[thelist] Fulltime to freelance

Joel D Canfield Joel at CommonsenseEntrepreneur.com
Mon Nov 24 14:13:58 CST 2008


> Any advice from thelist from anyone who has done this successfully?

read Seth Godin's "The Dip"

don't be about money, be about delighting people (so very glad to see a
'not about money' comment in your post)

know, absolutely, that you have your family's support; otherwise, do not
do this. (one thing to jump out of a plane with a silkworm instead of a
parachute when you're alone; explaining the weaving process to one's
significant other on the way down is A Bad Idea.)

join an entrepreneurial group you can meet with in real life to get
support when you hit challenges (and so you don't waste time reinventing
wheels when someone can just show you theirs)

read every single book you can find on operating your own business (or
just start banging through the Personal MBA list; check 'em out of your
local library)

<shameless self-promotion>
sign up for my small biz advice newsletter:
http://www.commonsenseentrepreneur.com/ce/newsletter/
</s s-p>

this is not about excellence in web dev (you have to be good at it, of
course.) instead, your single greatest tool for success with your own
business is *customer service which will make people love you more than
their own mother.*

and once you start working for yourself so you can have a more flexible
schedule, actually spend some of that time with your family.

 every

 single

 day

or you wasted your time.

I am happily self-employed, as is my wife. I'm still happily married (as
is my wife ;) 

joel




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