Non-traditional, non "9-to-5" ways of earning a living.

[bob99]

Up until last year, I worked at jobs where I was an employee. Went into work, took care of business, received a salary, went home.

I've now transitioned over to a freelance career, which is much more creatively fulfilling, and also better paying. It does not hold the same 9-5 / office hours.

What are some of the non-office ways members on this forum make a buck? It seems like there are much more interesting ways of making a living than just "working for the man."

 

[SirGrotius]

I'm going to be transitioning most likely to a freelance consulting gig next year. It's a little scary because I'll have a lot more legal, payroll type things to do that I know NOTHING about, but it'll also be great to be the MAN, man. The problem in my field is that freelance means less name recognition, or at least, you won't be considered as much as the larger groups where obviously there's more face time with clients.

That had very little to do with your question, sorry!

But good for you; you sound happy!!

 

[Douglas]

I am the man, which is much more interesting than working for me.

 

[Valor]

Online poker.

 

[DerekS]

i considered whoring myself out to 1,000 ugly chicks for $50 apiece...OR 100 Really ugly girls for $500 apiece. Or deal crack....id be a nice dealer though.

 

[Connemara]

I was talking about something similar with an SFer recently. It's all about trade-offs. There's option A, where you can live a very comfortable life by working the 9-5...good salary after X number of years, good benefits, nice 401k/pension, etc. Then there's option B, where you strike out on your own/join a startup/etc. You could earn an incredible amount of money, but you also run the risk of losing it all.

 

[1969]

My wife is a consultant/freelances whatever you want to call it and I work a straight gig. It's a good balance. I personally can't imagine always hustling up the next client but she has never been employed by someone so it works for her.

 

[Saturdays]

Originally Posted by DerekS

i considered whoring myself out to 1,000 ugly chicks for $50 apiece...OR 100 Really ugly girls for $500 apiece. Or deal crack....id be a nice dealer though.

Deal meth. It works for Walter White in Breaking Bad.

 

[globetrotter]

I thought about robbing small time pot dealers, I live in a college town, so I think I could make a good living out of it.

 

[Harold falcon]

Originally Posted by Saturdays

Deal meth. It works for Walter White in Breaking Bad.

Walter is a producer, not a dealer. Production is a much safer part of the business, but profits are not often as high as for retail sales. The problem with production is that it requires a large start up cost in the purchase of supplies and materials, as well as a physical location for production. As many of the raw supplies are "flagged" it can be difficult to purchase those supplies on a regular basis without attracting the attention of law enforcement.

 

[Manton]

Here's the thing, for 99% of people who strike out on their own, they will be doing exactly the same thing as when they were employed. It's mostly not some magically different type of work.

Yes, you can make more money. But you can also lose a lot. You keep your own hours, but you have no control over the ebb and flow of clients and revenue. Defenitely less security. Paying for benefits is a *****.

 

[DerekS]

guess ill stick to my day job then. dammit.

 

[Dakota rube]

Originally Posted by Manton

Yes, you can make more money. But you can also lose a lot. You keep your own hours, but you have no control over the ebb and flow of clients and revenue. Defenitely less security. Paying for benefits is a *****.

And wait until you get your tax bill. Self-employment tax sucks.

 

[Rummage]

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

Walter is a producer, not a dealer. Production is a much safer part of the business, but profits are not often as high as for retail sales. The problem with production is that it requires a large start up cost in the purchase of supplies and materials, as well as a physical location for production. As many of the raw supplies are "flagged" it can be difficult to purchase those supplies on a regular basis without attracting the attention of law enforcement.

I'm curious as to why you know all of this lol.

 

[Milpool]

I work a salary job, and then on the side I've started doing consulting. The consulting is certainly fulfilling, but I don't know that I'm enough of a marketer to pull in enough business to drop the steady paycheck. Maybe that is just fear speaking.

The other problem is staying several steps ahead of everyone else. There are bright folks out there doing what I do. Trying to be competitive and create a real value add vs someone else or some other consultancy is tough. Work has essentially become my life. If I'm not at the normal job, and not consulting, I'm reading everything I can get my hands on. Maybe that is just fear speaking.