1000 Days Without Working, Programmer Freelancing Plan B - What I Did/How I Income/And Lessons Learned

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The journey and gains of three years of freelancing

Hello everyone, I am Zhang Xuan, a programmer who has been working as a freelancer for three years. Today, I want to share my freelancing story with you, hoping to give some inspiration and reference to friends who are considering or have already embarked on the freelancing path.

1. Opening: Why choose freelancing?

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye I have been away from work for a full 1,000 days. Starting from July 1, 2019, I embarked on this freelancing road full of challenges and opportunities. At that time, the entire computer industry was going through a downturn, and words such as involution, excess talent, layoffs, and 35-year-old crisis continued to fill our horizons. Facing such an environment, I felt deeply anxious and realized that I had to find another way out for my future. So, I decided to try freelancing and explore a different lifestyle.

2. What have I done?

In the past three years, I have mainly done three things. First, I independently developed a product called "Simple Resume", which is a resume generation tool focused on programmers. Through this project, I not only improved my technical skills, but also learned how to conduct marketing and operations. Secondly, I work as a lecturer and sell courses on MOOC. This has been my job for three years and is also my current main source of income. By constantly iterating and updating courses, I gradually accumulated a group of loyal fans and students. Finally, I am committed to running my personal brand, gaining fans on different platforms and becoming a source of traffic.

3. How to start freelancing?

Before starting freelancing, I think there is a very important prerequisite, which is to have a certain financial reserve. In the early days of freelancing, your income may be very unstable, and you may even face zero income for a period of time. Therefore, you need to have enough reserves to cover your living and study expenses, as well as any unexpected situations that may arise. Of course, this does not mean that you must have a huge savings to start freelancing, but at least make sure that you can maintain your basic living and learning needs even if there is no income for a period of time.

4. Gains and feelings from freelancing

Looking back on the past three years, I feel that freelancing has brought me endless challenges and growth. First of all, technically, I continue to improve my coding level and practical capabilities through independent development projects and being a lecturer. Secondly, in terms of marketing and operations, I gradually developed a methodology and strategy that suits me from a complete novice. Finally, in terms of personal brand building, I gradually accumulated a group of loyal fans and friends through continuous output of high-quality content and interactive communication.

Of course, freelancing isn’t always easy. In this process, I also experienced countless frustrations and confusions. But it is these setbacks and confusions that make me more firmly believe that only by constantly learning and improving oneself can we gain a foothold in this ever-changing era. At the same time, I am also deeply aware that freelancing is not an easy way of life. It requires you to have enough self-discipline and perseverance to stick to your dreams and goals.

5. Conclusion: Advice to friends who are considering or have embarked on the freelance path

Finally, I would like to give some advice to my friends who are considering or have already embarked on the freelance path. First of all, you must have clear goals and plans, know what you want and work hard for it. Secondly, we must maintain continuous learning and progress and continuously improve our core competitiveness. Thirdly, we must be good at summarizing and sharing our own experiences and lessons to help more people grow and progress. Finally, cherish everyone around you and every opportunity, because in this era full of changes and challenges, it is a rare fate and luck to be able to meet and move forward hand in hand.

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