Justin Wright » Business

5 Personal Finance Tips for Freelancers

Justin Wright — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:16:38 +0000

There are many benefits to being a freelancer. You have no boss to answer to, you can work from the comfort of your own home, and your income is only limited by the amount of time and effort you want to put into making money. However, being a freelancer also comes with a certain amount of serious responsibility – responsibility that you wouldn’t have if you did have a boss, and worked for a company, and had a regular paycheck. This is especially true when it comes to financial matters. Protect yourself and your financial well-being by following these five critical personal finance tips for freelancers:

Budget. Develop a monthly budget and stick to it, so as to avoid being sideswiped by unexpected income fluctuations. Because your income is irregular, you will need to determine an approximate monthly income to use for your budget. Total up your previous year’s income and divide that amount by twelve, then use that figure as a measure of what you can and cannot afford.

Safety net. As a freelancer, it is likely that your income will almost always be at least slightly unpredictable (and sometimes extremely unpredictable). It’s important that you prepare yourself for the tight months by saving during the bountiful months. A good rule of thumb is to keep three to six month’s worth of expenses in an interest-bearing savings account, for “just in case.”

Save for tax season. Don’t allow yourself to be caught off-guard by a tax bill at the end of the year. Set aside a bit of each paycheck you get to avoid tax season shock, and to soften the blow of what could be a hefty IRS debt.

Debt. Avoid it. Period. Keep your monthly expenses down to the bare essentials: rent/mortgage, utilities, car, groceries, etc. This may be the biggest favor you will do yourself as a freelancer. Staying out of debt means freeing up your cash flow, which will come in handy when you have a slow month (or more). This is especially important considering that interest rates for things like credit cards can be very high, and that missing a payment (if the worst happens) can send you into a vicious cycle that will end up costing you way more than you originally borrowed.

Retirement. Don’t forget to develop a plan for retirement, unless you plan on working forever. The time to start planning for retirement is now.

Just like any self-employment venture, freelancing can be a risk. But there are things you can do to hedge that risk. Follow these personal finance tips and set your mind at ease.

About the Author: Dona Collins is a full-time writer and IT specialist who knows how important it is to have a financial safety net. When she is not working she can often be found helping other IT professionals find work through groups like Modis IT recruitment services and other local agencies.

Photo Credit: 401KCalculator.org

Self-Employment – The 3rd Anniversary

Justin Wright — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:18:23 +0000

One of the great things about blogging is being able to look into your past and see what you were thinking/doing at any given time. For example, exactly three years ago today I sat down and wrote a post titled a new journey starts today.

I still remember writing that post because it was one of the most important days of my life. For the first time in my adult life, I woke up not having to go to work. I felt like my life had unlimited possibilities because there was no longer anything holding me back from giving self-employment a full-time effort.

Now that three full years have gone by, I thought it would be fun to take a look at what has all happened on that journey and talk about some of the things I have discovered along the way.

I’m Still Here!

The good news is I’m still alive and doing well. I’m living proof that you can in fact quit your job and make a living working for yourself. Hopefully you can use my story as a bit of inspiration if you find yourself in a similar situation where you completely hate your job and are planning on creating a new career path for yourself.

However, I do recommend reading the next few points first before making any decisions

It’s Not An Easy Road

One of the main things I mentioned in my blog post three years ago was the need to be challenged. Well, after quitting my job I quickly realized that working for yourself is definitely a challenge. It’s really, really, really hard. I’ve hit plenty of bumps along the way, some large enough to make me second guess my decision (luckily I’ve stuck with it).

Here’s some of the important things I’ve learned about working for yourself:

You Must Be Hard On Yourself

When you start working for yourself, you quickly realize that you no longer have a boss. The problem is you find yourself wondering who is going to tell you what to do. It took me a lot of adjusting to get used to the idea that I had to force myself to get things done.

If you tend to be easy on yourself, you might find yourself playing video games or watching TV everyday instead of getting your work done. In order to be successful at self-employment, you have to be willing to be hard on yourself since no one else is going to make you feel accountable.

No More Paychecks

Once I quit my job, I quickly realized that no more steady paychecks were coming in. I had to get used to the idea of getting paid sporadically instead of biweekly. This forced me to learn a lot about personal finance because you have to be on top of things in order to stay afloat. This is especially true when you have dry spells, which are guaranteed to happen.

The good news is learning about personal finance has changed my life for the better. I now have a much better understanding of where my money comes from and where it goes; two important things to know.

Working From Home Has Its Cons

When I tell people I work from home full-time, they usually respond by telling me how jealous they are. They have a beautiful vision in mind of working in their pajamas, not having to leave home, and not having to deal with co-workers anymore. All three of those things are in fact true about working from home. The problem is that I now look at them as negatives instead of positives (for the most part).

- I do in fact work in my pajamas most of the time. The problem is I often end up wearing the same pajamas for days with no motivation to change. Yes, it’s gross but it’s what happens when you no longer have to look presentable. I sometimes find myself looking like Robinson Crusoe after being stranded on a remote island for a few years.

- Secondly, not having to leave home on a daily basis isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I often miss the idea of leaving the house to go work for a few hours. It’s easy for me to not leave the house for days because I don’t have to.

- Last but not least, I’ve found myself missing co-workers. I do a lot of solo work where I handle everything and I miss the idea of working with others. Co-workers are also a great way to make friends because you are forced to hang out with them often.

With all that said, I still wouldn’t give up the freedom that working from home does offer. I do love the ability to work from anywhere and wouldn’t give it up for anything.

Plans For The Future

So what’s next you ask? Well, I still love what I do and hope to continue to work on things I truly enjoy far into the future. Everyday I get emails from people who want to say thanks for the inspiration. These emails give me the motivation to keep dong what I do.

Things over at ZoopMedia have been going great and I hope to continue writing here on the blog. I have also taken on an interesting opportunity recently that may lead to something but only time will tell.

Best of luck to everyone out there!

Photo Credit: Cappellmeister

Should I Quit My Job?

Justin Wright — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:04:10 +0000

Over 3 years ago, I hit a tipping point where I could no longer handle working at an office job. I remember this experience like it was yesterday because I wrote a post about hitting my tipping point, where I wrote out my feelings and what was going through my head while I sat in my cubicle. Luckily I was able to make a change for the better and haven’t looked back since.

Since then, I’ve continued to work for myself and am soon going to be celebrating my 3 year anniversary of being self-employed. It’s been an interesting journey but I have enjoyed it and have learned more about business (and myself) than I ever would have anticipated.

However, the thing I find most interesting is that since writing that post, more than 230 people have stopped by and left comments (and stories) explaining how they no longer enjoy their jobs and are looking for a change in their life. It amazes me how many people feel the way I did and how the stories vary from person to person.

Besides getting a lot of feedback in the comments, I also get emails everyday from people who read that post and fill out my contact form looking for advice and information on what they should do regarding their job or career.

In almost every email I receive, the most common question I get is…

Should I Quit My Job?

This one question comes up so often that I thought it would be worth publishing a post addressing it. It can be a really difficult decision, especially if your situation makes it tough to live without that job.

I always struggle to answer this question for people who contact me because the answer can vary so much depending the person and situation. I remember when I asked myself this question it took almost 6 months before I actually got the balls to quit. It can be a really scary thing to consider, especially when money is tight and you have bills to pay.

Here are a few quick things to consider when asking yourself the question. I hope these tips will at least give you an idea of whether or not you should actually consider quitting your job.

1. Make Sure Your Job Is the Problem

Before you do anything crazy (like saying I quit this afternoon), I highly recommend taking a nice long look at your life. Make sure that the job you have is actually the problem and that it’s not something else outside of work that is causing you to hate your job or career.

If you’re like me, you might come to realize that your job is in fact the cause of your stress and the reason you feel like you need a change in life. Others might find that their job is not the reason for wanting a change.

2. Create A Game Plan For the Future

If you decide that quitting your job is the best solution, I highly recommend creating a game plan for the future. The biggest mistake you can make is quitting your job with no idea of what you are going to do next.

What should your game plan cover? For starters, it should address your living expenses and savings. Can you get by for awhile without a paycheck? If so, make note of that. If you find money is tight, you might have to make your first step saving up a nest egg so that you can quit your job without being stressed. You could also focus on ways of reducing your expenses, which can help you stretch your savings even further.

Another thing that is important to consider is your benefits. If you have health insurance (especially family coverage), you might need to look at alternative options to see what is available. The same goes for life insurance, retirement accounts, etc.

3. Figure Out What Career Is Next

Besides creating a game plan, you should also start looking into jobs and careers that you want to do. The last thing you want to do is quit your job and have absolutely no idea what you want to do next. If working for yourself is one of the things you are considering, I highly recommend starting on the side while still working your job (it worked for me). That way you can start to build up some momentum before you flip the switch and make it a full-time effort.

4. Say I Quit!

Last but not least, you eventually have to say I quit and take the leap. From my own experience, I can honestly say this was the hardest step for me to take. I got very nervous about quitting a job since I had never done it before. I had no idea how to write a letter of resignation, nor did I know what to do with it once I did type one up.

One thing I will highly recommend is giving a two week notice. Despite how much you might hate your job, the one thing you don’t want to do is burn bridges. You never know what life might have in store for you so it’s always best to do things correctly and professionally (I know, I sound like a career counselor).

And that’s it! While I know those are just basic steps, they should at least give you something to ponder instead of asking yourself “should I quit my job?” everyday. You can also read a more detailed version of these tips in my book Life After the Cubicle.

Best of luck!

And remember, this isn’t professional advice but simply my opinion. While I have done it myself, I can’t possibly know if quitting your job is the right thing for you are and your own situation.

Photo Credit: dplanet

Should You Charge For Your Product?

Justin Wright — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:36:48 +0000

I received an interesting question the other day in regards to charging vs. giving away a product. Someone was struggling to decide if they wanted to give their product away or charge for it and was wondering if I could give them some advice.

I must say, it’s a difficult decision to make. I’ve had to make this decision a few times and I always struggle with the answer. Making money is always a huge step, but so is generating a buzz for free. For the most part, it really comes down to the product at hand and your business model.

Here’s a look at the two options and the advantages/disadvantages to each:

The Case for Charging

Obviously charging will be preferred for most items. It gives you the ability to earn income from your products (and services). Most importantly, it gives your customers (or readers) a way to pay you. This is an important step because without charging, you can’t run an effective business.

The important thing is to not feel guilty about charging for something, especially if it required you to do a lot of hard work. It’s true that some people might be unhappy with you charging, but the truth is the majority of people will appreciate your efforts and pay you accordingly. If it didn’t require a lot of work and you can’t fight the guilty feeling, perhaps the product should be given away free of of charge?

The real challenge is finding an effective pricing strategy that works for you. This usually requires a bit of trial and error to get right, but once you establish a good structure it becomes much easier. Don’t be afraid to test different rates and prices, especially if you are just launching a new product or service.

The Case for Giving It Away

Giving things away for free is a great way to build your credibility. It’s also a great way to get your name out there and attract business. To this day, one of the best methods I have used to attract new clients is through free video tutorials. At least once a week I receive a new lead from someone who saw a tutorial I created and would like further help on something more specific.

Another great example is Change Your Life, a free ebook I created awhile back about how I made a plan to quit my job. It’s short, but to the point and I’ve received a lot of great feedback on it. When I created that book, I had no intentions of making any money off of it.

Giving away free items is very effective at building your readership and client base. It’s also a great way to get noticed, especially if you’re amongst a large crowd or busy field. This is especially true in the digital age where there is so much free information available.

The Perfect Combination

Keep in mind, that at some point you do need to charge for a product/service in order to expand your business. This is where the combination product can be very valuable. In other words, you can combine both a free product and a paid product into a similar product/service.

One example would be offering a free version of something with an option to upgrade to a paid premium service. This not only offers the freebie users something, but it also lets the people that want to pay you do just that.

Another example is creating a free product designed to not only benefit the customer, but also to convince them to upgrade to a larger service or product. Yes, this can sometimes be considered sleazy but it is an effective marketing strategy.

Last but not least, you can also find ways of monetizing a product without passing the cost on to your customers. A great example would be launching a highly successful ebook. Instead of charging for it, you could instead contact a few potential advertisers and offer them an ad spot somewhere in the book.

You could then use your stats to your advantage and sell them an advertisement based on the amount of people that download and read your book. This would earn you some money, while still keeping the book free to your customers (though you would have to test this out to see if it’s actually effective).

The Winner Is Both

As you can see, both options have their advantages and disadvantages. I personally think that offering both free and paid products/services is the best business model. Combining the two is a great way to build an effective business because the free items bring in customers and then you can monetize your business with the paid products/services.

What’s your take?

Photo: Kalandrakas

Life After the Cubicle: How To Escape Your Job And Work From Anywhere

Justin Wright — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:23:48 +0000

It has been almost two years since I quit my office job and escaped the cube farm. I must say, they were two of the greatest years of my life. Not only have I learned a ton about business and life in general, but I’ve also been lucky enough to live the lifestyle of a digital nomad and experience a bunch of new places.

If you are unfamiliar with the lifestyle, check out my post – What Is A Digital Nomad? It covers some of the basics about being location independent and will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

More or less, it’s all about using the power of the web to make a living. Whether it’s through freelancing, internet marketing, blogging, or running an online business. The possibilities are literally endless.

With that said, I would now like to introduce to you a book that I have been working on for what seems like forever. Life After the Cubicle is guide on how to use the web to earn income, as well as how to escape your current job situation.

What Inspired Me To Write The Book?

Believe it or not, my main inspiration for this book were all of the comments I’ve received on this post – Office Jobs: The Tipping Point. It still amazes me how many people search for things like “I hate office jobs” and manage to find that post and leave some feedback. It’s proof that a lot of people feel the same way I did when I hit my tipping point.

This book is my attempt at helping anyone who feels that way about their job. I want to get you started in the right direction and open your mind to what’s possible using the internet. I want you to take back your freedom and start living.

A Brief Book Overview

First off, then me make it clear that this book is NOT about how to get rich quick, nor is it about making ridiculous amounts of money on autopilot without doing any work (though I do cover passive income).

If that were the case, I would of filled this post up with pictures of my exotic sports cars. Funny thing is, I don’t even have a car – though I suppose I could have included a picture of myself kneeling in front of my bicycle.

Anyways, the book starts out with some of the basics regarding the digital nomad lifestyle. I answer some of the common questions I receive from people, as well as give you some information on why the time is now and why making a million is not the answer.

From there, I dig into the techniques that I have personally used to make money using the internet. Everything I share with you in something that I have personal experience with. I felt that I should not include anything that I haven’t done myself.

Last but not least, I then cover the escape route and how you can make the transition out of your current job as easy as possible. Some of the things covered including building a nest egg, looking at your benefits (health insurance, etc.), and giving that awesome two-week notice.

A Few Bonus Items

If you decide to check out my book, you will also get some great bonus material to help you get started in the right direction. I’ve included two bonus guides, one on how to use WordPress (so you can start your own blog), as well as one on how to simplify your life. Trust me, simplifying can make your life feel so much better.

Last but least, I will also include five audio consulting sessions that cover some great topics like minimalism, blogging, and finding clients for your business or freelancing career.

My Personal Guarantee

I know how frustrating it can be to purchase something that doesn’t work. I’ve purchased tons of products over the years that either broke, didn’t work, or promised the world but didn’t deliver.

Because of those bad experiences, I want to offer you a personal guarantee on my product. If you purchase my guide on how to become location independent, read it, and give some of the techniques I mention an honest-attempt, I do not want to keep your money if you do not see any results.

All you have to do is shoot me an email within 30 days of purchasing the product and I will refund your money…it’s that simple.

Ready To Get Started?

If you’re ready to escape your job and take back your freedom, this book is just for you. Besides giving you my personal guarantee, I am also offering the whole package for only $27.

If you would like more information about the book, hop on over to Life After the Cubicle for a full overview. You can also use the add to cart button below to get started right way.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Justin Wright — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:33:22 +0000

Over the past week, I’ve been hiding out and reading a new book I bought. For some reason, I could not put the book down until I finally finished it up. So what book was it?

The book was Linchpin by Seth Godin. Seth is not only one of my favorite authors, but he is also one of my role models. The guy is a genius in so many ways and I’ve been a follower of his blog since college.

Whenever he comes out with a new book, I tend to make it a priority to give it a read. After finishing this one up, all I can say is “wow.”

Despite that a lot of the content was not new to me, the book still managed to open my mind in many ways. It’s much different from some of his other books and focuses on being, rather than doing.

Here’s my Linchpin review including some details about the book and what I thought of it.

The System Is Broken

In his book, Godin talks about our current work system and how it is broken. Many tasks that used to be done by white-collar employees can now be done for free, by groups of people or by machines thanks to advancements in technology. A great example of this is Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.

The idea of just showing up for work and putting in your time no longer works. Unfortunately, most schools teach people how to do this with perfection. When it came to working in an office, I used to be amazing at “just showing up.”

Unfortunately, people have no problems buying into the career system that basically states that if you do what your boss tells you to do, you’ll be fine. And who can blame them? It’s the way we’ve been raised and educated.

It’s Time To Be An Artist

So what is the solution to simply showing up and following orders at work? Becoming an artist.

Seth spends a good part of the book describing the modern-day artis. The modern-day artist doesn’t necessarily work as a painter or a musician. Instead, they are someone who brings their heart and soul to their work, regardless of what it is that they do.

An artist is someone who is willing to do things differently to see results. It doesn’t matter if it’s the difficult road or the road less traveled. An artist will create and invent whatever is necessary to make progress and carry out their work.

Seth also makes it a point that everyone has an artistic side. Everyone has faced a problem at some point in their life that they were able to find a solution for. It doesn’t matter if it is a big problem or a small one. The point is to realize that if you did it once, you can do it again.

The Lizard Brain

Unfortunately, most people have hidden their artistic abilities due to the lizard brain. The what?

The lizard brain is that little voice inside your head that tells you that it’s too risky or that you should just follow orders. This voice usually convinces you to stick to the old way of doing things since it would be embarrassing to fail or get caught doing something unusual.

The lizard brain tends to make you hesitate and give in to the “typical way of doing things.” I can still remember my lizard brain telling me to stick with my job. It convinced me to stay there for almost a year even though I knew I wanted to quit. The voice can be very powerful voice and can often stop you in your tracks.

The Linchpin

As I mentioned above, Seth makes it a point to remind us that we need to be artists. In other words, we need to stop being clones and start being unique. We need to be the linchpin, the piece that’s needed in order for everything to function.

A linchpin is someone who is indispensable and cannot be easily replaced. They make their own maps and follow through with them. Instead of taking instructions, linchpins take action and figure out how to get things done.

They are intelligent, creative, and do not shy away from human communication. Linchpins are the type of people who interact with customers, coworkers, and anyone else they come across in their life. They aren’t afraid to speak up and make conversation.

However, he does mention that some art cannot be monetized. If this happens to be you, don’t be afraid to give your work away. He also recommends trying to love whatever it is that you do to make money, even if it means sticking with a job that isn’t perfect for you.

My Take On The Book

The book is definitely a great read. Being an entrepreneur myself, I didn’t take much from the first few sections of the book since the idea of plugging in to the system is something I’ve disagreed with my whole life. I’ve always considered myself somewhat unique and never liked the idea of following instructions. It’s so much more fun to make your own, even if it takes you a few tries.

The whole idea of being an artist is something I enjoyed reading about. It reminded me of why I started working for myself. The freedom it offers cannot be beat. I tend to be creative and love facing new challenges and finding ways to overcome them.

If you are new to the idea of being a linchpin, the book will most likely be an eye-opening experience for you. It will really open your mind and will challenge you to look at everything you do differently.

***

My advice is to go out and challenge yourself today. Do something completely different and see what happens. You’ll most likely realize that the lizard brain is full of crap.

10 Things I’ve Learned From A Year Of Self-Employment

Justin Wright — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:22:19 +0000

Today is officially the first day of the rest of my life. I am finally free of the cubicle and all the crap that goes along with it. I no longer have to be the “tech” guy that everyone comes to for problems and stupid questions.

The above quote is from a post I wrote a year ago entitled A New Journey Starts Today. It was officially the first day of my new life after leaving my cubicle job. Well guess what? It’s been a year since that happened!

I can’t believe a year has come and gone. When I first quit my job, my main goal was to make it a year without having to get another job. All I wanted to do was work for myself for a year without having to commute, sit in a cubicle, or answer to a boss. Luckily, I managed to do just that. I learned a lot along the way and wanted to put together a list of some of the things I’ve learned from a year of self-employment.

1. Hard Work: You Can’t Escape It

When a lot of people make the jump to working for themselves, they often assume they will be able to work less and set their own hours. While this can be true to some extent, it’s not likely going to happen this way. Instead, I’ve learned that hard work is necessary to build a successful company (or career). I’ve easily worked more than twenty 75 hour+ weeks since I quit my job.

Heck, I often work more than 12 hours a day. It’s one of the sacrifices I made in making the move to working for myself. However, the hours you put in are much different from clocking 12 hours at your day job. Working for yourself means you can take breaks when you want, work on the projects you want, and work when you want. That’s why I often split my work up and do some throughout the day and some at night.

Plus the work I do is fun so it doesn’t really feel like work to me. It feels more like playing video games did back in high school. You don’t even realize the time is flying right by.

2. Trial And Error Is Necessary

While spending all that time working, I’ve noticed that some things work well while others fail miserably. If everything worked the way we wanted it to, I probably would have retired already. But things fail and this is where we learn a lot about business, as well as ourselves.

So don’t be afraid of trail and error. It’s not as simple as finding a book with all the directions in it because not everything works for everyone. You need to find the things that work for you. Once you do, take baby steps to scale them to be much larger. This is where you will start to see success.

3. Sleep Will Be Lost

With working long hours and failing constantly, you will no doubt lose sleep. I often find it hard to sleep when I can’t get something off my mind. I even wrote a post about my unplanned experiment with sleep deprivation, where I ended up staying awake for more than a day straight.

The good news is since you can set your own work hours, you can easily catch up on sleep by giving yourself the enjoyment of sleeping in.

4. Sacrifices Will Be Made

Regardless if you plan on it or not, you will eventually make some sacrifices when working for yourself. It might be as simple as skipping an event with a friend to catch up on work or saying no to something you really want to buy. It’s just part of life and anything worth having requires some sacrifices.

As I mentioned above, one of the sacrifices I made was working far more than I used to. I also sold my car and got rid of a lot of things I no longer used. These things made it easier for me to make it a year without any problems.

5. Money Isn’t Everything

A lot of people go into business to make money. While obviously this is one of the goals of a company, it should not be the only one. What you should be focused on is proving some sort of value, making a difference, or creating something unique. The goals will lead you to the money you were hoping for.

However, working for myself quickly made me realize how unimportant money is. Yes we need it to survive, but that’s it. Other than food/water, clothes, and a place to sleep, we really don’t NEED much else. Instead, we WANT everything we see on TV. The key is to use your money wisely.

Do you absolutely love watching television? If so, then go grab a badass TV. But if you’re only buying the TV to have a bigger one than your neighbor, think twice before you get it. If you’re like me, you’re happy with a 23 inch screen and some rabbit ears. It’s important to decide what you want in life and then focus your money on it.

Neil Patel over at Quicksprout summed it up perfectly in this quote:

So what has all of this taught me? It is easier to save money than it is to make it. You can’t always control how much money you make, but what you can control is what you spend your money on.”

6. Benefits Are Nice, But You Can Live Without Them

One of the things that everyone pointed out to me was “if you quit your job, you will lose your benefits!” I think other people were worried more than I was. It was probably due to that fact that I was just out of college and barely had benefits prior to landing my first two office jobs. So I knew what it was like to not have them.

But the truth is, benefits are overrated. This is coming from someone without a family so I’m sure things would be different if I had a family to support. When you’re young and single, you don’t really need benefits. As soon as I quit my job a year ago, I grabbed a health insurance plan online for less than 90 bucks a month. 6 Months later, I ended up cutting that plan down to a 60 dollar plan that covers me in case of an emergency. Guess what? I haven’t used my plan in over 12 months.

If it’s retirement you are worried about, you can also setup a retirement plan for yourself. This can provide a nice tax break since you can put some of your income into a retirement account.

The key is to do your research prior to quitting your job. Learn as much as you can about your current benefits and see what you can get on your own. This will make the transition a lot easier for you.

7. Bookkeeping And Taxes Suck

One thing I cannot stand doing is the books. I hate accounting and always have. Taxes are a whole other ballgame. When you go into business for yourself, these are some of the things you will have to learn about. You don’t need to know everything, but the more you learn the easier it will be to meet with an accountant.

I’ve slowly been learning more as I go and I’m finally to the point where I have a good understanding of how things work. However, when I just started I wanted to pull my hair out.

You can check out my podcast on bookkeeping and tax tips for bloggers and freelancers for some useful tips.

8. Office Politics Are Shit

If you’ve been here before, you’ve probably read my post about hating office politics. I used to hate everything about them. The gossip, the power tripping, and the alliances that employees make. It used to drive me absolutely insane. Even the whole idea of “climbing the ladder” made me want to cry.

After spending an entire year as far away from an office as possible, I can tell you one thing: office politics sucks. I don’t miss them one bit and I really hope I can continue to work from my home rather than an office.

9. You Will Learn (A Lot)

Of all the things I’ve mentioned so far, nothing has been more enjoyable than learning. It’s absolutely amazing how many things I have learned over the course of one year. I can easily predict that I’ve learned at least 5 (maybe 10) times as much as I did from high school and college combined. I’ve learned valuable things about business, life, and everything in-between.

If anything, I recommend trying out self-employment for the learning experience. It forces you to quickly adapt to what’s happening around you. I think one of the reasons it works so well is because you don’t have a lot of people around to ask questions. If you need to figure something out, you find a way to make it happen (the best saying ever). Whether it’s from reading online or visiting the public library (a lifesaver), the answers are always out there.

10. Freedom Is What Matters

Last but not least is freedom. Freedom is the one thing that made me want to work for myself, as well as build an online business. Why? Because I love to travel and be anywhere at any time. I also enjoy moving fairly often, which might be happening fairly soon.

Having a normal job makes it difficult to live the digital nomad lifestyle because you always have to be at work. Yes you can take vacation but you only get so much time a year. Instead, I decided it would be far more beneficial to create a career that can move around with me.

So the most important thing anyone can have is freedom. The ability to do what you want whenever you want. This is far more important money. People with high-paying jobs have plenty of money, but they don’t necessarily have freedom.

It Was A Great Year

Overall, it was the best year of my life. Not only was it fun and rewarding, but it was also challenging and difficult. I learned a lot and have been making progress since the first day I started. I can only hope that this upcoming year can be just as fun and rewarding. So far, it has been just that.

Photo Credit: St3ve

Cubicle-Free For Over A Year!

Justin Wright — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:49 +0000

(Photo By Tim Patterson)

Justin recently asked me an excellent question on my post about living cash-flow free for almost a year. The post detailed my financial struggles after escaping the corporate cubicle world last April.

Justin asked me:

How bad do you miss the cube farm?

Of course, my response was not at all! Even though my finances took a huge hit while getting a company I co-founded (The 42nd Estate, of which Justin is also a member) up and running, it’s been completely worth it.

All of you know Justin’s feelings about cubicle country and his valiant escape into the wild. Seems the only thing Justin did like about cubicle land was setting up a bathroom stall hammock!

On April 8th, The 42nd Estate officially turned one year old. Like most small startups, our first year was not profitable. However, we did not set out with the aim of being profitable in our first year. Instead, we set only one goal: survive our first year.

We’ve done that, and more importantly learned a great many number of things about running a small business. Chief among them is that there are many non-financial benefits to working for yourself. In fact, these side benefits greatly outweigh the money that comes in. Justin’s regular readers know that he takes a lot of trips to various locations. The fact that he works for himself provides him the freedom to go where he wants, when he wants. Simply put, his digital nomad lifestyle would just not be possible at most large corporations, where often punching the clock is valued just as much as your actual work quality.

So, when I left my corporate cubicle job last March I knew I could not rely on the business to provide for me for at least one year. And I wasn’t worried. My goal was never to become rich with this latest venture, heck I wasn’t even going to try to match my full-time salary from cube world incorporated. And you shouldn’t either!

Instead, focus on finding what you’re good at and enjoy doing. Trial and error is a great way to discover your passion, but first you need a safety net. Before you turn in your resignation letter, make sure you have at least six months of living expenses covered. Next, cut out any luxury or frivolous expenses. Every dollar you don’t spend is a dollar less you’ll have to earn. By living a more frugal lifestyle, you can better ensure that you won’t have to return to a cubicle near you.

Even if you don’t earn much money, don’t fear. Working for yourself means all the work you do builds your personal and business brand. At most corporations, you can work really, really hard and get a small bonus for your awesome performance. With your own business, though, all that hard work goes towards building an asset. The money you earn is not the only measure of your finances, you also must consider that your business is an asset that matures.

Finally, the freedom from working for yourself greatly offsets any drop in income. You’ll have less stress and spend less time fooling around and more time actually working. The experience gained will also be a valuable tool no matter what you do in the future.

So, if you find yourself sitting in a cube farm daydreaming about your escape plan, dream no longer. Start a six month savings fund, create a business plan, and break down those cubicle walls and set yourself free!

Adam Pieniazek is a Boston Blogger and a consultant/writer for The 42nd Estate.

Bookkeeping And Tax Tips For Bloggers/Freelancers

Justin Wright — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:28:34 +0000

This weeks episode of Digital Nomad Radio is all about bookkeeping and taxes. I agree, it’s the most boring part of having a business. Unfortunately, it’s something we all have to do at some point.

The reason I chose this topic this week is because I spent about 8 hours (at least it felt that long) last night printing and scanning receipts, entering invoices, and catching up on all the books. It took me a lot of researching before I had any idea what I was doing. I have a feeling some of you are in the same boat as I was and are clueless about what to do. (Just remember, I am not an accountant nor will I ever be one. So you might want to contact one for professional advice.)

Hope you enjoy the show!

http://lifeofjustin.com/podcasts/podcast_005.mp3

Length:

14 Minutes and 35 Seconds

Teaser:

Some of the topics I will cover include:

Accounts Receivable - How to keep track of all your income.
Accounts Payable – What you should be keeping track of for business expenses.
Tax Deductions For Bloggers/Freelancers – I’ll share some of the tax deductions that you might be able to take if you are a blogger or freelancer.
Invoicing Software - I’ll share a really useful tool I use for invoicing.

That pretty much wraps it up for this weeks episode. If you didn’t make it to the end, I just wanted to let you know that I am currently looking for guest on the show. So if you are a blogger or freelancer, I’d love to interview you or feature you on the show. Please contact me for details!

Show Links:

Anyone have some other useful tips for bookkeeping/taxes? I’d love to hear them.

What Is A Digital Nomad?

Justin Wright — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:00:29 +0000

Imagine what life would be like if you could work from anywhere. You would no longer be confined to your 9 to 5 work schedule and you could go out and do the things you enjoy. The good news is that this scenario is completely possible. How?

By becoming a digital nomad.

One of the first things people ask me when they visit my blog is “what’s a digital nomad?” Many people have heard the term but have no clue what it means. Is it someone who spends time on the web? Is it someone who works remotely?

I think it varies depending on who you talk to. Anyways, I thought I would explain what a digital nomad is and what it means to me.

The Freedom To Work From Anywhere

The most important aspect of a digital nomad is the ability to work from anywhere. This is the main reason I wanted to become one. I enjoy traveling and doing new things and it can be difficult to get time off from a typical job. Especially if you want to do frequent or long-term trips.

So instead of trying to get time off, a digital nomad will bring their work with them wherever they go. If they want to go hang out in Hawaii for a month, they do it. If they feel the need to sit on the beach and sip a Mai Tai while writing up a new blog post, they are free to do just that.

Living life as a digital nomad is the ultimate lifestyle because it gives you the two things that many people do not have enough of:

Time and freedom.

Making Money Remotely

So how do digital nomads make a living? The truth is, most of them make a living from a variety of different sources.

Here are a few of the things I personally do to make money:

Consulting – Although many people prefer face to face consulting, it is still possible to do it via phone, video chat or email.
Freelancing – Tons of companies hire people to take on their projects, whether it be writing, photography, or search engine optimization.
Information products – Besides providing services for a living, you can also spend time creating steady income streams that earn you passive income. A good example of this is by creating and selling information products, such as my WordPress Crash Course. While this did take a lot of time to create, I no longer have to spend much time working on it since it supports itself.

Just remember to use your imagination and you will quickly realize there are tons of ways to make money without having to give up your time for a 9-5 job. Don’t forget to check out my book Life After the Cubicle for some great tips on how to make money using the web.

A Job That Never Stops Changing

Besides being able to work from anywhere, being a digital nomad also brings a lot of excitement. Most jobs that are done remotely are always changing. That way you never get bored doing the same thing over and over again.

I have worked on a ton of projects and none of them have been exactly the same. One week I might work on an eBook, the next week I might help launch a new blog. It really keeps things exciting because I never know what will come around the corner.

No More Coworkers

When it comes to being a digital nomad, you may or may not say goodbye to coworkers. I grew up having jobs where I worked along side a bunch of other people. That is no longer the case since I spend the majority of my time working by myself and responding to people via email.

I do spend some time doing face to face meetings with clients but I consider them friends more than anything. It seems like I always learn something from the clients I meet.

An Endless Learning Experience

The major drawback to being a digital nomad is that you spend a lot of time looking for new clients. You also have to work really hard to build new income streams so you never have to worry about your money running dry. Both of these tasks require tons of learning and research in order to stay up to date with what is happening on the web. However, if you find learning fun than I promise you that this is not a major setback at all.

The Benefits Far Exceed The Negatives

I can honestly say that the positives of being a digital nomad blow the negatives away. I get to work for myself and work whatever hours I choose. I’m a night owl so I can finally sleep in until 11 and not have anyone upset. Try doing that at a 9-5 Job!

I think the freedom of being anywhere in the world is priceless. Most people believe that more money will solve their problems but that is not true. If you make $200,000 a year but work 80 hours a week, are you really going to be happy? I don’t think so…

I’d rather make half that much and have the freedom to do what I want, when I want, wherever I want.

What are your thoughts about being a digital nomad?