I've always hated the idea of having a job.

I guess that's what having two self-employed parents who refused to ever work on things they didn't enjoy did to me. I remember being 14 and asking them, "Should you pick a career you love that doesn't make you that much money or a career that you don't love but has higher earning potential?" Of course, they both answered I should pick something I loved, but my mom added that finding a way to make what you love profitable was essential. "Make sure you're financially supported," she'd say.

As I entered my adult life, I was always starting projects, hoping one of them would be profitable enough to make me a living. I started a makeup and nails studio, a crochet clothing brand, taught private dance classes, and many more projects.

Last year, I found myself in a great spot: teaching dance in the afternoons, while building my friendship coaching business and working on my book in the mornings. So, I had a part-time job and two big personal projects, one of which seemed very promising financially (once I could get it off the ground)

And then, the "ought to" trap caught me.

I opened a LinkedIn account and started seeing other people my age get prestigious-sounding roles at big companies, have stable jobs, and seem happy doing it. I suddenly felt like I should get a job. "What am I trying to do, teaching dance and acting as if that's a profitable career?"

I already knew I needed a second, higher income if I wanted to keep teaching. Because even though I adore teaching, it's not profitable enough for me to move out of my mom's house. But that's why I was building those other two projects.

I started searching and frantically applying for jobs I thought I could do, most of them writing-related. However, I had no "real" work experience and no employers to give me a letter of recommendation. I felt like I had messed up.

I also started asking my friends if they knew of any opportunities, and a great friend connected me with someone who needed a homeschool teacher for her kids, ages 5 and 8. And a week later, I had a job.

I was excited, but I was also… dreading it?

I knew that the time I would spend working there took away from the time I needed to work on my other projects: my book and friendship coaching business. I knew this also meant I would be significantly more tired: now, I would spend about 9 hours every weekday of my life teaching and caring for children. I love teaching, and I love kids, but it can get exhausting.

On day 1 of homeschooling, a friend told me, "Good luck, but us artists aren't meant for a full-time job life." Of course, I told myself I'd make it work. But deep down, I already knew she was right.

On day 3 of homeschooling, I read an interesting post on LinkedIn: This guy wrote a post about how he made over $100k/year being a "digital writer." (This guy was Dickie Bush.) He said he wrote about what he loved and somehow, that it led to a gigantic income. He didn't work for anyone except himself, had people interested in his words, and had freedom.

That word, that's what ticked me off.

Freedom.

Something that felt so far away, even on day 3 of having a job.

This guy had a free guide on how to start as a digital writer. I downloaded it and binged it in the few free moments I could find.

I learned frameworks and tactics, sure, but most importantly, I realized:

• Digital writing was a real thing lots of people were doing

• It has the potential to be very profitable

• It sounded a million times more enjoyable and authentic than having a job did

• And it took some time to start making money (no get-rich-quick scheme, for sure)

Pre-quitting

On day 4 of homeschooling, I told the kids' mom I couldn't stay for the entire school year. I felt terrible doing it. But I knew I couldn't do this for a year, not when I had spent the last few days seeing people experience freedom writing about what they loved and genuinely helping others. So I told her I could stay for three months to give her time to search for a new teacher.

And thus, the longest three months of my life started. I was constantly exhausted, and though teaching was incredibly rewarding on some days, on most days, the feeling that this didn't align with me was latent.

It isn't teaching that didn't align with me - I love teaching.

It was the job component: having to be at the same place, at the same time, every day. The direct relationship between my earnings and my time spent there. The frustrating feeling of my projects and goals only getting attention outside my working hours.

In the middle of this, I realized I needed to start writing online, even with my limited time.

And so, this newsletter was born. First, I changed my entire Twitter account from a personal account to trying to use it to write about my interests (still struggling with that one, but that's a topic for another day). And then, I figured out beehiiv in an afternoon and got started.

Quitting

Two days before I was done homeschooling, I got a client for my friendship coaching business. My first paying client! And catch this: just from working with that kid for 12 hours, I would make OVER 40% MORE than I did in an entire month of teaching for ~80 hours a month.

The mental shift was immediate and irrevocable. It made no sense to have a job (even when I knew I was getting paid more than most people my age in this country, anyways) when I could make

• more money

• in less time

• and more enjoyable ways
  

  WITHOUT a job.

I was still waiting to make money from my digital writing endeavors, yet I realized if I could get one coaching client a month, it would pay me more than my job. I knew from here the only way to go was up. So I decided to go all in on my projects and make work a part of my life that I didn't dream of escaping.

And that's the thing: not having a job isn't AT ALL about not working. I love working. But I love working on projects I love, that make an impact, and that give me an excellent return on investment for my time.

Dismantling the job illusion

For decades, we, as a society, were conditioned to believe having a job is the correct path. And today, I want to dismantle all the myths that make us feel having like it is.

I asked my Instagram followers to tell me the benefits of a job. I found the most common ones and a few uncommon ones. This is what they told me (and why none of them convinced me):

1. Financial Security/Stability

This one is the biggest scam in modern society.

We believe a job gives us security and stability because we get the same monthly paycheck. But in reality, nothing is less secure than a single person having control of your entire income.

You can get fired suddenly, without reason, and your financial "stability" falls apart. If you've ever seen someone panic after being laid off (or if it's happened to you before), then you know what I'm talking about. What a job offers is not stability. It's comfort and an illusion of certainty.

I would rather have multiple sources of income that I control (freelancing, coaching, selling products, etc.) because if one fails or a client fires me, I'm never at 0 revenue for the following month.

The other income-related thing I don't like about having a job is this: having a "stable" income means your income is capped. If you get a raise at the end of the year, it will be a 5-10% increase per year at MOST.

For the last year, I've had a 5-10% monthly increase in my income. In April, I made about 4x what I made this time last year. As my projects take off, I get more clients, and manage my time better; I've scaled past what I thought possible a year ago.

2. Routine

Let me start by saying this: I'm not too fond of routine.

I love how every day in my week looks different from the next and how each week is an entirely new adventure. So having to be at the same place at the same time for most of my day, every day, sounds like torture. But that doesn't mean my life doesn't have any structure.

I spend most days like this:

• From 7 to 9, I make breakfast, get ready, and read or write if I have time.

• From 9 to 12:30, I work. I work on whatever projects need my attention at the moment. Today, it's writing this newsletter, creating content, building a landing page for a client, and having a phone interview with a potential client.

• From 12:30 to 2, I make and have lunch, and rest.

• From 2 to 4, I work a little more. I answer emails, attend clients, etcetera.

• From 4 to 5, I commute to dance.

• From 5 to 8, I teach dance classes.

• From 8 to 10, I have personal time with my family or partner.

• Around 11 or 12 I go to bed, and get ready to do it all over again.

Now, this isn't by any means an unmovable routine. And that's what I love about it.

If my dad tells me he wants to have breakfast with me on a Wednesday morning, I can go.

If I realize I need something from the supermarket to make lunch, I can go and get it.

If I wake up too tired and need to rest all morning, I can do it.

I don't have to ask anyone for permission.

I just have to organize my tasks in a ways that taking these breaks isn’t a problem.

What I mean is this: you can build a structure for yourself that is as rigid or as flexible as you want. You can learn to be accountable to yourself and follow through on it. You can stop needing a boss to tell you where to be and what to do.

Through accomplishing it, you can gain unlimited agency over yourself.

3. Socializing

I believe this is the most tragic out of the common reasons people mentioned.

Making friends at your job is as incidental and fragile as making friends in elementary school: for the most part, you become friends out of convenience.

You're there every day, and so are they. But most of these friendships fall apart as soon as the "routine" aspect of them disappears. You're used to not having to make any effort to see them, and once it requires effort, neither of you is willing to do it.

Although uncommon, some people do make life-long friendships at their jobs. And if you do, good for you!

But I believe I can find friends better aligned with me and my mission in life in other places. Friends who are my friends in an intentional, conscious way, not because I'm conveniently there every day.

4. Health insurance + bono 14 + other benefits

I will speak for Guatemala in this one: public health insurance and other benefits you get from a job are almost all deficient in quality. So while I know it's better than nothing for most, I prefer to pay for my health insurance and go to the doctors I choose.

And as for financial bonuses, I would rather keep growing my income actively like I have for the past year and give myself a bonus every time I want to.

I can give myself a raise whenever I want by

• taking on more clients

• raising my prices

• or starting new projects.

5. Easier access to credit and retirement funds

This argument is one of the few that is hard to combat.

Banks prefer it if you have a traditional job to give you credit. And some retirement funds are only available through having a job.

However, I've seen my mom figure out credit without a job. And I've figured out how to invest for my retirement without having a job. So I know it's possible.

And while these are some relevant benefits, they're not half as important to me as having control over my time and income.

6. If you're working in a job and company you love, you benefit from contributing and deep diving into your passion.

This is the one comment I'm not going to try to dismantle.

Some people (although I do believe it is the minority) immensely enjoy their jobs. They collaborate on projects they deeply care about, exploit their creativity, and become better people through their work. As a result, they're finding true fulfillment in their career path. If this is you, congratulations!

But I know there's a lot of us that don't see that in our future.

When having jobs, some of us yearn for what we truly want to be doing: making art, starting our own business, being a YouTuber, whatever. And for those who feel that way, it's worth working to make those dreams come true rather than rotting away in an office and job we don't like.

And that takes us to the second big question:

How do you get an income without a job?

Once you realize how many ways exist to get an income, the issue isn't whether you should do it. Instead, it becomes an issue of what type of project or work to pick.

I'll break down a few overarching paths I see people follow, but please know this is barely an introduction. So if you'd like to talk more about any of them, contact me, and I'll try to point you in the right direction.

1. Freelancing

Let's start with the easiest one. There are almost infinite skills you could freelance with. I would advise you to learn one or two highly valued skills in the market. Even better if they're somehow related. Some of these may be:

• Copywriting (this is what I do)

• Web Design

• Video Editing

• Ghostwriting

• Software Development

• UX/UI Design

• SEO

• UGC creation

Then, all you have to do is put your skill(s) in front of people who need them. To do this, you can build a brand around it on social media, cold email business owners, or message people on LinkedIn.

In the end, freelancing is about finding people who need help and offering to do it.

2. Creating digital products

There are infinite iterations of this idea. But overall, the concept is this:

You create a product that you can provide digitally: A course, an e-book, Canva or notion templates, a guide to ____, etcetera.

And then, you put it in front of people who might want it and promote it. This one is great because you do the work once, and then your job is to sell it repeatedly. So the costs are low, and the possibilities for scaling are infinite.

For this one to work, though, building a personal brand in social media is almost insensible, so you can convince people to buy from you because of WHO you are.

3. Coaching or consulting

There are three main problems everyone is trying to solve: health, wealth, and relationships. These are the three eternal markets. People are always willing to invest in these if you can get them the desired results.

If you have specific experience or knowledge in any subgenres of these areas, you can help others solve a problem and get paid for it.

I, for example, do friendship coaching for kids and teenagers. I have experience in it, so I created a 6-week program, and now I sell it for anywhere between $600 and $900.

You can do this in many other ways: if you're a designer, you can coach brands on how to build a cohesive visual identity in a way that increases sales.

If you're a yoga trainer, you can teach people how to design a 15-minute practice that they can do every morning for their specific physical and mental needs.

You have specific knowledge others are seeking. And this is more about experience and results than about having a title that makes you valid to do it. So it works like this: if you can get someone results, you can earn money.

4. Content creation

There are SO many ways to monetize content creation.

In some cases, you can create content to attract brands to work with you as a freelancer, attract coaching clients, or sell digital products.

But aside from those, you have sponsorships, ad revenue, and other income streams once you get a big enough audience.

You can create content that

• entertains

• educates

• inspires

• informs

And all of those have monetization options.

Regardless of the monetization path you choose, creating content alongside it is definitely a way to grow your reach and, consequently, your revenue.

However, it is essential to note that this one takes longer to provide a return on your time investment. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of work. But when you see how things explode after enough time of doing it, it's a no-brainer to start right now.

5. Starting an e-commerce store

All of these, in one way or another, fall under "starting a business." But it's still relevant to mention this.

You can find a product (or products) you want to sell, build a brand around them, and sell them online. In many cases, you can do this without having to buy inventory upfront. This business model is known as drop shipping.

If you're an artist, you can also do print-on-demand, and put your art on t-shirts, cups, tote bags, prints, etcetera. This spreads your art to more people and gives you additional income aside from selling original pieces.

TL;DR

You can build an income (and potentially, a higher income) through not having a job rather than a job.

Most of the "benefits" we see to having jobs are illusions of safety and comfort.

The easiest way to make money without a job is finding a problem others have and solving them by either:

• solving it for them (freelancing)

• solving it with them (coaching and consulting)

• giving them tools to solve it (digital products)

• giving them products to solve it (physical products)

While you can solve any problem, health, wealth, and relationships are the most profitable issues to solve.

Then, all you need to do is put it in front of the people who need it, and your finances are solved.

If having a job doesn't sound like a joyful path, find a problem to solve, solve it, and find ways to put your solution in front of others. That is all you need to do.

I hope you enjoyed this extra-long version of the newsletter. It's the edition I've wanted to write since I started the newsletter in August. But it took all eight months since then for the ideas to mature in my mind.

I have a lot more to say about this, honestly. But I'll keep it for other editions.

For now, let me know if you have any questions or ideas you want to share or need any help in this transition. (Questions can help me write more articles like this.

I hope the rest of your week feels like doing excellent in an interview, like hugging someone you haven't seen in months for the first time, like having a cat fall asleep on your lap.

Talk to you next Wednesday!

-Vale, The Friendly Artist.