[alain94040]

A major difference between now and 5 years ago is that you have been self-employed for 5 years. From an employer's perspective, you have tasted the forbidden fruit of independence. You no longer fit in a nice box, guaranteed to obey your manager and believe in the corporate mission statement. You can think for yourself.

There are companies that value your new skills. But more companies will find those new skills scary.

[formula_ninguna]

+500

oh, god, a few years ago, when I'd been freelancing for 2 years, I thought I'd start looking for a job in an office very soon. now I've been freelancing for 5 years already and I think I don't want to have a boss or manager supervising me and follow their rules. I better tell them what to do :)))

working as a office employee -- that job will kill your individuality.

[throwawayhtgatj]

This is a throwaway account, so I'm going to be straight up. My business has been declining for the last three years. It's still very good though and pays out more than an employer would.

But, boy, you hit the nail on the head. I don't ever want to go back to employment. I really only want a remote job as a buffer to continue working on my own.

I don't have FU money, so even though I have free time, I spend a lot of it worrying. I think that's why people are so easy to reach for VC. They feel comfortable when others have skin in the game. They don't feel so alone -- like I do.

Just wish it would last forever, but these headwinds are good for me. I need a kick in the ass. I've wasted a lot of time.

[stevenwu]

The honesty in this post is really refreshing and insightful. There are a lot of people in tech who would kill to be in your position (see every monthly-ish thread about how to make passive income or how to make money off of an app). It's interesting to think about what proportion of those such people who achieve their goal would end up feeling like how you feel - having a lot of free time, and spending a large chunk of it worrying instead of being as hyper-productive as they imagined they could be.

[throwawayhtgatj]

Thanks. Yeah, it's definitely been great, but challenging in some regards.

For the first two years I mostly spent time worrying about an older brother who unfortunately won't speak with me anymore. He was really pissed that my app took off and the side work he was doing didn't pan out.

I got over him, and spent most of my time reading books, which feels healthy at first, but then starts feeling counterproductive. Why read all this crap if you're not doing anything with what you're learning?

So, about a year or so ago, I finally got around to realizing that all the stuff I was reading could be distilled into a 2 things: Focus and hard work. The people who are successful do the work. Working hard is what originally put me in this position, and along the way, I lost myself and started thinking I got here because I'm smart. The biggest mistake I've made is wasting time, and it doesn't matter how smart you are when you do that.

Started reading books like "Flow" which gives me a lot of motivation and I've been on a solid hard-work streak for some time. Hoping I can build something else before it all comes crashing down around me.

Fun stuff...

[soneca]

Why don't you start another business, but this time with other people, as part of a team?

I am starting in this path (of creating a bootstrapping business) and being alone is both a bless (no sharing of the revenue, I make all decisions and most outcome depends solely on my work) and a curse (isolate me from other people, limit the size of the problems I can solve, is lonely).

If I reach your position in a couple of years, I will surely reach out other people to build a business together. I would do it now even, but it is hard to convince people to join me without a track record.

[throwawayhtgatj]

I'm not being snarky, but that's like asking, "Why don't you just find someone and get married?"

Even though you hear about cofounders starting businesses together and succeeding, you hear less about the problems they immediately or eventually have.

It pays to be super selective, and I haven't found anyone who thinks along the same lines I do. Part of it might be locale. I don't live in SV, and I just haven't run into that many tech entrepreneurs.

[soneca]

Sure, but if you are actively looking, it helps. A job might be a great place to find a co-founder :)

[nicolasd]

Completely agree. It's not only about the skills, but also (from my experience) working for a company isn't that satisfying and motivating as for yourself.