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Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

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Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#171

Post by orky56 »

adamcharnock wrote: post #150
orky56 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since you're only working 3 months per year & assuming those are consecutive, how much time/effort do you need to queue up another 3 months of work after being out of the game for 9 months? Having to keep your profile/reputation fresh and letting existing/new clients know seems nearly impossible.

I tend to take on one significant project per year, i.e. on that looks good on the CV. Generally work comes along through word of mouth, but if I'm getting itchy for work I'll start mentioning it to old clients/colleagues etc. I generally also spend some time off working on my own open source projects too. Reading HN helps me stay up-to-date too :-)

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you have a very solid reputation and network. Nice job!

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#173

Post by giltleaf »

jventura wrote: post #138
giltleaf wrote: post #21

I essentially used the 4 hour workweek script and am somewhere in the middle of that timeline, setting up my business now. 1. Figured out how to get all of my work done super fast 2. Started taking days off and working remotely using my above efficiency skills to put more and more time into my side project while still meeting all of my deadlines and obligations 3. Negotiated a remote and part time contract that only…

>> 1. Figured out how to get all of my work done super fast I always assumed that, as developers, we couldn't afford to automate writing code (as Tim's proposition is originally to automate the income), and so you do your work faster. Can you comment how you do that, how did you buy your remote time from that, etc.?

I'm not a developer, I'm a researcher. However, a big take away from the book for me that I'd imagine would apply to developers as well was not answering emails or going to meetings. He get's into how to do this politely and gradually, and it's definitely saved me time.

The gist of it is, generally, no matter how huffy the person at the other end is, what they're sending you is probably not an emergency. That being said, you can afford to batch your emails so you are only going through and responding to them once or twice a day as opposed to constantly losing your train of thought to reply to them or read them. This might not exactly apply to you, but reading 4hww got me to consciously think what sorts of things I might be able to cut. Actually taking the time to notice what those things are could help anybody I'd guess.

I got my remote time from that because I've been working at the same org for 2 years and have kept track of my wins/successes. I've gotten a lot of those because I've learned to be more efficient using ideas like the ones above. Over those two years, I've also noticed that our org has a problem retaining mid level employees and so I was able to leverage that when talking about remote time as well.

So I'm not automating my income, but I am saving time by cutting unnecessary tasks.

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#174

Post by phaus »

estefan wrote: post #47
jaredandrews wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very cool! I quit my cushy 9-5 about a year ago and have been contracting off and on since then. It has been amazing and I realized I can never do the 9-5 thing again. I hope to start my own business at some point. The problem is... I haven't had a good idea yet... I have been thinking about buying an existing online business if I can't think of anything. When I look into it though I am completely in over my head. Do…

Same boat as you. I think this could be the key: https://www.coursera.org/learn/startup-entrepreneurship-disc... I can't recommend it highly enough.

Can creativity be learned? I feel like I've been cursed with a stellar memory, which people often perceive as intelligence, but I see lots of my coworkers come up with great ideas for new tools and processes that enhance our core business. Some of them even seem obvious after the fact (not that it discredits them at all), but I seem to lack the creativity and confidence to build anything on my own. Do you think this class would help?

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#175

Post by shostack »

tachibana wrote: post #170
shostack wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share what sort of investments drive the majority of your income?

Mostly fixed income securities and fixed income-like assets (like real estate, asset-backed loans, etc.). $10,000 invested at 4% brings in a little more than $1/day. Yes, the market value of the securities and assets may fluctuate day-to-day, but the income doesn't. As long as the borrower is of sufficiently high quality, then there really isn't any concern about the principal getting paid back.

Thanks for sharing. Mind if I ask what your cost of living looks like? Seems like it would take a large amount of capital to get a livable income off conservative incoming-paying investments at 4%.

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#177

Post by tachibana »

shostack wrote: post #175
tachibana wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly fixed income securities and fixed income-like assets (like real estate, asset-backed loans, etc.). $10,000 invested at 4% brings in a little more than $1/day. Yes, the market value of the securities and assets may fluctuate day-to-day, but the income doesn't. As long as the borrower is of sufficiently high quality, then there really isn't any concern about the principal getting paid back.

Thanks for sharing. Mind if I ask what your cost of living looks like? Seems like it would take a large amount of capital to get a livable income off conservative incoming-paying investments at 4%.

My cost of living is about the same as the typical family with kids attending good public schools along the SF Bay Area peninsula, but the approach should be repeatable in most places. My expenses over the years has stabilized at less than 50% of take-home salary (not including bonuses, equity grants, etc.) for my main job, in line with a previous post of 30% of income. So the absolute worst case scenario for a 4% return is 25 years.

In my particular case, I had saved all my bonuses (both cash and equity) and most of the income from the aforementioned portfolio. I was also fortunate to have held a consistent side job for most of my career.

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#178

Post by adamzerner »

Bakary wrote: post #157
adamzerner wrote: post #114

I worked for about a year and a half after college and then quit to do my own thing (autodidacting -> startup). At each job I was frugal and saved over half the money I earned. I also accumulated money by working small jobs in high school and college, and some from my grandparents. It I'm frugal, the money I saved should last at least 5 years or so. While working my full time jobs I spent as much time as possible imp…

What is Sucker Culture?

Sorry I was on my phone and couldn't link - http://www.daedtech.com/the-beggar-ceo-and-sucker-culture/.

In short it refers to letting others take advantage of you.

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#179

Post by estefan »

phaus wrote: post #174
estefan wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same boat as you. I think this could be the key: https://www.coursera.org/learn/startup-entrepreneurship-disc... I can't recommend it highly enough.

Can creativity be learned? I feel like I've been cursed with a stellar memory, which people often perceive as intelligence, but I see lots of my coworkers come up with great ideas for new tools and processes that enhance our core business. Some of them even seem obvious after the fact (not that it discredits them at all), but I seem to lack the creativity and confidence to build anything on my own. Do you think this…

They're trying to teach creativity, so you sound like their ideal participant. Give it a go.

Re: Ask HN: How Did You Escape 9 to 5?

#180

Post by emdeha »

I just decided I wasn't happy at my 9 to 5 job. What followed was a deduction that unhappiness means there's an opportunity I'm missing. So I started observing and found what I wanted at the moment--I started working part-time at a small software organization doing systems integration. The transition was flawless--I didn't need to stay at my corporate job.

Of course, such undertakings are a bit risky. After a few months I found my money starting to melt as I wasn't receiving stable income from the new place I enjoyed working in. Doing a bachelor's degree while teaching and working quite prevented me from seeing how this money meltdown would shortly lead to some uncanny situation of mine. So, with about 3 months delay I understood that I'm in another unhappy situation and I should start observing for the new opportunity I was missing.

Here comes a time for some background. For about 3 years I was living with a close friend of mine who is involved with an organization called Camplight--a digital cooperative working in the web outsourcing business. Things were quite great in this company and it was a bunch of sustainable, playful and hard-working people. I wanted to join them since I heard about it, but the lack of experience prevented me from doing so. However, during the years I worked a 9-5 job and switched to doing systems integration, I got quite experienced. Also, I loved to talk with my flatmate about Camplight and the challenges around being a part of a cooperative. And it started to click that this was the opportunity I was looking for.

And that's how I escaped a 9-5 job in about a year and am really happy about it. I'm doing quality software, communicating with valuable people and helping the cooperative grow.

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