The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: the fixer on September 13, 2013, 04:00:19 PM
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Hey all,
I'm looking for work but am not very enthusiastic about re-entering full-time employment for various generic reasons. I spent almost a year in 2012 doing freelance web design/development for a former employer and enjoyed it greatly, but I was not successful at finding new clients and growing my business so I gave up and got a FT job when the work started fizzling out. I feel like this is my second chance to break free, so I don't want to wuss out again.
I have lots of ideas for work I can do, and I'd like to diversify because it's one of the things I like about self-employment, but I just can't wrap my head around how to find freelance work. Most of my freelance and FT jobs I've gotten through personal referrals, plus one FT job I got through a recruiting agency that reached out to me. I've never successfully gotten work of any type by simply applying; maybe I'm doing it wrong? I also don't really know where to go to look for opportunities... there are sites like peopleperhour.com and the workingwithrails.com jobs board, but how do I know these are worth my time and not another monster.com time-sink? And my biggest question: if I try something and I don't get any results, how do I figure out what I did wrong?
To be more specific, these are the fields I want to find work in:
- High school/college tutoring. I've posted my profile online several places but I have no leads yet. I can also visit local high schools/colleges and post flyers. This is the one I have figured out the best.
- UI design/web frontend development (I'm a rare type that can do both at least decently well). I'm going to go for it and submit bids on some low-risk projects on some freelance sites, and I'm going to be attending some local Meetups for networking. What else should I be doing?
- Money Management. This might deserve its own topic... I really enjoy setting up and managing passive investment portfolios, but everything I've read about becoming a money manager the traditional way involves working in the finance industry, which seems like it has a polar opposite approach. How can I build a reputation in this field without becoming my own worst enemy?
Thanks!
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- Money Management. This might deserve its own topic... I really enjoy setting up and managing passive investment portfolios, but everything I've read about becoming a money manager the traditional way involves working in the finance industry, which seems like it has a polar opposite approach. How can I build a reputation in this field without becoming my own worst enemy?
Before you start I would make very sure that whatever you're planning to do is legal without licensure or certifications.
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Well yeah, I know there may be obstacles there and I was looking at that a bit today. For instance I saw a reference to needing SEC licensing if you manage more than $25 million in client assets, below that it's just state-level requirements.
My current idea to break in is this:
- Offer financial advice on portfolio setup, either for cheap, free, or barter, and at most walk the client through implementation (but they're actually the ones moving the money around). I have a hard time seeing how this would require anything beyond maybe a state-level business license.
- Leverage experience to get new clients, slowly ratcheting up fees and level of involvement within legal limits. Use inflows to get licensed/certified to do more.