I quit my job. Today is Day #2.

Working for myself was great. I'm still amazed at the sheer number of things I made in that time. It was some of my best work, and I really want to get back to that time.

Freelancing isn't the same. It's better than being employed, but it's not complete freedom. It is a constant struggle to maintain a relationship with the client that is both congenial but not familial. When things get familial is when they start with the attempts to guilt-trip you into extra work or doing things against your principles. It would take an extremely generous deal, of the likes I doubt anyone would ever be willing to pay for someone like me, to get me to go back to working as an employee.

I had a schedule problem. I woke up when I felt like it, I worked until I was exhausted, and repeated the next day. This meant I was working on about 7 hours of sleep (the least I've ever been able to run on for an extended period of time and still feel good, so that was a plus), and 18 hours of work, with brief breaks for food, showering, etc., fit into the cracks around the edges. Yes, that adds up to 25 hours. My schedule was constantly shifting. There are several good and bad things that came out of this. It isolated me from a lot of people, which was good for work but bad for my psyche. It kept me out of the rush hours, which was great for everything but made me hate weekends when all day is rush hour in Philadelphia (I live in the DC area now).

I didn't have a marketing plan at all. If I did anything, I was posting to my poorly-followed and poorly-maintained blog. I think I posted ONE project during that time to HN. Now that I'm significantly more engaged in marketing, I'm seeing much more traction with my projects, even though I don't have anywhere near the same amount of time to focus on them.

"If you build it, they will come" IS NOT TRUE. You have to advertise. How you advertise is up to you, but I will tell you that paying for Google AdWords is far more consistent and reliable than trying to play the Show HN lottery. You can make plans off of ad traffic. You can make corrections. Show HN is a one-shot deal, and if you don't get it right the ONE time everyone is paying attention, then you'll likely never get it again.

Finally, 4 months just isn't enough time. It's enough time to build something, but building the thing is only 20% of the work. Ideally, I'd want a year to get everything done right.

Good luck!

I was never happier at work. But, there are significant downsides (of which you are probably aware).

1) At a job personal weaknesses get covered up or smoothed over. Aren't so good at ? The company probably has someone else to take care of that. So it might merit a "to improve" on your review. When you work for yourself these failings have real unavoidable economic consequences.... often fatal in the business sense.

2) A law of nature. A life for one is simply a meal for another. Nobody cares if you stay in business unless they think they need you in the future. So you are food for everyone. Your vendors, your customers, your employees. All are (generally) out to take as much as they can from you. This is the game you are largely insulated from when you work for someone else and the reason long term business owners probably seem a bit jaded and suspicious.

3) You are responsible for everything. Everything. From filing taxes to making sure there aren't objects that can be tripped on on the work floor. Everything. There is zero buck passing. I personally believe buck passing is a large part of the workday for most employed people at reasonable sized companies and this skill doesn't transfer well.

4)You are mortal. So you get sick. No more sick days. Now you lose income unless you are properly set up with employees and a business structure which takes time, money and often some trial and error. Just because you made 20 grand on a jackpot 2 weeks of work doesn't mean that event will be duplicated or scaled. Something that is hard to remember sometimes.

Overall though... it is worth it in my opinion if you are tough and can take some blows. The upside is unlimited. The freedom is exhilarating. You truly can do your best work at a level you probably never did employed. But, please be aware it isn't for most people. The sacrifices can be immense.