Day 288 of 1827: From the Ashes of Disaster

Another work day at Conectas. Got in around 10 in the morning, left around 8 at night.

If this sounds excessive, consider that I only need to work 3 days a week to pay my expenses. I can spend the other 4 doing anything I want.

And that’s just from trading time for money. Imagine what I could accomplish if I got a successful product-based business off the ground!

When I set out to take on expat life, I decided I wanted to become an entrepreneur at the same time, despite not knowing anything about either lifestyle. Some would call that insane… and they’d probably be right.

As a result, the last 10 months have been rather… challenging.

I started a software company shortly before I left the States, but it’s been struggling lately.

Then I tried to start a clothing import business in Paraguay, but I didn’t get it off the ground (by the way, anybody want to buy a Paraguayan registered brand name?).

Then I tried to become an international gig finder, locating clients for service providers in exchange for a finder’s fee. But, because I focused on the money instead of building relationships, I ended up destroying connections before they even had a chance to form.

Then, partly out of curiosity and partly out of desperation, I turned to freelance software development.

Fortunately, by this point, I had built up a decent-sized network, and within a few weeks (with a little help from the team at 22 Touch) a contact referred my first client to me.

There were good times, bad times, lean times… and a few scary times. But, I knew that everything would work out.

I had learned how to trust myself.

And now I have a kind of freedom over my time that I’ve never had before (well, since I was 5 years old, anyway).