Making Sacrifices the Right Way
“So which one should I save? Mwahahahaha!”
Check out this discussion on Ask MetaFilter:
I’m a broke but quite talented programmer. How do I earn a steady income working from a remote location for a company, and programming? I’m tired of freelance gigs, I need something stable (like a 6 month contract with monthly payments, deadlines and remote checking in of code?)
Personally, it seems impossible for anyone to find the time to make a living, study for their graduate degree, and put up their own business. Unless they’re willing to maintain a brutal schedule like a friend who spends all day at the office and most of her nights at law school.
I don’t think such motivation is normal, and my friend tells me she’s lucky if she gets five to six hours of sleep. Anybody who finds themselves with too much to do and not enough time to do it, will need to distort their triangle of time and reevaluate their priorities.
For that person on Ask MetaFilter, I ask: what is the most important aspect of your life? Obviously, putting food on the table is vital, and I presume that you’re responsible for paying your own bills. And of course, interrupting your graduate studies would be a waste, especially when you’ve already paid so much for the tuition. Last but not least, I applaud your willingness to set up your own business, especially if the idea behind it is sound.
But then again, it’s possible to scale down your lifestyle a bit, and lessen what you have to pay for, until your business takes off. It’s also possible to take a leave of absence from your school, and pick up where you left off once you have the time and/or money. It’s also possible to postpone your business plans, and concentrate on building stability first.
In any case, it’s important to realize that the current setup isn’t doing you any good, and something has to change significantly. We all make sacrifices in our life, and what really matters is making the right sacrifice at the right time for the right reasons. This requires a long and perhaps painful look at our own lives.
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POSTED IN: Great Advice, Living as a Freelancer
2 opinions for Making Sacrifices the Right Way
Lori
Dec 4, 2007 at 7:30 am
Rico, I’m a big believer in building a marketing plan that works. In other words, stop looking for work online and reach out to markets that are more likely to offer ongoing work. I’m blogging about marketing all week, so stop by. But I really do believe that a little planning can make a huge difference in the success of the contract worker.
Rico
Dec 4, 2007 at 9:15 am
Well said Lori! In a certain sense, you’ve grabbed the dilemma I presented here by its horns. You forgot to link to your Marketing 101 series, which I will recommend as a great resource for any freelancer, and that’s what I’m doing here. How many more installments do you have planned? :)
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