Niall Doherty's Blog, page 202
August 17, 2017
Why You Should NOT Follow Your Passion
Work Online » Freelancing
Why You Should NOT Follow Your Passion
Updated: August 17, 2017
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
You know who said that?
Confucius.
He was a Chinese philosopher who lived some 2,500 years ago. He said many a wise thing, but the above quote isn’t one of them.
To make amends, he grew some amazing eyebrows:
You may have heard the same advice in different words: “Follow your passion.”
Well, I’m here to tell you to ignore that advice.
Yes, really.
Forget passion.
Three reasons why…
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To Follow Your Passion,
You First Need To Find It
And that’s much easier said than done, right?
Most of us have no idea what we’re passionate about, or what kind of job we could possibly love so much that it never feels like work.
The danger is that we’ll invest tons of time and energy into finding our passion, trying all sorts of different things in expectation of a sudden eureka moment.
We see it unfolding like a movie, that moment when you’re engaged in some new activity and suddenly everything clicks and then you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that THIS IS WHAT I WAS PUT HERE ON EARTH TO DO!
"Eureka!"
To emphasize how silly this belief is, imagine if you believed romantic relationships worked the same way.
That is, you believed that you either fell in love with someone at first sight, or not at all.
Sounds ridiculous, right?
You might be physically attracted to someone immediately, or even feel some mysterious and powerful urge to go talk to them, but you won’t know for sure if you’re a good match until you go on a few dates, get jiggy, meet their parents, live together… etc.
See what I’m getting at here?
Just like very few people have their perfect partner fall out of the sky and into their arms, very few people have their perfect career do the same.
But even if that were to happen to you — if you were to find your passion (or your soulmate) overnight or otherwise — it’s not as if success would suddenly come easy.
That’s because…
Doing Meaningful Work Is Hard
Here’s a quote I prefer, by Thomas Edison:
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Just like you have to work at a relationship you care about, you have to work at a job you love. You can’t just cruise along and have everything fall into place.
I’ve worked on numerous passion projects over the years.
Building my 3M1K course is the latest one.
I truly believe that building that course is the best way I could be contributing to the world right now — helping people achieve financial and location independence — and I enjoy the process of writing and creating digital products.
All in all, I love my work.
And yet there are many days when I am massively resistant to actually sit down and do it.
Why is that??
Well, when you love something, there’s the fear that you’ll mess it up or that it won’t be nearly as good or as well received as you hope it will be.
And when you’re not afraid of something going wrong, you’re afraid of nothing going wrong.
Success equals transformation and some dark part of us wants us to fail because then nothing has to change.
We can go back to doing something safe and familiar instead of plowing ahead into unknown territory.
So yeah, doing work you’re passionate about ain’t easy. It’s often much easier (at least in the short-term) to do work you don’t give a shit about.
But doing work you’re passionate about isn’t just a tough road. It’s also a long road.
Which brings us to the third reason to ignore the advice of Confucius…
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It May Take Years To Make Money From Your Passion
That’s if you can ever make any money from it at all, let alone enough money to make a good living.
And let’s face it: unless you’ve got a mattress full of cash to fall back on, you can’t afford to spend YEARS of your life turning your passion into a career.
Bills have to be paid.
Food has to be bought.
The occasional pint has to be enjoyed.
Not to mention the fact that many of the things we’re passionate about simply aren’t ever going to make us a living.
What if you’re passionate about carving matchsticks or collecting stamps or growing cacti?
What if you’re a teenage girl from Finland who loves nothing more than frolicking around on a fake horse?
Even if you invest years in becoming the best in the world at those things, it’s unlikely that anyone’s going to throw money at you. 1
Let’s take a moment and review what we’ve covered so far…
You should forget passion because:
If you don’t already know what you’re passionate about, there’s no guarantee you’ll figure it out anytime soon, no matter how hard you try.
Even if you do figure it out, doing work you’re passionate about isn’t any kind of cakewalk. If anything, working on something you’re passionate about is harder than working a regular job you have little interest in.
It can take years to turn passion into a viable business, if it’s possible at all.
Let me be clear here.
I’m not saying that you should drop your passion completely (assuming you know what it is). And I’m not saying you should resolve yourself to doing work you hate to make a living.
What I am saying may be best communicated by revising that Confucius quote to read as follows:
“Choose a job you like, can quickly excel at, and will be well paid for… and you will have a lot more options in the not-too-distant future.”
Let’s break that down.
The Truth About Passive Income
Choose a job you like…
You don’t have to love what you do. Liking your work is perfectly fine.
The past seven years I’ve earned a living mostly as a freelance web developer. But I don’t love doing web development. It might have been my passion ten years ago, but the joy faded from it pretty fast.
Nowadays I like building websites. It’s something I know how to do and do well.
But doing freelance web development affords me a lot of freedom.
In large part because of that skill, I had the confidence to quit my 9-to-5 and the ability to travel the world for years on end.
Me working online from a rented apartment in sunny Tenerife.
…can quickly excel at, and be well paid for…
As mentioned, passion projects often take years to pay off financially, if ever.
Some people glorify the struggle of living hand-to-mouth while chasing an elusive dream, like becoming a famous rock star or writer.
I’m not one of those people.
Forget being a starving artist.
Put the dream on hold and learn some skills you can use to generate a reliable income within a few months. That means becoming good at something the world values and is happy to pay you for.
…and you will have a lot more options in the not-too-distant future.
Let’s say you can learn and deploy a new skill in the next three months that allows you to earn $1,000/month freelancing online.
That gives you options.
First of all, you suddenly have the option to work from ANYWHERE in the world. You can head off to a cheaper country with nicer weather, move closer to loved ones, or even travel indefinitely.
Hitting that $1,000/month mark also allows you to be more selective with the projects you choose to take on. You can start to diversify your client base and raise your rates.
Further down the road, as you gain more confidence and your business becomes more optimized, you can make more money in less time, eventually to the point where you can devote a few hours a day to working on a passion project, without worrying about how to make it financially viable.
See how that works?
By forgetting about passion and focusing on building skills that improve our options in the near future, we actually give ourselves a better chance of making our passion project an eventual success.
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Let’s Review
When you’re just getting started working online, your main goal should be to build a steady stream of independent income, and to do it as fast as possible.
The best way to do that is to put your passion projects aside and focus on building a skill you can freelance. It should be something you like doing, can quickly excel at, and will be well paid for.
Now, you’re probably wondering which skill best fits that description for you.
And that’s exactly what I help you figure out in The Hedgehog’s Guide To Skill Selection.
Click the cute little fecker below and we’ll dive in.
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The post Why You Should NOT Follow Your Passion appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
August 16, 2017
Momentos: August 1st – August 15th, 2017
MOMENTOS
August 1st – August 15th, 2017
1
At an owl cafe and loving it. Until I decide to Facebook live the experience and someone comments that the birds shouldn’t be tied up for our amusement. Bubble burst. Now it all seems so wrong. The bindings, the bright lights, and where did these owls come from anyway? What bothers me most though, is that none of these concerns occurred to me earlier.
2
Not sure how all these travel bloggers find the time and energy to post all their photos and videos from the road. I’ve taken a bunch of shots here in Japan but struggling to find time to edit and share. Got up early this morning to squeeze in a three-hour work session before heading back to Tokyo, but that barely put a dent in my to-do list.
3
At Shibuya, Tokyo’s Times Square, watching the bright lights and funky people, the ultimate intersection of fashion and technology. It’s our last day in Japan, and it’s become one of my favorite countries, a place I’m sure I’ll return to many times. But before heading out we’ll take a wander through the alleys of Dogenzaka and see what we find.
Wandering around Shibuya, Tokyo's version of Times Square.
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Wednesday, August 16, 2017
4
I’ve gone all snobby with the lounge access. They have landside lounges at Narita but no food on offer. Limited refreshments in the airside lounge, too. Then on my layover in Delhi they dole out wifi 200MB at a time, and you have to scratch a new card and enter a string of digits every time it expires. On the bright side, I didn’t have to pay for these 5000-mile flights I’m taking today, and I got to watch two just-released movies while sitting in a comfortable chair in the sky.
5
Finished reading Homo Deus as we touched down in Amsterdam. Mind-blowing stuff. Dataism is the new religion, humans are becoming obsolete, the machines will know us better than we know ourselves. It’s scary in one sense, but mostly I’m left feeling excited. It’s such a privilege to be alive right now. Whether we’re on the brink of extermination or immortality, we get to bear witness.
6
Seriously jet lagged and all snuffled up, but I’m at a nice cafe on a sunny day in my favorite city, and a dozen of my favorite people came out to say hey. Hadn’t been back here since last year, and I do miss it sometimes, but no regrets about leaving. Like Dr. Seuss once wrote, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I look out the window at the people and the bicycles and the canals, and all I can do is smile.
Rabble-rouser’s meetup in Amsterdam
7
This man has no filter. Dutch to the extreme. Telling tales of a gun to the head, a knife to the throat, a fist to the face. His by-the-ways are more interesting than most people’s life stories. Northern lights, that time he spent in jail, the ladyboy in Japan. I ask him what he’d like to do that he still hasn’t done, sexually. And he tells me without a blink or a hint of hesitation, “I’d like to fuck an underage girl.”
8
Feeling social at the airport, bantering with the lady on desk duty. I ask her how her day is going, and by her response it’s apparent she’s rarely asked that on the job. We chat for a while and she says it’s more common for someone to insult her or even throw something at her than ask, “How are you?” I leave two minutes later feeling we brightened each other’s day. And it cost us nothing.
9
In the park. Cathedral above, flowers below. Beautiful woman with perfect teeth asks me to take her photo. We chat for several minutes. She’s visiting from Brazil, likes to travel, runs her own business, speaks perfect English. Seems she wants to talk forever. Until I mention my girlfriend. Then she winds it down pretty quick. Hmm. That’s a role I’ve often played in the past. Rare that I see it from the other side.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.
10
Caught up with a lot of family today. I’m so fucking lucky in that regard (among many others). Highlight may have been hugging three tiny nephews simultaneously, then horsing around the front lawn with them and the Cuz. Actually had a dream last night where I lost a particular family member. I’d never really considered a world without them before. It hit hard.
11
Words like feminist and vegan tend to repel people, don’t they? Noticed it myself the other day when a friend recommended a podcast called The Guilty Feminist. My immediate reaction was, “Uh, no thanks. I’d rather not listen to some lady rant and make me feel bad for having a penis.” Thankfully I got past that and listened anyway. And it’s brilliant. This is a good episode to start with.
12
Feels like I got more work done the past two days than I did the previous two weeks. Nothing like putting aside a long stretch and taking a good run at it. Buzzing now too because the ideas are flowing hard and fast and pieces are falling into place. Meanwhile, there are terrorists in the US, athletics in the UK, and protests in Kenya.
Sneaky work session on the train
13
Cup of tea, sitting around watching the All-Ireland semi-final. It’s a fascinating game, hurling. These lads with their big sticks and hard knocks and no paychecks… they make other athletes look spoiled and fragile. Hard for people outside the country to appreciate how popular the sport is here. 72,000 people in attendance today at the third biggest stadium in Europe.
14
Years ago I wrote about slowing down to solve problems. It’s such a simple thing but it makes a huge difference. I gave examples in that article about iPhones and shopping carts, but a lot of people get caught up in the faster-faster-faster pull of day-to-day living as well, never really taking the time to step back and question what they’re doing, where they’re heading.
15
I know Walt Disney died in 1966, so when I’m reading about him being all successful and energetic in the 1930’s, I can’t help but think that fuck, he’s only got three more decades, then it’s lights out. Every time a year is mentioned in the book, I’m calculating how long he has left to live, and from there it’s easy to start wondering how long’s left for me. Three decades? Much more? Much less?
Waterford Greenway
In the comments below, let me know which of the above Momentos is your favorite. Which can you relate to?
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The post Momentos: August 1st – August 15th, 2017 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
August 13, 2017
The Hedgehog’s Guide To Skill Selection
Work Online » Freelancing
The Hedgehog’s Guide To Skill Selection
Updated: August 13, 2017
It’s time to figure out what skill you’re going to build so you can make money freelancing online.
To do this, we’re going to use a system described in the book Good To Great by Jim Collins.
Collins and his research team spent significant time identifying the common factors that distinguish good companies from great companies.
One of these factors is what came to be called the Hedgehog Concept, defined as…
A deep understanding of three intersecting circles translated into a simple, crystalline concept.
It’s called the Hedgehog Concept because of an analogy: some people are foxes, others are hedgehogs.
Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity… never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision.
Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything.
Great companies, Collins tells us, always have a Hedgehog Concept. And they come up with that simple, crystalline concept by understanding three key dimensions.
Those dimensions can be visualized as intersecting circles:
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To help grasp the three circles, a personal analogy is given in the book:
Suppose you were able to construct a work life that meets the following three tests:
First, you are doing work for which you have a genetic or God-given talent, and perhaps you could become one of the best in the world at applying that talent. (“I feel that I was just born to be doing this.”)
Second, you are well paid for what you do. (“I get paid to do this? Am I dreaming?”)
Third, you are doing work you are passionate about and absolutely love to do, enjoying the actual process for its own sake. (“I look forward to getting up and throwing myself into my daily work, and I really believe in what I’m doing.”)
If you could drive toward the intersection of those three circles and translate that intersection into a simple, crystalline concept that guided your life choices, you’d have a Hedgehog Concept for yourself.
That all sounds fantastic and everything, but it’s a tad too lofty for our purposes.
We’re looking to start making money online here, not determine our life purpose or change the world.
(Baby steps!)
With that in mind, we’re going to modify the Hedgehog Concept a little, like so:
What are you deeply passionate about?Something you enjoy doing (or at least don't hate)What can you be the best in the world at?Something you can do (or learn to do) better than most peopleWhat drives your economic engine?Something there's an established online market for
Here’s what our revamped venn diagram looks like:
Our mission now is to find you a skill that lies in the intersection of those three circles.
Let’s get to it.
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Something There’s An Established Online Market For
We’re going to start with this one because it’ll weed out a lot of impractical skills right off the bat.
We want to figure out where the money is online.
What skills are already in high demand, or are on the up-and-up?
We can answer that question by going to Upwork, the biggest freelance marketplace on the internet.
Now Upwork is by no means the only place to find work online 1 but because it’s so big we can poke around and get a solid overview of the digital workspace.
In particular, below are two things I recommend you check out on Upwork.
A) Latest Data Trends & Research
You’ll find links to reports about online work trends on this page at Upwork. It’s worth having a quick look through those to see which skills are becoming increasingly in demand.
For example, here are the top 20 fastest-growing skills in the last quarter of 2016, as per Upwork:
From that list you can clearly what there’s an increasing demand for.
Do any of those jobs sound interesting to you?
B) The Category List
This is a list of all the top job categories on Upwork.
Take some time to browse the list and click through to view the latest job postings for the categories you like the sound of. This will give you a feel for the exact kind of work on offer and how much money you could earn doing it.
As you’re looking at the job listings, take note of:
How many jobs are posted in each category? Sort by “newest” and then check how many were posted in the past 24 hours. More postings –> big market –> big opportunity
How many of the listed jobs are accepting “entry level” freelancers (as opposed to “intermediate” and “expert”). Assuming you don’t have any experience right now, those jobs will be your bread and butter starting out, so the more the better.
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Something You Enjoy Doing
(Or At Least Don’t Hate)
Based on your research in the previous step, you now want to come up with a list of 5-10 jobs you think you would enjoy.
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Again, it’s important to actually dig in and look at the jobs posted in each category to get a feel for the type of work you’d be doing. Don’t write off any category too easily.
Something You Can Do (Or Learn To Do) Better Than Most People
Some things to keep in mind here…
A) Time Constraints
I tend to believe you can learn pretty much any skill to a professional level given enough time and practice, but our aim is to get you earning as quickly as possible.
(Of course, if you’re in no major hurry and have more than three months to devote to skill-building, you can set your sights on higher-level skills.)
So we want to select a skill you can learn well enough in three months that clients will be happy to pay you at least $10/hour consistently.
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B) Your Strengths And Weaknesses
Your strengths and weaknesses go a long way to determining how quickly you can become proficient at a particular skill.
For example, some people can pick up programming concepts rather quickly and be writing and debugging their own functions in a matter of days, while others will find that kind of work frustrating and unintuitive.
Questions to help figure out your strengths and weaknesses:
What kind of work have I been praised for in the past?
What kind of work have I been most proud of in the past?
What kind of work have I found frustrating in the past?
What kind of work have I found easy in the past?
C) Resources
Lastly, you should take into consideration how much help there is available for learning certain skills.
For example, there are tons of resources online — many of them free — for learning skills like web development, programming, and social media marketing.
Not so much for skills like interior design and paralegal services.
For each skill you’re interested in, do a quick google search to see what resources are available. 2
Are there online courses?
Free tutorials?
Interviews with successful online freelancers you could contact for advice?
Quick Review
Our mission in this lesson was to figure out a solid skill that you can use to freelance online.
As per the Hedgehog Concept, we’ve been looking for a skill that lies at the intersection of these three circles…
To find that skill, you should have run through the 3-step process laid out above.
After that, it’s time to start narrowing down your options and making a firm choice as to which skill you’re going to focus on.
If you’re really hesitant to commit to anything right now, that’s okay, but it’s good to at least choose something (anything!) to start experimenting with. You can always come back and try something different later. Doing nothing now isn’t going to help you figure it out.
So, with that in mind, which skill are you going to focus on?
Let me know in the comments below.
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The post The Hedgehog’s Guide To Skill Selection appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
Can Anyone Earn A Good Living Working Online?
Work Online » Freelancing
Can Anyone Earn A Good Living Working Online?
I’ll come right out and say it: The answer is NO.
Working online is simply not for everyone. But not for the reasons you might think.
Many people disqualify themselves from working online because they’re not very computer savvy or because they don’t believe they have the required skills.
Let’s tackle the techie bit first.
Do You Need To Be Very Computer Savvy To Earn A Good Living Working Online?
No, you don’t. You just have to know how to navigate the web effectively, and be eager to learn and solve problems. Because for every question you might have, for every roadblock you run into, you can be sure that there’s an answer out there at the other end of a Google search (or two), just waiting for you to find it.
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Do You Need Specific Skills?
Absolutely, and right now you probably don’t have all the skills you need. But those you don’t have you can always learn, and often you can earn while you learn them.
(On this page you’ll find a list of 14 skills you can learn “good enough” in 90 days or less to start earning $1,000/month online.)
So Who CAN’T Earn A Living Online?
The people I see struggling most are those who also struggle to earn a good living offline.
That is, they find it difficult to hold down a regular job. If I were to call up their current boss, or someone they worked for in the past, I’d be unlikely to get a glowing review of their performance.
If that sounds like you, sorry, it’s going to be tough for you to earn a good living working online.
If you can’t excel at a regular, offline job, it’s very unlikely that you’ll excel in the online workplace.
Because ultimately you succeed the same way at both: by providing value.
That’s what money is exchanged for, whether you’re working at a supermarket checkout, an investment firm, or doing something online.
There is one exception of course, and that’s the natural born entrepreneurs.
They simply aren’t cut out to work for someone else.
They must run their own thing.
They fail at being an employee because they’re not good at following someone else’s rules.
They have their own ideas of how things should be done and crave the freedom to pursue those ideas.
If you’re one of those people, then yes, you have a decent shot at earning a good living online despite sucking at the regular employment thing.
And you’ll know pretty easily if you are one of those people, because work ethic won’t be an issue for you, like it is for those who suck at regular employment due to sheer laziness or incompetence.
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Let’s Review
To succeed online you should have a track record of being able to provide value in the workplace, wherever that may be, online or off.
If most of your previous bosses or colleagues would agree that you’re that kind of person, then there’s NO REASON why you can’t make this happen!
If that’s not you, then I’d advise putting your dreams of digital entrepreneurship on hold for a while. Go get yourself a regular job instead and practice providing value and becoming indispensable.
Do You Have What It Takes?
If so, check out 3 Months → $1,000, my premium course that has helped hundreds of people break free and start earning online. People just like you:
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The post Can Anyone Earn A Good Living Working Online? appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
August 12, 2017
The Easiest Way To Find Your First Paying Clients
Work Online » Freelancing
The Easiest Way To Find Your First Paying Clients
Updated: August 13, 2017
In this lesson we’re going to run through a three-step process for finding your first paying clients.
I’m assuming here that you’ve already selected a skill that you can freelance online – refer back to the Hedgehog Lesson if not – and have developed that skill to the point where you can deliver real value to clients.
If you’re not at that point yet, keep practicing your skills. You can’t “fake it til you make it.” You need to be good at what you do.
Our three steps are as follows:
Tap Your Existing Network
In-Person Networking
Find Freelance Gigs Online
Let’s dive in.
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Tap Your Existing Network
Online and offline, tell your friends/family/acquaintances that you’re offering the service you’ve chosen.
This is the easiest way to find your first paying client because you don’t have to build a relationship from scratch. You’re reaching out to people who already know and like and trust you. They’re much more likely to hire you than some stranger on the internet.
Get started the quick and easy way: by posting a status update on Facebook.
My friend Molly used this strategy to kickstart her freelance graphic design business.
Here’s what she posted:
The result?
“I remember the day before I posted that FB post I only had £17 in my bank account and I had no idea how anything would pan out. A few days later I had over a grand and a plan to change my life.”
Throwing a post like that up on Facebook (and/or LinkedIn) is quick and easy and definitely worth a shot, but it’s also rather passive and you may not see similar results to Molly.
If it doesn’t do the trick for you, it’s time to become a super-badass-proactive-samurai-ninja freelancer and proceed as follows:
Make a list of everyone you’re on good terms and/or in frequent contact with.
Reach out to each person on the list individually, tell them what you’re doing now, and ask if they know of anyone who could use your service.
A student of my 3M1K course did exactly that and was finding clients within a few hours:
Here’s an example of an email I would send to let someone know about my web design services.
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Subject: Quick question
…
Hello Phileas,
I hope all’s well with you.
Any chance you could do me a small favor?
The past few months I’ve been working and studying hard to become a web designer. I’m at the point now where I feel confident in taking on some clients and providing a great service.
Here’s where you come in:
Can you think of anyone who might require help building a website? And if so, would you be willing to connect me with them?
Of course, if you ever need help with that kind of thing yourself, I’d be happy to lend a hand 
August 11, 2017
How A College Dropout 5xed His Freelance Rate In 12 Months
Work Online » Freelancing
How A College Dropout 5xed His Freelance Rate In 12 Months
Updated: August 11, 2017
About a week ago I got an email from Justin, a member of 3 Months → $1,000.
He wrote:
It has been about 1.25 years since I took your course, and I’m so glad that I decided to give running an online business a shot. Since I started, my earnings have increased significantly.
As you’ll see, “significantly” turned out to mean raising his rate from $9/hour a year ago to $50/hour today!
Justin had used the resources listed inside 3M1K to become proficient in web development and digital marketing, and then learned (also within 3M1K) how to find clients and steadily raise his rate.
Justin mentioned in his email a video he’d uploaded to YouTube:
The video isn’t super polished, but I think it does a nice job of summarizing the steps it takes to build an online business.
Here’s the video:
Two key points from the video I’d like to highlight:
1
You don’t need to have a degree in some technical skill to build an online business.
Many people think they need to go to college for four years and spend a bunch of money before they’ll be qualified to do freelance work online, but as Justin notes, you can become a "relative expert" in many fields within 90 days of part-time self-study, and it won’t cost you a fortune.
2
After joining 3M1K, Justin spent a month building his skillset, another month practicing his skills on some personal projects, then landed his first freelance web development job on Upwork one week after he started looking for one.
I followed up with Justin and he was kind enough to share more details about how he built his business:
My first major job on Upwork was only $7.2/hr after the 20% fee. I landed that first job about a year ago. Now, I typically get paid around $40/hr.
Last week, I landed a job on Upwork for $45/hr before fees. It was a strange situation…the job had several proposals already, but the client decided to invite me to the job.
I typed up a short proposal in about 10 mins. I woke up the next day, and she had sent me the job offer. No interview or anything. And the job is to clean up an Adwords account that spends roughly $2000 per month.
A few days later, another message from Justin:
I just landed a long-term $50/hr job on Upwork… This is the biggest client I’ve ever been matched up with at Upwork. This client has spent over $50k on Upwork.
I was invited yesterday, and I had my interview this morning. As far as I know, I was the only person he invited/interviewed.
I asked Justin to share more details about his Upwork proposals:
I typically use the same model for Upwork proposals: I ask about 3-4 relevant questions about the job in the first paragraph, and I qualify myself in the second paragraph.
Honestly, I think that my Upwork profile overview and track record does more to attract people than my proposals.
On average, I get 1-2 job invites every week from Upwork. Naturally, I’m not interested in every job that gets sent my way. One of the big perks of freelancing is having the authority to decide which jobs you want to take on.
Justin also sent along screenshots of that $50/hour job description and his proposal:
Upwork Job Description
Upwork Client History
Justin’s Proposal
Job Secured
Connect With Justin
Blog: Invest In Experiences
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The post How A College Dropout 5xed His Freelance Rate In 12 Months appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
August 10, 2017
Outsourcely Review
Work Online » Freelancing
Outsourcely Review: Is Outsourcely A Good Alternative To Upwork?
Updated: August 10, 2017
Note: This Outsourcely review was written by Louise, a member of 3 Months → $1,000.
Like many of my fellow Upwork freelancers, I started to get a little disillusioned with the platform recently.
If you’ve spent much time there, you probably know why – low-quality jobs, difficult clients, ever-increasing fees, and the general feeling that Upwork just isn’t on our side.
This is becoming a common sentiment, and lots of competitors have sprung up to take advantage of the growing discontent around Upwork. I decided to check out the competition to see if they really did offer freelancers a better experience, starting with Outsourcely.
Here’s how it went…
Outsourcely Review
What is Outsourcely?
Outsourcely is a platform that aims to connect businesses with remote workers around the world.
That sounds a lot like Upwork…
It is!
But there are a few key differences.
1
First, the emphasis is on long-term engagements.
This is a great selling point if you’re looking for a reliable freelance gig with a steady income. And there are part-time as well as full-time roles, so in theory you could find a part-time job to fund your travels - perfect for the digital nomads among us!
2
Second – and this is a biggie – freelancers pay ZERO fees on their earnings from Outsourcely.
That’s right - zero, nil, zilch, nada, non.
They make most of their money from the client side, so you get paid directly from the employer and keep all of your glorious, hard-earned dollars for yourself!
Related: How An Irish woman gets paid $3000/month to travel the world
Outsourcely Review
So is Outsourcely all it’s cracked up to be?
Obviously, the fee-free model is a major positive. After paying 20% of my income plus transaction fees on Upwork, this was music to my ears.
Outsourcely is completely free to join for freelancers, although like Upwork, there is an advanced membership option. As you can see below, there are a few extra perks from upgrading.
Personally, I felt that $10 was a reasonable price based on what’s included, but let’s take a look at each benefit in more detail so you can decide if it’s worthwhile for you.
Outsourcely Membership Perks
I think the voice and video attachment is a brilliant feature!
Adding a video or voice message is a great way to add a personal touch to your application. Since most people won’t go to the trouble (myself included – my ‘I-work-from-home’ hair is impressing nobody!), it really sets you apart from the competition.
Having your profile or application show up higher in the search results is obviously a great benefit, too, especially for $10 per month.
My only reservation here is that the low price point makes it super accessible to the majority of freelancers on the platform.
What happens to my search position if everyone is ‘featured’?
Perks or no perks, they had me at ‘fee-free’, so in I went!
Outsourcely Review
The Set-Up Process
I was initially impressed by how quick and easy it was to set up. Depending on how much work you want to put into your profile, you can be up and running within about 20 minutes.
There are countless skills on offer and you can be really specific about your level of experience in each.
As you’ll see later on, potential clients get to be equally as specific, so it helps to manage expectations and make sure you’re a good match.
Some employers proactively search for candidates based on these skills, so it also helps to make you more visible in the results.
Then came verification.
You can’t apply for jobs or show up in the search results until your former employers have been contacted to confirm that you worked for them.
One of my main past employers is a company that no longer exists, but there was no option to submit payslips or contract documentation as alternative proof. My only choice if I wanted to apply for jobs was to remove a substantial chunk of relevant work experience from my profile, which I grudgingly did.
This won’t be an issue for everybody, of course, but it could be a potential roadblock in some cases. If you’ve worked for yourself for years, for example, I’m not sure how that would be handled by Outsourcely.
If you think it might be an issue for you personally, perhaps it’s best to contact somebody from Outsourcely customer support beforehand.
Related: How To Make $1k/Month Watching Netflix
Outsourcely Review
Finding Your Dream Job
I was finally set up and ready to find my dream remote job – what now?
Here’s where Outsourcely started to fall apart for me, I’m afraid!
Job listings on Outsourcely tend to be very detailed, so it’s easier to make an informed choice.
However, one key detail seems to be missing time and time again…
Salary.
This isn’t a big deal for everyone, but personally, seeing ‘DOE’ or ‘TBD’ everywhere is really off-putting for me. Maybe it’s because the range of pay on offer is just so wide in copywriting (and freelancing in general).
I can’t think of a time I’ve applied to such a job and haven’t been offered a terrible wage. Now I’m wary of wasting my time, and I tend to think that if you were offering a reasonable salary, you’d use it as a selling point, no?
Then there’s a question of relevance.
Check out those search results.
As awesome as it sounds, I have no idea what a “Happiness Engineer” is and how it relates to my search (copywriting).
And I definitely never claimed to be a Japanese porn translator (not on Outsourcely anyway).
The Interview Process
Despite my hesitation, I did apply for a few jobs (not that one!) and managed to get two responses.
While the first potential employer and I mutually agreed that we weren’t a good fit, the second ghosted me when I tried to talk about payment.
The ‘interview’ process was very straightforward, but since no job came of either conversation, I can’t speak about the actual employment process.
For reasons that are about to become clearer, it would be some time before I had the opportunity to try again…
Volume of Jobs
The volume of jobs is staggeringly low compared to Upwork. Now I know that it’s a newer platform, and the emphasis is on long-term engagements, so this is to be expected – to a degree.
You can see that only 184 jobs showed up when I searched for ‘copywriting’, including completely random jobs that were irrelevant to my skills.
When I managed to filter them out, I was left with 63 results. Of those 63 jobs, only the first eight were active and the rest had expired.
Only EIGHT out of 184 advertised jobs were in any way relevant or even available.
Just in case it was a one-off, I tried several times, a few weeks apart. No such luck – next time it was five jobs, the next time it was six, and the next time it was eight again.
Ok, eight jobs – that’s still something, right?
Not so fast!
Quality of Jobs
I can only speak for copywriting work here, but boy…let’s just say that if you’re trying to escape the Upwork content mill, you might be disappointed.
I was hard-pressed to find a job that paid more than $800 per month full-time, despite expecting A LOT from you in return.
A few examples…
On Outsourcely, Level 4 means ‘specialist’ and Level 5 means ‘expert’.
What can you expect in return for your specialisation and expertise in nine distinct areas of writing and communication?
You can expect $1 an article, or $30 a day if you can churn out 30 of them (at a minimum).
Let’s look at another…
And another…
On Upwork, there are so many other jobs that you can just bypass these without a second thought.
However, when there’s only a maximum of eight relevant jobs available at any given time and most of them look like this, your options drop dramatically.
I appreciate that depending on where you live in the world, some of these jobs might actually offer a pretty decent income.
But in the majority of places, working full-time for $500 per month is simply not feasible.
For an entry-level copywriter looking to beef up their skills or resume, a low wage is often a compromise they’re willing to make. However, many of these listings are NOT entry-level jobs.
Many are asking for high output, years of experience and/or advanced credentials, and barely offering writers enough to make rent in return.
Related: 101 Legit Ways To Make Money Online Fast
Outsourcely Review
Final Verdict
I really want to love Outsourcely, and I do think it has the potential to be a great platform. Features like the zero-fee model in particular go a long way towards addressing some of the frustrations people have about Upwork.
Keep in mind that I’m a copywriter, so if you’re in a different profession, you might have a completely different experience to me. And if you’re looking for experience or a casual, reliable gig to supplement your travel fund, this is definitely a good place to look.
But if you’re looking for steady work and a higher wage, Outsourcely just isn’t there yet, at least not for writers.
If Upwork is the unsatisfying Tinder hook-up of the freelance world, then Outsourcely is the guy who says he wants a relationship but won’t introduce you to his friends.
Same problems, different packaging.
Outsourcely is a young platform competing with a giant, and I did take that into account. When it starts attracting a bigger audience of clients, I imagine the quality and the volume of jobs will go up.
I’ll definitely give it a try as it starts to grow, but for now, it just doesn’t have what I’m looking for.
Outsourcely Review
Summary
Outsourcely is a platform that connects businesses with remote workers.
PROS
Freelancers pay no commission or fees on their income.
Freelancers are paid directly by the employer.
The emphasis is on long-term, steady jobs or projects.
The platform offers a good mix of part-time and full-time work.
The advanced membership plan is very affordable at $10, and it has great perks like video and voice attachments to make your application stand out.
CONS
Low job volume.
Difficult to find relevant jobs.
Inconvenient verification process.
Jobs are generally not well-paid.
GREAT FOR
Digital nomads looking for a side gig while travelling.
Newcomers looking to build experience.
Freelancers based in countries with a lower cost of living.
NOT SO GREAT FOR
Experienced freelancers looking to earn a higher wage.
Freelancers based in countries where the cost of living is higher.
Outsourcely Review
Have you tried Outsourcely?
If so, let us know how you fared in the comments below.
Do you find Outsourcely to be a good alternative to Upwork?
Did you experience any of the problems detailed above?
Are there other sites you’d recommend as an alternative to Upwork?
The post Outsourcely Review appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
August 6, 2017
Momentos: July 16th – July 31st, 2017
MOMENTOS
July 16th – July 31st, 2017
16
My key habit for today has been to rest, and I’ve done a good job of that, Netflix binging from a horizontal position for most of it. Now it’s evening and I’m down the street waiting on a coconut smoothie and two helpings of pad thai from the food carts – which will cost me all of $4 – and taking a moment to look around and appreciate something I haven’t appreciated before.
17
Muay thai and BJJ practice again today. Loving it all, but wary that I’m learning too much sport and not enough self-defense. There’s talk in training of techniques to score points, and when you know someone isn’t allowed to punch you in the face or kick you in the nuts you leave those areas wide open. Still, much better this than nothing.
18
On my way back from training, did an hour of boxing today. Got some Dire Straits in my ears as I ride the scooter down streets lined with pagodas and memories. That stadium over there, a pink hotel on the corner, that little music spot by the moat… can’t help but smile thinking back. Life’s been good to me.
Breakfast in Chiang Mai
Posted by Niall Doherty on Saturday, July 15, 2017
19
Ever since reading Cal Newport’s book last year I’ve been measuring hours spent on deep work, aiming for at least 60 each month, about 15 each week. This month is two-thirds done and so far I’ve only racked up 23.4 hours of deep work. That’s mostly because of travel. Got very little done in Istanbul and I’ll get very little done in Japan. Visiting such places is nice, but my work has to suffer for it.
20
Was told today of a Dutch man who worked all his life, never married, no kids, and never left the Netherlands until he retired at 65. Then he took a trip to Southeast Asia and traveled around a bit. That’s all I know of the story, and there’s surely more to it, but still it strikes me as a sad life. Work all through your prime and then get a little reward at the end? What a waste.
21
And then right after hearing that story I end up sitting in front of my computer all day, trying to churn through a bunch of work stuff. Even decided to skip training, though that was partly to give my back a rest, too. Feeling nicely accomplished though as I wrap things up tonight. Launching another product next week and I’ll have a good break from work while in Japan. Discipline equals freedom.
A bit of light sparring with Jean-Christian Tys yesterday.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Thursday, July 20, 2017
22
People are quick to throw out the “racist” label nowadays. “That’s racist!” they’ll say, though it usually isn’t. It’s like someone screaming “MURDERER!” at you because you brushed your teeth and killed a bunch of bacteria. But more important, when you label someone racist, even if it’s justified, you destroy any chance of having a conversation with them, of having them appreciate where they might have gone wrong.
23
Just finished recording a two-hour podcast with the Cuz on the topic of eating animals. We went deep on it, talking about souls and consciousness and the holocaust… all the while trying not to be too preachy. I don’t think we can be preachy actually, because neither of us have good answers, just lots of questions and contradictions what with our human brains and all.
24
Final fight class. Skipped the last two because of back pain but sucked it up today. An hour of MMA, then muay thai sparring. Took some hard kicks down low and punches up high. Sometimes you think you’re doing great and then a right hook comes out of nowhere. These past two weeks have been a decent intro to the fighting world. I still know almost nothing, but that’s more than I knew before.
Leaving Chiang Mai, tuk tuk ride to the airport…
Posted by Niall Doherty on Tuesday, July 25, 2017
25
I love lounge access, man. Less food options now that I’ve resolved to be more disciplined about vegetarianism, but I still get a kick out of rolling up to a lounge, handing over my special black card and getting ushered in to a plush hideaway like a VIP. The lounge in Chiang Mai today even had a 15-minute complimentary massage.
26
First time in Tokyo. Trying to appreciate it despite the pouring rain and only four hours of sleep and two weird plastic-wrapped rice ball things for breakfast. There are moments. Reuniting with herself, of course. But also that graceful old lady writing on the train. And me trying all the buttons alongside the toilet. And how damn polite and friendly everyone is here.
27
Heading up a stack of steps to a shrine. Everything’s so clean even though there are no bins. There are signs warning about bears, monkeys, snakes and boars. An old man is exercising up and down the steps, inviting us to join. We’re alone when we get to the top. On a clear day you can see Mt. Fuji big and bold from here, framed with cherry blossoms in the spring. Now it’s not so spectacular. We have to settle for stellar.
At the Coral Executive Lounge at Bangkok Don Mueang Airport, en route to Tokyo.
Posted by Niall Doherty on Tuesday, July 25, 2017
28
Random “superpower” I’d love to have: the ability to fall asleep instantly, whenever I choose. There are nights when I’m wrecked tired yet lie awake for hours, mind racing. Or days like today, traveling from A to B to C on a bus, a bullet and a train… trying to nod off for a little bit to catch up on some z’s… but nothing doing. The result is me sitting on my ass most of the day and being dog-tired by the end of it.
29
There’s a narrow pedestrian street that runs through Nabeyacho in Kyoto, discreet little bars and restaurants all along and in the alleys perpendicular. Neat wooden facades, tiny gardens, occasional lanterns, hushed conversation. We see an elderly couple exit a restaurant with a host and watch as bows are exchanged until the couple disappears around a distant corner.
30
Second lap of a supermarket in Nara, on the hunt for some food to comfort my tired and limping self. Trying to do the vegetarian thing but the deck is stacked against me here in Japan. Sushi seems like the best compromise this eve. Will pick up some muesli and yogurt and flowers as well. Then head to the checkout for an encounter with another beaming worker bee.
Channeling my inner Disney princess in Nara, Japan
31
Hundreds of tame deer in the park here. Quite the scene with them wandering over little bridges, across open fields, along gentle streams. Flowers in the foreground and the tops of temples and pagodas peeking from the tress. You buy soft crackers and the deer walk right up and eat them out of your hand. Some have even learned the trick of giving you a little bow before and after, proper Japanese style.
…
In the comments below, let me know which of the above Momentos is your favorite. Which can you relate to?
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The post Momentos: July 16th – July 31st, 2017 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
July 27, 2017
Should We Eat Animals? – Over Beyond Podcast – Episode 007
Over Beyond – Episode 007
Should We Eat Animals?
Length: 1:55:07 | Download MP3 | Subscribe on iTunes | Podcast Archive
In this episode we talk about eating animals. The ethics, environmental issues, health concerns, convenience factors and social dynamics. You won’t find many definitive conclusions in our conversation, but it should get your wheels turning.
Your hosts: Niall Doherty and Ciaran Hourican
Books Mentioned In This Episode
Movies/Documentaries/TV Shows Mentioned In This Episode
Other Stuff We Mentioned
Chiang Mai Fight Fit
Restaurants in Cork: Quay Co-op, Cafe Paradiso
The Fermi Paradox
Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience
Podcast intro/outro music: Cribs 67 by Levente Maneas from Epidemic Sound
Note: there are a bunch of affiliate links on this page. That means if you click through to another website and buy something from there, we will probably get a commission, but you won’t be charged anything extra (actually you’ll often get a discount). These kickbacks help justify all the time we spend preparing, recording and publishing these free podcasts, and allow us to buy things like chai lattes, falafel sandwiches, and private yachts.
Thanks for your support!
The post Should We Eat Animals? – Over Beyond Podcast – Episode 007 appeared first on Disrupting the Rabblement.
July 19, 2017
Momentos: July 1st – July 15th, 2017
MOMENTOS
July 1st – July 15th, 2017
1
After interviewing Janet yesterday I’m thinking I should move on from freelance web design. It’s fairly easy money, but it doesn’t fit in with anything else I’m doing. Wouldn’t I be better off doing freelance writing and blogging? That way, like Janet, I could earn a living while honing my craft, expanding my network, and building my brand. Wouldn’t earn as much to start, but long-term it would be the smart play.
2
From this rented apartment in Moscow I had five Skype calls today: 3M1K students in India and Kenya, someone interested in 3M1K in Amsterdam, a friend in Mexico, and my parents in Ireland. That’s instant communication with people on four different continents, and I took it completely for granted until I sat down to write this and thought about my day.
3
Definition of amortal: “Unable to die from disease or age. Immortal if no physical ailment befalls you.” Human technology could be advanced enough thirty years from now to make amortality possible. Would that make us more cautious, unwilling to take risks? Die snowboarding today and you’ll miss out on ~50 more years of living. But die doing that in an amortal future and you’ll miss out on eternity.
Pedestrian bridge over the Moskva
4
Apparently there are 243 stations on the Moscow Metro system. I’m wondering if it’s possible to hit all of them in a single day. You know, just for kicks. The metro opens at 5am and closes at 1am. That would give me 20 hours, which works out to about six minutes per station, including travel time. Bring some friends, shoot some video, make a day of it.
5
One of the great things about running this 3M1K biz is that I learn a lot on the job. Through it all I’ve become a much better marketer, copywriter and freelancer. But perhaps most beneficial has been doing regular Skype calls with members, lots of practice listening and coaching. I still have plenty of room for growth, but starting to appreciate how far I’ve come.
6
Feasting at a little corner kebab shop in Istanbul, the kind of place where old men gather for a chat, throwing scraps to a couple of cats. Weather’s perfect, faces in windows and balconies, in the air there’s the evening call to prayer. A kid walks through care-free, stepping on the backs of his shoes. Across the way at a grocery there are two women in hijab smiling with a young man. One reaches out and touches his face.
Busy street market in Istanbul
7
Been a good day. Epic slow breakfast with more plates than could fit on the table. Long walks through the city. Blue mosque, iced coffee, stray cats, lamb kebab. Now it’s almost midnight and we’re on a party boat on the Bosporus with friends met in Tenerife. But I’m wrecked and have taken to hiding in a quiet spot below deck to conserve a bit of energy. Not as young as I used to be.
8
Shoe shine guy crossing the street in front of us drops a brush and we call after him. He’s all grateful and insists on serving me. I cave too easily, knowing it’s not going to be a freebie, and thinking it might have been a setup from the start. Confirmed a couple hours later when someone else drops a brush in front of us. We say nothing to this dude, just give him the stink eye when he turns back to retrieve his bait.
9
Step-counter app says we walked 33 kilometers the previous two days. Combine that with the heat here and it makes sense I’m wrecked. Would probably have stayed in resting all day if I was on my own. But traveling with a partner you feel obliged to make the most of it, to get out and do stuff. Tonight that stuff was drinks at a rooftop bar watching the sunlight fade and a red moon rise.
Sunset and Moonrise in Istanbul
Sunset and moonrise from Leb-i derya in Istanbul
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Sunday, July 9, 2017
10
Almost 2,000 people have died in terrorist attacks in Turkey since the turn of the century, about half of them in the last 2.5 years. What worries me though is that almost every taxi I’ve taken in Istanbul has unusable seat belts. Check the numbers and you’ll see that 7,300 people were killed in traffic accidents in this country last year. But everyone’s all terror this and terror that and they don’t say shit about buckling up. 1
11
Layover in Bahrain at the fanciest lounge I’ve ever seen, with a massive spread of free food and attendants standing by. In prep for an upcoming podcast, I spend my time skimming The Vegetarian Myth and watching Cowspiracy, then proceed to feel like I shouldn’t be eating anything here. It was all probably produced unsustainably, and shipped in from thousands of miles away. But I eat it all anyway.
12
Fairly safe to say that most male tourists come to Thailand for sex and/or inebriation. When I first came here five years ago, I didn’t drink but I was definitely giddy at the prospect of the other thing. Now I’m all committed, that’s off the cards, too. It’s palpable on the plane though, all the lads with their smirks and beer bellies and lingering looks at the flight attendants, debauchery on their minds.
Had my first classes in boxing and BJJ today. Didn't spar in boxing but did get to roll plenty of times in BJJ.And it's just as I feared: I want more!
Posted by Disrupting the Rabblement on Thursday, July 13, 2017
13
I’m here in Chiang Mai to learn how to fight, and I got stuck in today. An hour of boxing training, followed by ninety minutes of BJJ. Didn’t get to spar in the ring, but rolled quite a bit on the mat. My height was giving people problems, but they were giving me more. Still, I enjoyed it immensely. Something about that rough and tumble physical contact that’s good for the soul.
14
MMA sparring today, which was exhausting but so much fun. Got my ass kicked several times. Held my own a few times too but pretty sure that was when they were going easy on me or working on specific parts of their game. Also took a nice shot to the left eye, drew a little blood and left me with a good bruise. I’m secretly delighted.
15
Organized a dinner with seven friends tonight. Except I’d never met four of them before. Two I’d only known online for years, and one was a friend of another online friend. Two of the seven in 3M1K, five nationalities between us, many a story shared and lots of good food consumed. Just a random Saturday night in Chiang Mai.
Saturday evening in Chiang Mai
In the comments below, let me know which of the above Momentos is your favorite. Which can you relate to?
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