Leveraging contract work to bootstrap?
Anyone leveraging contract work to bootstrap side projects? If so, what are the ups and downs? What is your workflow?
Anyone leveraging contract work to bootstrap side projects? If so, what are the ups and downs? What is your workflow?
Hey @cam032, that's the 50% of funding method I used to pay our bills while we built Freckle. The other 50% was smaller products and JavaScript workshops. I wrote about these strategies in detail here:
https://stackingthebricks.com/be-your-own-angel-a-revenue-model-for-slow-startups/
https://stackingthebricks.com/startup-escape-plan-free-up-time-energy-money-to-invest/
Awesome! @amy
I resigned from my work in November last year and my employer asked me to still do freelance work for them for 40 hours per month.
For me, this situation is ideal since it means I have enough income to cover my expenses and therefore don't have to dip into my savings. Also, 40 hours a month translate into about one day a week, which gives more than enough time to work on my own projects.
One downside for me is that, since my income is covered, it means I do not have the same sense of urgency to generate income from my side projects - which can be good or bad I suppose. For me, it is bad since it means I procrastinate a lot since there is nothing "chasing" me, and I don't even drive my projects to completion... :(
The trick is to learn to work without external pressure, which is like an addiction. I struggled with this myself but after I set out to solve the problem, I now work for the reward of getting shit done.
We did a podcast episode on this topic: https://stackingthebricks.com/podcast/ep11-i-just-need-someone-to-hold-me-accountable/
And I wrote a book with all the tricks I've learned to fight it, called Just Fucking Ship. ;)
Thanks, Amy! I have a lot of waiting to do today as I apply for a visa, so I'll load up that episode to entertain and educate me while I'm waiting :)
I think about doing this often but I'm afraid my employer will say see you later. How did you handle the resignation?
There is no room for growth at my current company, and my boss knows this. I'd like to continue working here, but I would also like to grow professionally. I am considering asking to work part time so I can focus on doing similar work for other companies (client relations for wholesale eCommerce company).
Last summer I moved to another state and transitioned to consulting work at the same time (my then employer didn’t do remote work).
I tried to line up a contract before quitting, but with only 3 weeks left I decided to go ahead and approach my employer.
They were just starting a new project, a SaaS, that was an entirely new endeavor. I was slated to do the frontend work and was the only one with the skills for it.
I knew they would likely be happy to contract with me because they had trouble hiring people and had just committed a timeline to their first SaaS customer.
I gave a three week notice, saying I was moving and going to do consulting. I said I’d be a happy to contact with them for the new project to help them get it done properly and on-time.
My boss said he was open to the idea and talked to the higher ups. I eventually got approved to contract with them at $110/hour (my salary at the time was $83,000). I asked for $125/hr, but they had paid others $100/hr so they met me at $110.
But there was one legal item they were concerned about. It could look to the IRS like someone was trying to avoid taxes or something if I just went from employee to contractor. I think the main thing that solved this was I had already set up an LLC to do consulting under. This meant I was a Vendor, not a Contractor.
I worked with them for 6 months, and it was really awesome! :)
Awesome story, thanks for sharing. This thread is inspiring me to take a chance and see how it goes. I could always find a job making the same as I do now, but in order to grow with what I'm doing, I need to take on multiple accounts. I feel like I have the time capacity now to at least try and take on more.
I did not resign with this in mind. I resigned thinking I would leave the company completely but a few days before my final day they approached me and asked whether I would consider giving them 40 hours per month.
I had enough money saved up so that I can live for quite a while without having to earn. But still, having the income every month does mean I do not have to dip into my savings. So this is an ideal situation - except for the fact that it takes off pressure to force me to start earning.
I guess the best is to approach your employer and just ask them. But be ready for the worst case in that they may let you go. In my personal experience though, I have found past employers very willing to accommodate me if I was honest
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely go in with that mindset. It may be time for something new anyway if there's no growth prospects.
Have you thought about giving your side-project a virtual "Client" who expects deadlines to be met? A friend, spouse or mentor?
Could help with the procrastination to just have somebody ask for Status and the next steps on a regular base.
I have considered perhaps joining a mastermind or something like that. It has worked for me in the past.
My biggest problem have been that I have too many ideas, so I keep jumping around between them and not focusing. I have holiday coming up in 3 weeks though, and I have set myself a target of where I want to be with my one project by that time. So let's see how it goes ;)
good luck ;)
2018 is the year where I will organize and clean up my projects too.
I do consulting work on a regular basis to sustain my lifestyle and support my family (I have 2 kids). It allows me to pay for a 4 person remote team.
The revenue we make with the project are put in marketing campaigns to boost the project. I see it as a way to convert one time money (from consulting) into recurring money (Saas).
Whoa. That's incredible. Love the last sentence.
Yep, currently I am doing a consulting gig for one day / week to bump up our budget and save up for a long vacation in September.
Some (Limited) external work is great to get out of the own thought cycles, talk with other people and refresh the motivation to get more of your own projects up to speed.
In the past years I've done at least one consulting project per year. Mostly for 1-3 days / week and a limited time frame like 4-6 months. The challenge is mostly to keep and defend the 1-3 days / week schedule and avoid beeing lured into more and more client work.
@patrics Awesome! What kind of companies do you usually do consulting work for? i.e. agencies startups, corporations etc.
Smaller software companies, mostly from 15-150 ppl.
I did some smaller gigs for Startups too
That's what I'm doing! Because I'm building a contractor marketplace (https://www.moonlightwork.com), it's also turned out to be a great way to use my own product.
Moonlight already focuses on primarily part-time gigs because most of the contractors on the site have day jobs. However, there is a large group of people doing part-time work to self-fund businesses! So, you're not alone. (Other fun fact: among people who contract full-time on Moonlight, 90% say that they choose to work 30 or fewer hours per week.)
To answer your questions . . .
Ups: Make the money I need. Make far more money on contract than I did on salary.
Downs: The work can feel transactional. I'm not good at tax planning with contract work. Finding and starting a project can take time. Getting paid used to be slow (but I hope our launch last week can alleviate that problem).
Workflow: I tend to work in bursts on contract work, like a week or two nonstop, until I make enough cash to go back to coding on my own projects.
@philipithomas This is awesome! I'd love to chat about how we may be able to work together. Sending an email over now.
Yep, that's what I'm doing. Context switching can be hard, especially when I have multiple clients and multiple side projects. Last year I would take about 3 months to work really hard on building and launching a product, then I'd take a break to recharge and do a bit of part-time consulting work. I'd still fix bugs, add a few features, and do some marketing for my projects, but I can't go 100% for too long without burning out. And I definitely can't go 100% on multiple projects at the same time.