How I Left My Day Job to Be A Freelancer
“I want to let you know that my wife and I have decided to move out of the country. I love the opportunity you’ve given me to grow here and I want to stay on with the company if possible.”
It had all come down to this moment. I was nervous, scared, tired, and a little overwhelmed. Three months prior to this meeting with my boss my wife and I decided to move to Mexico. It was then, that I knew I needed to start planting the seed with my employer.
Not finding satisfaction with where we were at in life, my wife had just finished her undergrad and was working on her master’s degree, and I was working as a designer for a marketing agency. We wanted a change, we wanted to do something more with the time we’ve been given. My wife, being the daughter of a pastor, called the first person she could think of that lived outside the US: a missionary family in Mexico. After a short phone call, we had a lead on where we could live, how much we would need, and what we would be doing. The only problem? We needed a steady income, not a lot, but enough to get us to Mexico and cover some basic living expenses.
Being involved in the technology world, I heard about people doing this thing called remote working. I didn’t really know where to start, so I went down to my local bookstore, and found a book in the lifestyle section called the 4-Hour Workweek. Timothy Harris’ book does a great job of introducing the idea of remote working, life hacking, and optimizing your life. Being encouraged by the stories of others who had left it all to purse their dreams, I started to craft a plan.
The 4-Hour Workweek gave great advice about how to quit your job. The basic idea was to start by negotiating one day a week working remotely. Once you have this remote day, become super productive when working from home, then use that as proof to show your boss that remote working is best for your productivity.
The one day remote request was easy. I had a fantastic boss, who sympathized with the fact that I had to take an hour bus ride into the city everyday. So, 3 months before we were planning on heading to Mexico, I started to lay the ground work for my transition.
I worked incredibly hard on my remote days, putting in more than 8 hours in order to help show the value. Working from home was great too. Having no commute, the house was quiet, and I could take a break to play a little Xbox when I needed. Each month, I would come back to my boss with a little report I made from Basecamp that highlighted my productivity. And each month, I gained an extra day of remote time. So when it came time to have the “talk” with my boss, I was already working remote three days a week.
The Fear of the Unknown
“I want to let you know that my wife and I have decided to move out of the country. I love the opportunity you’ve given me to grow here and I want to stay on with the company if possible.” Oh, God. I said it. I felt the fear in my gut, in my throat. The fear wasn’t based around him saying no. It was based on what my response would need to be if he said no. I was ready to give my resignation notice. This whole thing could backfire on me.
“Wow, that’s great, but I am not sure the company would be willing to keep you on if you’re 100% remote.”
Damn it.
I knew what my response had to be. “I understand that, I just know I’ve been extremely productive while working remote. So if they can’t keep me on, I’m afraid I’ll have to give you my notice.” I was so nervous I was shaking.
But the amazing thing was, after a couple of days, the company came back to me with an offer, one that would shape the next chapter of my life, and firmly establish me as a successful freelancer.
My company couldn’t keep me on as a full-time employee, but they would be willing to move me to a freelance contract. I jumped at the opportunity, knowing that our move to Mexico would be covered. We’ve since moved from Mexico to Cambodia, I now run a creative agency, and I couldn’t be happier. My blog is a celebration of the journey and of the hard work that goes in to being a freelancer. I’ve experienced the droughts, I’ve experienced the growth times, I’ve failed my clients, and I’ve grown through it all.
I am going to continue to share my journey, share my thoughts, in hopes that the next generation of freelancers can strike out on their own. The future is yours. What are you doing about it?