From Freelancing to Startups – Netsetting
For many of you freelancing is an end in itself, a way to escape the confines of a regular job and work for yourself. If you’re like me, freelancing is a stepping stone to still other types of business. Freelancing makes a good springboard because having your own hours gives you the flexibility to work on a startup business. It also provides you with an income source to help sustain those early days when your new business idea isn’t much more than just a pie in the sky.
Personally, my wife Cyan and I used freelancing as a way to set up Envato and FreelanceSwitch. I won’t lie, it kinda sucked doing client jobs all day, then working on the new business into the night – usually interspersed with even more client work. But it sure beat taking a loan from a bank and having repayments hanging over our new enterprise.
The Netsetter
In the last few weeks I’ve been starting a new blog about my experiences in startups and web business, it’s called TheNetsetter and I thought there might be some freelancers here who’d be interested in coming on over! A few of my favourite posts so far:
- It Won’t Happen Overnight But It Will Happen!
- Doing Things Yourself Will Only Get You So Far
- Guerrilla Marketing for Startups
- Strategy Games and How They Can Help Your Business
Posting is a little less frequent than here on FreelanceSwitch, but we’ll be ramping up over time. So head over to TheNetsetter and say hello!
Interesting approach and nice posts so far – Already subscribed to your feed.
Good luck with this new blog!
I’ve been always inspired by people who simply act.
Awesome! I actually wanted to read up on guerrilla marketing.
As for this topic, my situation is a bit different from what you spoke of. I work a 9-5 job and work on my own company (just formed the LLC in January) during nights and weekends. It’s tough, endless work but I really enjoy it. My company does web design, while I am working on a handful of websites (one at a time, of course) that I will be launching as well. Hopefully if it picks up I can ditch the day job and go full time on my own work.
Freelancing before starting a company is a good preparation, as you get already exposed in the stuff you have to do when running your company. That#s what I did, and it worked well…
Another link on my Favorites
Read and subscribed. Nice work!
Good post!!
I have posted some question on your blog…..
GREAT resource as a lot of us went independent recently. Recent layoffs due to the global crisis or simply the pursuit of freedom. Nevertheless, that is definitely something we’ve been waiting for. From all of us, thank you!
Cool, reading all the articles now, thanks Collis.
I’m sure I’ll find it VERY interesting and useful, just as your articles here in FS.
Besides, its subject is exactly about the big step I’m preparing myself to do.
I’ll subscribe and explore (yes, in this order) right now.
Best wishes for the Netsletter!
Awesome looking site and just the type I love to read. I’ll go through a few of the articles and you may just have a new subscriber
Hey Colis love the new site. It’s just the mindset I’m currently in and exactly the kind of blog I need right now to help me think outside the day-to-day freelancing box.
Plus it looks fantastic!
Can’t wait to go read some of them articles.
I’ve been reading the netsetter since you announced it’s first post on twitter – really loving it and the new re-design is a welcome addition !
I freelance full time and for the last 6 months have been working on launching my app myows and your experience has proved very valuable.
thanks so much for sharing the roadmap to your success.
Hey Collis, you have an awesome site! Thanks for all the useful info. This is one of the best sites out there. Just continue what you’re doing
Good article and tips.
Great work Collis. Added to my reader
Great site and very useful content. I have just subscribe to it! Congrats.
I would love to know your new website!