Full time noob copywriter or side hustle it?

9 replies
I'm at the position where I can work full time on copywriting due to the kindness of my family having me at home and personal savings. The thing is, I don't want to be dead weight for them and I also want to take care of myself.

This situation puts me on a crossroad with which i'd like the opinion of more experienced members:
  • Advance more now and have the opportunity to earn a decent income quicker, or
  • Play safe and earn some money through other means but keep working to build a copywriting career

What does the community here think about this, is it a good idea go full time when I'm just starting out or is it better to do it as a side hustle? Thanks a lot for your input!
#copywriter #full #hustle #noob #side #time
  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    to protect your sanity .. you need to be doing something outside the house ..

    I do not know where you live .. but i know i stayed im my parents house way way way to long .. and trying to work and study from a home that is not yours ..leads to interuption and breaks in work flow at the most annoying points in time.. at least it was that way for my as my parents where masters of breaking my creative grove ..

    If i could go back and change one thing while i was still able to work a 40 hour a week job .. never had the 9-5 though ..i would have bought an RV or a camper van .. and parked it on my parents driveway .. and learned to live that lifestyle ..

    If you get the rv to run your copywriting or other businesses out of you can put it as a business expense .

    It really depends where you live .. but mentally you are going to eventually want your own space to work without interruptions .
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11139201].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Pablo Zabala
      Good advice, have heard it before. Thanks for the input
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11141544].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RichardThessen
    How do you concentrate on tasks in a family home? How do you deal with the interruptions that I know often occurs?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11141306].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Pablo Zabala
      Hi Richard, well I'm alone most of the day so I have something around 10 hours to work alone. When I can't be alone it's weekends or in the nights so in that times I tend to not work on my copy but on other things (exercise/music)
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11141543].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
    Originally Posted by Pablo Zabala View Post

    I'm at the position where I can work full time on copywriting due to the kindness of my family having me at home and personal savings. The thing is, I don't want to be dead weight for them and I also want to take care of myself.

    This situation puts me on a crossroad with which i'd like the opinion of more experienced members:
    • Advance more now and have the opportunity to earn a decent income quicker, or
    • Play safe and earn some money through other means but keep working to build a copywriting career

    What does the community here think about this, is it a good idea go full time when I'm just starting out or is it better to do it as a side hustle? Thanks a lot for your input!
    Depends on the time frame, l am putting in up to 10 hours a day, for the next 9 months, into my business, so l can slack off next year, or semi retire.

    But knowing me, l will probably keep going, at least til l am in the top income bracket, in a year or two.

    Personally l would suggest living in a cave, with little social life, for a year or more, then slack off a bit; time can be your best friend or worst enemy.

    Person A, takes it easy for a year and makes $1k a month, person B, works as hard as is possible, and after a year has sore fingers or arms, is slightly burned out, but is making about 4k a month.

    And can afford a holiday.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11141815].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Odahh
      Originally Posted by tagiscom View Post

      Depends on the time frame, l am putting in up to 10 hours a day, for the next 9 months, into my business, so l can slack off next year, or semi retire.

      But knowing me, l will probably keep going, at least til l am in the top income bracket, in a year or two.

      Personally l would suggest living in a cave, with little social life, for a year or more, then slack off a bit; time can be your best friend or worst enemy.

      Person A, takes it easy for a year and makes $1k a month, person B, works as hard as is possible, and after a year has sore fingers or arms, is slightly burned out, but is making about 4k a month.

      And can afford a holiday.

      i had a really long post written out but that shoul be its own post someday ..

      only reason we call them cave men.. is because the would huts they built with stone tools decayed long ago ..in the modern world the authorities would arrest you for trying to live in a cave in the western world ..

      That is why i went with the RV advice haha .. the more you can cut your living expenses long term the better ..the less the beast of survival needs to eat of what you make the more you can invest back into a business ..to market or develop skills ..so it can grow ..my survival beast eats all my money and wants more than i currently make . so not good .

      you will probably slack off .. and go 6-8 hours a day instead of 10.. haha ..

      I have had so many rapid changes in mindset the last month .. it is dizzying ..as the Universe .. god .. my higher-self Is shoving me into the next thing forcibly without being clear what that is .... by nature i am a teacher and I'm getting kicked out of my cave ..
      I have been on painfully accelerated path to enlightenment ..and i am at the door but using all the strength i have left to hold it shut ..

      anyway a simple question.. if you enjoy what you are doing , and you have built your life in a way you can do it 10 hours a day and still enjoy it ..why project out into the future the concept of doing something you enjoy doing less ..unless of course you replace that time with other things you enjoy just as much or more .

      in that way if you stop enjoying what you are doing now you can replace it with the other things you enjoy piece by piece to get it to the time you are enjoying it ..

      I read a lot about wealthy people and the rich and super rich.. the one thing non of them seem to have.. is retirement plans ..
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11142303].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mrjackpowers
    If you've never worked for yourself full time, you should moonlight it part time before taking the leap. Regardless of what you might think, you've most likely picked up dozens of bad habits working for someone else. For example, the need to be managed or motivated by someone else, or to work around a group of people. When you start working for yourself, and BY yourself, you start realizing just how hard it is to stay focused and motivated without having someone holding you accountable. A LOT of time gets wasted like that. Do it part time and give yourself a chance to develop the habit of self-discipline and shutting out distractions. Building up a client base will help to. If you go directly into full time, you miss the opportunity to develop these habits, to build up a client base on create a safety net. That's a recipe for disaster.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11141991].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author siimland
    Use the Barbell Strategy

    Play it safe in some areas and taking a lot of small risks in others, hence achieving antifragility."

    Small risks expose you to the potential gain you get from adversity, whereas playing it safe prevents you from completely being wiped out.

    For instance, keep your day job, but at night also take massive action on your side hustle. Slowly progress towards becoming completely independent.

    From Nassim Taleb's book Antifragile
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11144219].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Ehinger
    Split focus is no focus at all. Choose one and go for it. If your family is nice enough to help go for being a full time copywriter. It won't take very long to get to where you don't need their generosity again and being humble enough to accept it sets you up to provide it to someone else needing help later in life!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11167527].message }}

Trending Topics