I just got an email from a company I work for since 2011.
They have found a replacement for me and he's going to call me for all the info.
I checked out his website and it's basically me from 9 years ago!
He charges 30 euro an hour (undercharging himself..huge mistake) and he does everything!
From reinstalls, building websites, flyers and god knows what else.
O boy....what a flashback.
They must have googled cheap.
When I just started my company I did everything to.
I was clueless, yet eager.
You are so grateful for any work that you end up saying yes to everything and anything.
And you say yes to everything charging almost nothing.
A decision that will haunt you for a long time.
Especially when you realize that when you want to make a living out of it you need to at the least double your rate somehow.
But that's a tough cookie to sell to any clients once they get used to 30 euro.
I was thinking that maybe I can help him like others have helped me.
Or maybe he needs to make his own mistakes first, I never know what is wise in these situations.
All I know is that it took me many years to make my business profitable and charging too little was the main reason.
Luckily over the years, you learn to become more business savvy.
That knowledge has now also helped me in my crypto 'career'.
Before making the switch to live of the blockchain I build a fiat buffer.
Making sure to always have money ready to make investments (example: buying computers/servers) for bigger jobs or for times when work is slow is something you learn working for yourself.
I know this new adventure is a big risk and mitigating some of that in a form of a buffer is natural to me.
It protects me against these current markets that don't look pretty tonight for instance :)
I do wonder how low it will go this time and if I get another chance to invest.
Whatever it will do! It beats reinstalling any windows computer or server :)
ETA till freedom: 30 days.
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Great to move on
Typical "young people problem".
Oh wait I said this like I was old :D
Hard times ( shock,financially, offense, or whatsoever) are always a golden chance to be a turning point in ones life ! Like someone to be fired of his job and this to be the shifting point to start his own business and have a brighter future. I know it is not the same in your case @exyle since you already a self employed ... but the shifting point no one knows about it except you yourself ( maybe changing the business line or the same line but in a completely new strategy! Only you who will take advantage of this golden chance !
Yeah, you have a big point here. There is always an opportunity in every opposition
Yeah ! it breaks the fear ( or worry we always carried towards the change we always thought of)
Thanks for the reply and upvote. I appreciate that. Now following by the way, i believe you would have a lot of knowledge and ideas to share
Thanks @morgangreat for your kindwords, I am honored 🙏🏼
Hard times doesn't kill but makes one stronger
Agree 100% 👍🏼 But it depends on the kind of person who is believing in that !
I personally experienced that in my life and every time I fall down I stand up stronger ( my friends witness that clearly .. and I believed in myself when first happened and I managed to stand again stronger) .. which helped in second and third time in my life !
Building a fiat buffer is real important and the first step when we want jump into any kind of business, otherwise if anything goes wrong , will not be in a position to recover. When we don't have that buffer, then we will charge minimum in the process of filling that buffer and once we filled, we can charge according to our wish.
When your young you are eager and hungry. As you get older and more refined in your career you tend to want to work smarter not harder.
I saw that you have reached a point to where you told your clients you don't have time to work on their projects anymore. I'm almost there but not quite...
Guess the false sense of stability of a regular paycheck tends to force us not to take risks.
Agree to a great extent 👍🏼😎
But sometimes a shock or unexpected attitude from a client , employer,or whoever awakens the motivation ( u always kept inside) to make the change!
@exyle Mark you see the FINISH LINE just UP ahead. The Marathon is almost over. 30 Days to go to Break Clean. It is a good thing if you want to help the NEW guy that is taking over your past clients, then you can do that on your OWN TERMS. Very little Stress that way..........
Agree! Your replacement. 30 euros an hour is not that bad for beginning. Once he shows he is good at it he can ask for a raise. I can imagine how you look at him as at yourself, but 9 years ago. That’s funny, because now look where you are. Perhaps, in the next 9 year he will leave for blockchain as well.lol
It definitely reminds me “Me” many years ago.
Wouldn't that be something :)
Yea its crazy sometimes you can see yourself again when someone new steps into your line of work but sometimes they arent strong enough and dont last as long as you, I have seen it happen many times, indeed it will be interesting how low it will go perhaps a good opportunity for many @exyle.
I think it's better for him to learn from his mistakes. When the tie comes he'll discover what he's been missing/loosing for charging low. Then he'll be the one to voice out. If you try to help him now, you might be having enemy form your former company. Just save tour friendship with both sides.
If I ever have the chance to invest, I'll power up for the benefit fit of this platform. Thanks @exyle for always visiting my blog. @steemmusicng is the official blog for my STEEM MUSIC. Kindly check out to see what I have to propose. Thanks
your story very nice in life. If you do not make your own mistakes to learn from the bad and keep the good. clients you don't have time to work on their projects anymore.. ,at that moment everybody wants to join a job whatever the payment is.It's always better to have a extra business..a person and it sounds just like you in the past!i am inspired of your story.everything is super sir..good job..thank u very much for your good post sharing.@exyle
I'm really happy for you! It's a dream some people don't even dare dreaming :) I hope I will be in your position someday.
Yeah I agree with the buffer, we can never time what happens in the market or in our life, just pay due diligence.
At times I was so hungry to make a killing on an investment that I would put near my last dollar into it and not be able to take it out and pay for something I suddenly needed in time, which ended up with me in a worse position than not making an investment at all.
About hourly rates, I feel like starting off small with your first repeat customers is ok and then scale with any of their referrals until you feel like you're at the rate you wanted.
It's (whith the risk repeating ourselves) definatly a IT thing. When I started my own company I was happy to have clients, and indeed with way to low payrates. And the hardest is indeed to explain to you customers, while they are used to your rate, that it isn't profitable and you have to do something about it. Took me quite some time and convincing power, in one situation I really had to tell "Then you really have to look for somebody else, I cant manage it at those costs"... That worked as an eyeopener for them, but also for me... You really have to calculate realistic and don't bring the news any brighter than it is... In the long run the best for both.... Personally I would warn him for this pitfall, just once... But on the other hand, that is how we started too :) Cheers!!
Well, it always take people a few missteps to learn how to walk the path of earth. If it was me, I would have allow him a few months to go in and see how the environment is gonna be. Then you can chip in your advice. What I mean is, let him learn at first, then you can offer your advice and experience. But all in all, follow your heart.
I never learned... I am still unable to ask anyone for a ‘fair’ rate. Poverty resulted until health forced me to retire. I am very thankful for Steemit. I still do not receive a ‘fair’ value, but now I receive what others see as being fair.
As a freelance graphic designer I can completely confirm this. When I was starting out I was just eager to get to work. The only problem was that there was a LOOOT of competition. So when I got work I was soo happy to finally work that I severly undercharged my customers. And looking back at it I could've charged DOUBLE. But hey, we all have to start somewhere.
Yes, that is true! I hope you can charge a better rate now.
The other thing I remember about those days @exyle and being very glad to have behind me is taking on clients that I knew would be hard work but feeling desperate.
As time went on I found the more I charged the better clients I got and the fussier I could be. Glad those desperate days are no longer! 😊
Young people often undervalue themselves today I think, the are having a big pressure of society to get succesful and to get started they sell themselves cheaper.. This is just missing experience I guess.
Everyone learns from mistakes.
Good luck to you!
It will be a fast 30 days!
There is a new guy that sits beside me in work that is all full of vigour and enthusiasm and it was weird the other day when I saw his demo'ing something to someone and suddenly realised he was like a younger me, lol
He might need to make his own mistakes but I am sure a hint from you about this being your situation might resonate with him!
Some mixture of congratulations and condolences, I guess. That they want to hire a younger version of you when you went there is a testament to how well you did while there. But you have outgrown them and we are so fortunate to have you along with your wisdom and experience.
Let the person learn from their mistakes as their eagerness will shape them to become business savvy like you (hopefully). It must feel good to have some freedom in a month's time!
finally days to count until the next phase in life to discover it will be great for you :)
"Making sure to always have money ready to make investments (example: buying Steem Power under 3 dollars!"
Does this company know, that when they send the new guy over to you, that when he returns he will charge them at least twice the price than before? 😉
Congrats on the countdown. You are a short timer now. I am looking to make a similar move and become a full time Steemian. At this point, it keeps to be a sliding scale. Like you, I am looking at building up some of my fiat to have that buffer.
As for the replacement, I think we all learn from our mistakes. That said, dropping a line about being careful about UNDERcharging might not be a bad idea. If it opens up a conversation, perhaps you can give him some guidance. If it goes by him, so be it.
I look forward to you being on here more. Thanks for all you do for the blockchain.
Actually, we have to engage in some kind of work for the needs of our lives. . They might want a cheap type of guy. But you are a talented and dreamy person that they may not understand before, but now it is understandable. Positive view of our life is very much needed. .Now If you are a hero of our steemit platform. Hero no one is born, Hero has to make himself. . ThankQ @exyle
In the pursuit for a career, how you start sometimes does not define how it will turn out to be at the end.. What matters most is the dream you chasing after... When you dream big, you have a bigger picture of the future for yourself.
They might require you to be loyal and do stuff just to stay in the game, always remember that it will be for a while. You're going to be the boss if you dream like the boss and think like the boss.
Have a boss dream.
Sometimes, its wise to start this way, aside from giving you more experience, you also gain a lot of people's trust. As time goes by, you may decide to increase your fare, and people would still patronise you, that is because you have worked for them at a cheaper rate, they have seen the quality of your work and they trust you enough to handle bigger jobs. I wouldn't really advise anyone to start expensive though, and I won't advise anyone to hold on to cheaper rates for too long. It is just a phase, you get to move forward and grow bigger along the line.
Nice post by the way.
A new starting will be good for you I think. From now, you are free, enjoy it.
The new hired fellow can find his or her way. Helping him can cause some negative effects maybe, he should learn from his mistakes. It if the reality of life, "fight for living ".
If you ask me, this is an opportunity for you to be more active in cryptocurrency, and work as a freelance blogger. It is also an opportunity for us too, you can spend more time with us on steemit.
It's a great post for know about everything thanks to your post.i hope that you recently share a post with us.
Yes. be a good start for you. tu proof of your patience a few years ago
Your writing skill is fabulous ..............@exyle
From your writing I think,
Good luck to you, Be Happy My Friend :)
That's a interesting post,i guess they were looking for a man who is cheap.That happens when you only started to work,at that moment everybody wants to join a job whatever the payment is.It's always better to have a extra business.Thanks for the post.#upvoted and resteemed
wow,really diffrance any other life story,it help to us come back in ower life
i read your post . i like your lifestyle . great story @exyle
really nice story.. I like life story thanks for sharing
Haha, I'm sure it can be quite nostalgic to see hear about a person and it sounds just like you in the past!
I guess he will learn from his own mistakes as time goes by. That's how all of us learn all the time :)
I think most people start like that , saying yes to everything to get established , maybe undercharging , but you know you learn , thats life and lesson's to learn !
My friend, I think you should advise him and he will know if he hears your advice or not! If you do not make your own mistakes to learn from the bad and keep the good, and it seems very good that people choose to undertake in life, as well as you friend, has my support and my vote, many successes
I'm parting ways with a client that I've had since 2011 as well. It's kinda hard to do but nothing gets you motivated more than being on you're own and building up your client base.
great post @exyle!
Greatest post ever,exyle thanks for sharing this post
In the end, it all ends well didn't it? Only few are given such opportunities to know how it is when you're at the bottom. Now that you have your own company, I guess you'll be a better boss ^^
I think the time is our teacher.
As time passes we learn by yourself that what is good for us.
Good stuff you have shared :)
It is really a quest for freedom. Like right now you spend your time the way you want it and still get a higher pay than your formal job. If another company ask you to work for them so that they will pay you 50€ pay hour. Would you accept it
exyle,
I smell opportunity...........for you. I think all of us can relate with what you just shared. The reality is that a new door has opened for you and I am excited for you!
Let the other guy (30 euro man) experience what he needs to experience and you are moving on to bigger and better things.
Sometimes the greatest risk is not taking one at all.
Best of success to you!!
Hey @exyle when do you think would be a good time to buy steem with sbd and power up? The prices are just about the similar now but I want to wait until SBD rises up a bit...
on to bigger, better, and block-ier things