Write to freelancers I love so much. I hope you can maximize your capacity.
I graduated in 2005, came back to Vietnam in 2006; the Vietnamese stock market entered a boom period. At that time, financial graduates graduated “costly,” not only high salaries, respected, but many of them even dared to quit, invest, and “win” quite boldly on the stock market. Looking back 15 years, most of these quick friends, though very good, somehow lost both in financial markets and in other fields. I ask myself, why are young people with good starting points (not only excellent professionals but also a quick grasp of market opportunities) unable to go far?
History repeated in recent years when I was in technology. There is a group of excellent programming engineers, designers, or even digital marketers, after working for 3–5 years, you can work on projects for customers from the beginning. In the end, it was boldly connected with some customers and “retailing the project.” After a period of many projects, you bravely quit your job, and worked on your own, or formed a group of several people to become service providers. Many of you excitedly shared with you that you are starting a business. I’m glad you can make a good living in your profession, but very confused, not knowing you know the path you are going to be a freelancer, but 95% will not turn to the career path.
START-UP NEEDS TO HAVE A SERIOUS INVESTMENT OF EXPERTISE
You in the banking and finance industry burst out in those years, many of them were very well-educated from abroad. You are really “rare goods” in the market. Your salary in investment funds, banks is very high, but certainly not as high as the “capital gain” you win from the stock market. Not surprisingly, you “maximize your profits” by being your investor.
However, investing in a few stocks (which are now mostly referred to as “speculative”) takes away a valuable opportunity to help you understand the interaction between the stock market and financial instruments — other keys (bonds, forex, real estate, M&A, etc.…). So when the stock fever is over, the more patient young people have created themselves a solid foundation, a broad and profound vision of investment and finance, to be able to go further in the field.
Similarly, full-stack programming engineers can make AZ products for customers, but those products are usually simple (for example, sales websites, app products, etc.). Take away valuable opportunities for you to delve into areas such as machine learning, infrastructure, back-end, etc. because customers when outsourcing projects. They only look for people who make relatively simple products. As for products that are the “core” of technology, they must be built from their team. The more popular your “Shop” is, the busier you are, the more time it takes to seriously invest in your technological prowess, while the outside world of technology moves fast. Someday, to start a related technology company, your skills are not enough, maybe outdated…
Digital marketers also meet the same situation. It won’t take long, you will find yourself spending most of your “running ad” time on customers, and you will be very good at running. But if you take time to formulate a marketing strategy for the product, there will be no opportunity to learn from veteran marketers about creativity, how to create a systematic message to consumers… If later This is tedious freelance work, you can hardly launch a product from start to finish, not to mention starting a business, setting up a company with a digital product.
STARTING A BUSINESS REQUIRES A LEADER
If you look at entrepreneurs, you will quickly see what these people have in common. Whether they are engineers or business people, they can gather teams, resolve disagreements, and orient the whole company excitedly to follow a goal. This experience is not possible if you do not grow from a collective. Even though the process is tiring, sometimes bitter :), I sincerely advise you to accept to grow up patiently. Like you, I understand that the freedom of thinking in my actions, in doing so, must bring about indescribable satisfaction :), sometimes it also takes the ability to be patient and empathetic with another person, which is very important to being a “nosy man.”
Let me give an example; it is not difficult for a sound engineer to make an app from A-Z. But to create a product that can be sold and matured through different versions to meet the needs of users, that product needs a team of both engineers and business. A good freelancer can “face” everything, but if you have not matured through collective work, it will be very embarrassing to divide your work with other engineers, test, push, … and a beautiful day. It suddenly dawned on the world that the world had lost a sound engineer, and one more lousy leader was filled with discontent.
START-UP NEEDS A VISION OF CLEAR VISION
In the above section, I share 95% of freelancers will not turn into a career path. So who is the remaining 5%? :) My husband and I had a heated debate and agreed that turning point to become an entrepreneur would be the time for you to shape the startups to solve problems (clear vision).
Making money from customers is good, but that’s not entrepreneurship. In the case of freelancers, you are selling your expertise. In case you open an online shop, a milk tea shop, …you are self-employed, buying, and marketing. And in many other cases, it is impossible to call the name of Vietnamese startups; you are having a fantasy about the future :) As long as you can tell what you want to solve, why society/market. Need it, and how will you solve that problem with your product, so long as you’re not yet on the path of starting a business.
CONCLUSION
This article is not to encourage you to start a business :) (actually, I will share more on why you should not start a business on another occasion). Misunderstandings of young people when going this way, mistakenly thinking they are going another way. Freelancers are not only respectable (because you earn serious money from your excellent expertise) but also attractive (because you give the initiative in work, in life). However, if your dream is to start a startup someday, you’re on a narrow path to becoming a freelancer. A startup that wants to succeed requires serious investment, and the most significant investment will start from YOU. Do not rush.
— — — — by Christy Le — CẺO Facebook VietNam — — —
