PART 2: Your Next 5 Moves: How To Get What You Really Want
Last year, I took three months off work and earning from my freelancing business. Why??
Because I was thinking 5 moves ahead.?
If you’re wondering how we got here, see last weeks article where we discussed Patrick Bet-David's book 'Your Next 5 Moves'.
In my first year as a freelancer, I realised that while the business was going well and would serve me for several years to come, I would eventually reach a limit on what I could earn.
Why?
Because when you are selling your time, the market dictates the ceiling on what you can earn.?
Yes, you can increase your offering and provide more services, but you have the same amount of time in the day as everyone else. Therefore, it is not a business you can scale very easily unless you take on staff and turn it into an agency. And I didn't want to create an agency.?
The agencies I knew, had tight margins and too many people headaches. I wanted a lean, mean, online business, something that employed leverage (other than my time) and could be scaled. *If you want to know what I mean by leverage, check out this article I wrote a while back > https://dommarcuscoyne.substack.com/p/the-5-forms-of-leverage-and-how-they ?
I already have one business that uses leverage like this in trading FX. It utilises leverage by trading other companies' capital, but for the moment, it is still inconsistent, and not substantial enough yet to replace my freelancing income.?
The issue, in short, was that I needed a more consistent income for the long term. I needed one that employed leverage, was scaleable, and used my existing skill sets.?
You see, the issue most people have as employees is that they are not in control of their time or their income.
They are stuck with mortgages, bills, and families to care for.
So much so that they are slaves to their salaries, and any disruption in their employed work creates havoc upon their lifestyles and their families' well-being, not to mention their finances.?
After turning freelance and starting my own freelance business, I feel I've cracked the code on getting out of this income trap as an employee.
I have more free time, can work from anywhere, earn more, am in control of my time and income, and am developing personally and professionally 100 times faster than I was before.?
And guess what? People noticed this, and I started getting messages from old colleagues asking how it was going.?
So what was the solution? Start writing about it and sharing information on how it works.
So I did.?
Online content is one of the greatest forms of leverage and the greatest equaliser of our time. *If you’re wondering what I mean, here is an older article I did about why you need social media. > https://dommarcuscoyne.substack.com/p/embrace-social-media-your-passport ?
Online content utilises leverage by way of sharing information across time and space to many people simultaneously.?
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You create it once but distribute it, many times, and if you’re really good at it, you either sell it or generate ad revenue and sponsorship fees from the eyeballs you attract.?
Because I could see five moves ahead, I anticipated the growth of my freelance income and saw that in five years, I would hit a ceiling with it and not be able to grow it anymore.
Does this mean I won't make the most I can from it until other incomes are worth more?
Of course not.
But in thinking ahead, I took the hit in income from 3 months off earnings from my clients, and I wrote a course.
You can check out the first 2 modules for free here
More than that, I have started building a social media base and laid the foundations for a potential future income stream.
It is still early days, and it will be a while before I see any significant results from this move, but by thinking five moves ahead, I've saved myself the pain of reaching the limits of my freelancing income and having nothing else to fall back on.
Freelancing is still king for the moment, and I strongly advocate it to anyone considering working for themselves. If you do it right, you can get to six figures (per year) without too much stress, especially if you are a coder or software developer. Those guys are making the bank!
The moral of this story is to think ahead and decide that if you’re going to read a business book, or article with useful information that affects your life.?
Don’t just read it, but take action on it.?
If you don't see a future where you are working, you need to start making decisions now that will get you to a more desirable future. For me, three years ago, that meant starting a freelancing business.?
Freelancing will allow you to live a lifestyle of your choosing, start earning from day 1, be in control of your time and income, and explore other business models without affecting your monthly expenses.?
First, get control of your time.
Then, you can explore leveraging your time and building greater wealth.?
Want to learn more??
Ever dreamt of being your own boss, setting your own hours, or working from anywhere in the world? Some are drawn to the freedom and flexibility of freelancing, but are afraid to take the risk. I wrote an eBook for this reason, it’s called “The Freelancing Revolution: Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur and Embrace the Future of Work”.
You can download it here, completely FREE: https://mailchi.mp/afccaff52a96/the-freelancing-revolution-ebook ?