job as an employee. The company can go bust, you can get made redundant etc.

[moltar]

I know of such resource in Canada (Ontario) as well. For those that are interested here it is: [cbsc.org...]

I am interested in some specific advises related to web development and SEO.

[Skier]

Maybe your employer would consider contracting with you as an independant. This way you get all the "good" stuff and leave the cut and paste work to their in-house staff. They get to draw on your experience without having to pay for all your time.

This didn't work for me. In fact, my previous employer is now my fiercest competitor. Fun.

To answer your questions;
How did I do it? - Three years of walking around the idea and then jumped in after a particularly bad day at the office. Started with the few clients I had developed as a part timer. My income dropped by almost half. Now, five years later, I have about the same income as when I was an employee. Word of mouth from my original clients accounted for almost all the growth. I always thought that advertising and promotion would be the answer - not!

Am I glad I did it? - Absolutely yes! It is all about life style for me. I am a happier, albeit poorer, person these days. I could never go back. Also, the potential to grab the "brass ring" and keep all the profits of a big winner myself adds special meaning to each days work.

Cash flow will rule your life. I would first build a spreadsheet for the next two years minimum and forcast the revenues and expenditures around the calendar a couple of times. Seasonal hits like taxes, dead times, can echo down the pipe for months afterward. I don't know how it works in your neighbourhood, but we could not get banks to back us until we had a three year operating history. Once we had a decent line of credit from the bank, most of the stress of management vanished.

My business has generated enough for me to finance the launch of a new venture next month and hire staff to run the original one. Here we go again. Back to the night sweats over cash flow.