As a founder, I'm probably working way more than I would have in a traditional job and am less "free", so to speak. But when I get to take a 2 hr nap in the middle of the day or just go meet a friend for breakfast at 10 without being answerable to anyone, I think that makes it all worth it.
I find that building hobby projects (that I call startups) that never enter the domain of serious business feels "free", i.e. own boss, no customers, no marketing and money saved up. With customers comes responsibility.
I am starting to think the sweet spot is to freelance as a developer with a large pay check and limited responsibility.
I would agree with that. In the early days it’s so freeing, and you can do whatever you want to do. However as you get bigger I find the freedom slipping away.
After 30-40k theres employees, big clients, SLAs, employees calling in sick, and not fun HR problems.
This is of course exactly what we sign up for. But if we’re talking about freedom, the freelance life has way more freedom then running a company at scale.
I feel free conceptually: at the end of the day, I do what I want, but the amount of work and pressure makes me feel less free than an employee sometimes!
Guilt is a lot easier to handle than an overbearing boss micromanaging your entire existence while constantly dangling the fact that they monopolize your livelihood over your head to get you to dance to their tune.
I usually wax a little philosophical about this but the answer is yes: I definitely feel free as a founder relative to someone doing 9-5 or contract work.
But with new freedoms come new responsibilities. When you work for others, you accept their rules. But when you work for yourself, you either impose rules on yourself or the universe will impose it for you (e.g. by making your bank account dwindle to zero). And the simple truth is that this takes a certain personality type. I've watched a few non-entrepreneurs give entrepreneurship a taste and decide that it wasn't for them.
Yessss... Even when I have to freelance because I my own projects aren't paying enough, the freedom is exquisite. I just love having control of my own schedule. It significantly reduces my stress level. And even though I'm not 'successful' yet as an indie hacker, because I can make money freelancing, I feel like I'm on a great adventure, but I'm not in a rush. I believe that I will make it to profitability and eventually pay my bills with my own projects, and the journey has been an adventure worth having all on its own!
FWIW, I'm a bachelor and I live very cheaply. Obviously, not everyone has the option to do as I am doing. But if you do, I think it's a great way to go!
I took my first vacation (in 11 years of entrepreneurship) just a month ago. And it was very, very hard to make myself do it.
What I realized is that day-to-day I feel pretty free...but in the grand scheme of things, I'm sad to say, I feel trapped. Like, I take my lunch breaks when I want, organize my days the way I want, etc. and that feels like freedom. But actually taking a chunk of time off, or even ever imagining retiring, that feels very difficult.
But actually taking a chunk of time off, or even ever imagining retiring, that feels very difficult.
Why though?
Is it just mental (i.e. guilt), or your business will literally collapse if you weren't tending to it 24/7?
If it's the former, you need to alter your mindset completely.
Because you have to remember that your business is supposed to improve your quality of life, not vice-versa -- you shouldn't need to sacrifice your quality of life to improve your business.
I'll leave you with a quote from Buddha:
"The biggest mistake people make is thinking that they have time."
Thanks for this. I think it's part guilt and part...greediness? Loss of revenue? And just fear in general that if I stop moving at the pace I have been moving then I will never really get rolling again. Luckily this recent vacation showed me a lot of my fears are unfounded.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to reach out and for the inspiration!
My girlfriend father is a man who has been in business by himself for years. Classic entrepreneur. And he's been pretty successful. On paper, this guy is free. He can do what he wants and he doesn't have anyone breathing down his neck asking him to do anything. But is he anymore free than the man down the street who has to work as a teller at the bank? Not necessarily.
Both men are on their phones, which auto-corrects their every thought before they can even finish it. In a hundred years, when we're living in a world in which AI is involved in our decision, the concept of freedom will be absurd to most people.
On a long enough timeline, freedom becomes impossible regardless of a person's line of work.
I do. Sometimes, however, I can have too much freedom. I see myself primarily as a programmer. I love to code. Sometimes I'll spend longer than is required building something that is over engineered just because it makes me happy.
I'm lucky that I have my girlfriend who is good at reigning me in and refocusing me.
A very minor complaint in what has been an incredible decision, though.
I really envy that. I get caught in trying to work out what I should be doing in a given day and then focussing only on the things I want to, rather than what I should do!
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It's funny because I was asking around in the WBE Community what was their definition of bootstrapper success and the word freedom came really frequently...
Finding a truly passive income in business is almost impossible so indie makers will still be bounded to their businesses. They will have to work on it even if they are not feeling it any longer. However, if you are doing something that you are truly passionate about, then it does not feel like work... It's something you want to do... So you have that freedom sensation! :D
As a founder, I'm probably working way more than I would have in a traditional job and am less "free", so to speak. But when I get to take a 2 hr nap in the middle of the day or just go meet a friend for breakfast at 10 without being answerable to anyone, I think that makes it all worth it.
I find that building hobby projects (that I call startups) that never enter the domain of serious business feels "free", i.e. own boss, no customers, no marketing and money saved up. With customers comes responsibility.
I am starting to think the sweet spot is to freelance as a developer with a large pay check and limited responsibility.
Freelancing, despite the "free" in its name, is quite the opposite of freedom.
Selling hours -- no matter the rate -- isn't a long-term viable strategy for financial freedom.
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I would agree with that. In the early days it’s so freeing, and you can do whatever you want to do. However as you get bigger I find the freedom slipping away.
After 30-40k theres employees, big clients, SLAs, employees calling in sick, and not fun HR problems.
This is of course exactly what we sign up for. But if we’re talking about freedom, the freelance life has way more freedom then running a company at scale.
This comment has been voted down. Click to show.
I feel free conceptually: at the end of the day, I do what I want, but the amount of work and pressure makes me feel less free than an employee sometimes!
There's definitely an unspoken threat in entrepreneurship:
"You better work hard and make sure this takes off, or you'll be rejoining the dystopia of corporate America soon enough."
Oh yes, corporate America, where +95% of the world does not work.
Yeah, the freedom feeling is underwhelming. Also just because running a business entails lot of less interesting assignments that needs to be done.
Freelance developer 6 months a year and take the rest off. That is "freedom".
I'm free from others but not from my will.
I do whatever I want. I want to succeed. So I feel guilty not working.
I always envy my friends working for companies who can enjoy their weekends.
Is your will within your control?
Of course it is.
Guilt is a lot easier to handle than an overbearing boss micromanaging your entire existence while constantly dangling the fact that they monopolize your livelihood over your head to get you to dance to their tune.
I usually wax a little philosophical about this but the answer is yes: I definitely feel free as a founder relative to someone doing 9-5 or contract work.
But with new freedoms come new responsibilities. When you work for others, you accept their rules. But when you work for yourself, you either impose rules on yourself or the universe will impose it for you (e.g. by making your bank account dwindle to zero). And the simple truth is that this takes a certain personality type. I've watched a few non-entrepreneurs give entrepreneurship a taste and decide that it wasn't for them.
Thanks for sharing this! 👏
Yessss... Even when I have to freelance because I my own projects aren't paying enough, the freedom is exquisite. I just love having control of my own schedule. It significantly reduces my stress level. And even though I'm not 'successful' yet as an indie hacker, because I can make money freelancing, I feel like I'm on a great adventure, but I'm not in a rush. I believe that I will make it to profitability and eventually pay my bills with my own projects, and the journey has been an adventure worth having all on its own!
FWIW, I'm a bachelor and I live very cheaply. Obviously, not everyone has the option to do as I am doing. But if you do, I think it's a great way to go!
I took my first vacation (in 11 years of entrepreneurship) just a month ago. And it was very, very hard to make myself do it.
What I realized is that day-to-day I feel pretty free...but in the grand scheme of things, I'm sad to say, I feel trapped. Like, I take my lunch breaks when I want, organize my days the way I want, etc. and that feels like freedom. But actually taking a chunk of time off, or even ever imagining retiring, that feels very difficult.
Why though?
Is it just mental (i.e. guilt), or your business will literally collapse if you weren't tending to it 24/7?
If it's the former, you need to alter your mindset completely.
Because you have to remember that your business is supposed to improve your quality of life, not vice-versa -- you shouldn't need to sacrifice your quality of life to improve your business.
I'll leave you with a quote from Buddha:
You could die next year for all you know.
Your business CAN wait.
Savor life now before it's too late.
Thanks for this. I think it's part guilt and part...greediness? Loss of revenue? And just fear in general that if I stop moving at the pace I have been moving then I will never really get rolling again. Luckily this recent vacation showed me a lot of my fears are unfounded.
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to reach out and for the inspiration!
I really hope so.
I've skipped vacations with my loved ones before (family, friends, even solo) just to work, and EVERY TIME I've regretted it.
I've never regretted taking a vacation, even in 2021 when I took 1 vacation each month.
Let's keep perspective and remind ourselves of what's really important in life.
How is your productivity? I realized some time ago that resting is crucial to being productive.
Yes absolutely. You make your rules so that you break them.
👍
My girlfriend father is a man who has been in business by himself for years. Classic entrepreneur. And he's been pretty successful. On paper, this guy is free. He can do what he wants and he doesn't have anyone breathing down his neck asking him to do anything. But is he anymore free than the man down the street who has to work as a teller at the bank? Not necessarily.
Both men are on their phones, which auto-corrects their every thought before they can even finish it. In a hundred years, when we're living in a world in which AI is involved in our decision, the concept of freedom will be absurd to most people.
On a long enough timeline, freedom becomes impossible regardless of a person's line of work.
I do. Sometimes, however, I can have too much freedom. I see myself primarily as a programmer. I love to code. Sometimes I'll spend longer than is required building something that is over engineered just because it makes me happy.
I'm lucky that I have my girlfriend who is good at reigning me in and refocusing me.
A very minor complaint in what has been an incredible decision, though.
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Thanks
I really envy that. I get caught in trying to work out what I should be doing in a given day and then focussing only on the things I want to, rather than what I should do!
yes and no
Why yes? Why no? 🤔 Will you share your thoughts?
You can do things you want. But you'll also end up doing many things you don't want. :)
i Am still a founder of ever green apk recently I upload a new article and this article is about blackmart apk if u need to Download this then go to this link
Link : https://evergreenapk.com/blackmart-apk/
Well, it depends on what you mean by freedom...
It's funny because I was asking around in the WBE Community what was their definition of bootstrapper success and the word freedom came really frequently...
Finding a truly passive income in business is almost impossible so indie makers will still be bounded to their businesses. They will have to work on it even if they are not feeling it any longer. However, if you are doing something that you are truly passionate about, then it does not feel like work... It's something you want to do... So you have that freedom sensation! :D
You are right, everyone can have their own definition of freedom. For now freedom for me means that I can do what I want in the project.