CarderPlanet
Professional
Of those who have been working in the office for a long time, many dream of escaping from it to a free mode of work for themselves. The survey showed that the majority of office workers (85%) are considering the possibility of working remotely in the future. At the same time, only 23% of respondents think about carding, 62% would like to work remotely, but on the staff of the company. It is clear that remote work in the state is more stable than carding, and gives more guarantees. But carding gives you more freedom. Or is it an illusion? What to prepare for if you are thinking of changing your office to carding?
carding seems like a perfect world: you work from home at a convenient schedule and pace, without wasting time on the road and useless meetings. Whether you are an owl, a morning person, or a day-nap, these individual habits stop clashing with your work schedule. In a successful scenario, work can be combined with caring for a child and, thanks to this, do without a kindergarten and save money on a nanny - this is important for many young mothers. For introverts who are constantly annoyed by colleagues, carding is generally just a dream. Finally, you can look for a job without being tied to a specific city or even a country (depending on what you do).
In fact, carding has its drawbacks, and they are quite significant. It is better to know about them in advance - then it is easier to prepare for them. And someone, without illusions weighing all the pros and cons, will understand that carding is not for him at all.
Fatty cons of carding
No guarantees means no guarantees at all. Forget the time when, no matter what happens, a certain amount "fell" on your card twice a month. You will no longer have a salary, but there will be a reward, which, firstly, you need to be able to negotiate so as not to make too cheap, but also not to scare off the client with too high a price tag. Secondly, the reward depends on the number of orders, and now it will be uneven from month to month. Third, rewards are not easy to get. Anything can be: both fraudulent clients who simply do not want to pay, and serious customers from large business, but with such a clumsy document approval system that it is normal to receive a reward from them in six months. The fact is that late payment of wages threatens the company with much greater legal troubles than late payment under a regular contract. cardingers are not workers, but ordinary contractors. Therefore, you will also have to learn how to control your expenses: with income in one month it can be thick, in another it is empty. And yes, it is naive to think that you will only work on a prepaid basis.
Free schedule is an illusion. First, depending on the nature of your work, you may need to be in touch when it is convenient for your customers, not you. Secondly, many of those who switched to carding, tired of working for wear and tear in the office, then realize with surprise that the work has not become less - it has become even more. At best, for the same money, at worst, for less. Why it happens? Look, while working in the office, you have to spend some of your time on all sorts of "nonsense" - meetings, tedious correspondence with clients, preparation of documents and reports. On carding, you will not get away from this either, unless you get rid of meetings. You will have to report to both the client and the tax office if you are going to work in white (and if not, then you will have new serious risks). All these processes are distracting, but the time spent on them is not paid for, because you will receive money on carding for the result, and not for being in the office from 9.00 to 18.00. Plus, set aside time for promoting yourself as a professional and finding clients. Also, you will not have paid leave and paid sick leave. You will very quickly start looking at your weekend as lost money.
All expenses are at your expense. If it seems to you that no expenses are needed for your activity, it only seems to you. Most likely, at a minimum, you will need professional software, which was previously paid by the employer, office equipment and its maintenance - you will be surprised how quickly all this will start to fail at the wrong time. Legal carding with registration of an individual entrepreneur involves not only paying taxes (personal income tax or tax on the simplified tax system), but also paying contributions to the Pension Fund and compulsory health insurance funds - now the employer pays them for you. Plus banking costs. Before deciding to go on free bread, count not only the possible income, but also these obligatory expenses and correlate them with each other. And for those who are now "suffering" in an office with a good social package and are used to, for example, a good VHI, it is important to estimate how much similar service will cost at their own expense. Or reduce requests.
Limited career and professional growth. Limited - that's putting it mildly, if you dream of career heights, then carding, of course, is not at all for you, unless for a while. It is more suitable for those who are close to a horizontal type of career. And if you want to "improve" in some skills, adopting the experience of older colleagues, then in carding this will also not work as efficiently as when working side by side.
It's hard to concentrate. At home, when no one is controlling you, it is much more difficult to concentrate on work than in the office. Lots of household distractions. And the temptations for procrastination too - you want to get into social networks, then turn on music, TV, have a snack and have another snack. A huge self-organization is needed, and only a few have it.
Lack of communication on work issues. If you are an extrovert, then this will become a significant problem for you over time.
Are you not scared and ready for difficulties? Ok, then you will find some helpful tips below.
How to prepare for the transition to carding
Ideally, the decision to switch to carding should be balanced, and the transition to this format of work should be gradual. Of course, it happens that life forces you to act without hesitation, but now we are talking about cases when there is time for preparation.
Upgrade your professionalism
Your income directly depends on your professional development. Choose intensively, master classes, online courses carefully, you need those that are appreciated in the professional community. Until customers know you in business, your skills will be evidenced by "crusts". Read non-fiction in your specialty and related topics, try to analyze what you read.
Make connections
Go to conferences, read thematic communities, get acquainted with the creators of potentially interesting projects for you. Learn to negotiate, read, for example, Jim Kemp's Say No First and Gavin Kennedy's Anything Negotiable. Acquaintances are converted into future orders and successful collaborations.
Work on your image
Start working with your image as an expert in a particular business ahead of time. Then it will be much easier for you to look for fellow carders when you decide to start free swimming. We talked about how to create a professional image for yourself on social networks here.
Explore the tools you need
Think over the process of interacting with drop services: how will you communicate, transfer the results of your work to them, where will you store the work done, how will you protect yourself from sudden whims of technology, computer viruses and fraudsters? You may need to master new programs for this, choose suitable cloud storage, tools for scheduling tasks.
Start with a part-time job
Start taking your first orders without leaving work. This way you will begin to acquire clients and at the same time get a feel for what carding is.
Good habits of a carder
And finally, here are some simple tips that will help you organize your carding work as efficiently as possible and reduce the risk of burnout.
1. Try not to work in areas not intended for this, such as in bed or in the kitchen. Organize a full-fledged workplace for yourself. Adjust the height of your desk, place a light source on the left, buy an ergonomic chair with a comfortable back and armrests - for example, Markus from Ikea. Make it a rule to periodically clean up your desk.
2. Set the boundaries of your working day, for example, from 9 to 18 or from 12 to 21 - like a normal eight-hour day at the office. Warn colleagues and clients that your working day is limited to these hours. This will save you from situations when someone asks you, for example, to urgently correct the layout at midnight. True, there are cardingers who deliberately broadcast to the client that they can be in touch 24/7. This, of course, is an advantage, but life is so hard. So it's up to you to decide.
3. Do not forget and do not be lazy to record all agreements with drop services. Working on trust is good, of course, but you run the risk of working for someone for free. And also try to discuss the current nuances of work in correspondence. Yes, it’s faster to call, but then, in case of misunderstanding, you won’t prove who said what. Correspondence is safer.
4. Break the day into parts according to the type of work. For example, in the morning before noon there is a turnover, then work on a serious task, in the afternoon - work that requires correspondence with drop services.
5. Stick to the regime. Let's say you set your personal start for the workday at 10:00. It is very tempting to wake up at 9:50 and sit down at the computer right away. Do not succumb to this temptation, otherwise you will feel that you have been spending your whole life in front of the monitor. Get up at least an hour in advance, have breakfast, do exercises - your brain should feel like a normal work schedule.
6. Take breaks from work. Go to the store, go for a walk, take your dog for a walk. Allow yourself to break away from business: no one will die if you answer the letter not immediately, but in an hour. This "reset" will allow the brain to recover. In addition, during a walk, while the brain is working "in the background", the solution to a complex problem can come naturally. But it is also important to adhere to a strict regime in this, so as not to get bogged down in procrastination.
7. Get out of the house. If you work during the day and rest in the same room in the evening, you can "sour". Sometimes try not to work at home, but in a cafe, coworking center, park or library. If you like it, start practicing working from a similar field office once or twice a week - this will dilute the routine.
8. Get dressed. Clothing may not seem to affect productivity, but pajamas are clearly not conducive to a work mood. It's not necessary to wear a jacket and tie, just tidy yourself up to draw the line between work and play.
If you are starting to work remotely, read the book Remote. An office is not required. Authors - entrepreneurs Jason Fraid and David Heinemeier Hensson - have created a successful company with all employees working remotely. In the book, they talked about how they managed to build the workflow as efficiently as possible. Some of the tips may seem trivial, but put them to the test: they work.
carding seems like a perfect world: you work from home at a convenient schedule and pace, without wasting time on the road and useless meetings. Whether you are an owl, a morning person, or a day-nap, these individual habits stop clashing with your work schedule. In a successful scenario, work can be combined with caring for a child and, thanks to this, do without a kindergarten and save money on a nanny - this is important for many young mothers. For introverts who are constantly annoyed by colleagues, carding is generally just a dream. Finally, you can look for a job without being tied to a specific city or even a country (depending on what you do).
In fact, carding has its drawbacks, and they are quite significant. It is better to know about them in advance - then it is easier to prepare for them. And someone, without illusions weighing all the pros and cons, will understand that carding is not for him at all.
Fatty cons of carding
No guarantees means no guarantees at all. Forget the time when, no matter what happens, a certain amount "fell" on your card twice a month. You will no longer have a salary, but there will be a reward, which, firstly, you need to be able to negotiate so as not to make too cheap, but also not to scare off the client with too high a price tag. Secondly, the reward depends on the number of orders, and now it will be uneven from month to month. Third, rewards are not easy to get. Anything can be: both fraudulent clients who simply do not want to pay, and serious customers from large business, but with such a clumsy document approval system that it is normal to receive a reward from them in six months. The fact is that late payment of wages threatens the company with much greater legal troubles than late payment under a regular contract. cardingers are not workers, but ordinary contractors. Therefore, you will also have to learn how to control your expenses: with income in one month it can be thick, in another it is empty. And yes, it is naive to think that you will only work on a prepaid basis.
Free schedule is an illusion. First, depending on the nature of your work, you may need to be in touch when it is convenient for your customers, not you. Secondly, many of those who switched to carding, tired of working for wear and tear in the office, then realize with surprise that the work has not become less - it has become even more. At best, for the same money, at worst, for less. Why it happens? Look, while working in the office, you have to spend some of your time on all sorts of "nonsense" - meetings, tedious correspondence with clients, preparation of documents and reports. On carding, you will not get away from this either, unless you get rid of meetings. You will have to report to both the client and the tax office if you are going to work in white (and if not, then you will have new serious risks). All these processes are distracting, but the time spent on them is not paid for, because you will receive money on carding for the result, and not for being in the office from 9.00 to 18.00. Plus, set aside time for promoting yourself as a professional and finding clients. Also, you will not have paid leave and paid sick leave. You will very quickly start looking at your weekend as lost money.
All expenses are at your expense. If it seems to you that no expenses are needed for your activity, it only seems to you. Most likely, at a minimum, you will need professional software, which was previously paid by the employer, office equipment and its maintenance - you will be surprised how quickly all this will start to fail at the wrong time. Legal carding with registration of an individual entrepreneur involves not only paying taxes (personal income tax or tax on the simplified tax system), but also paying contributions to the Pension Fund and compulsory health insurance funds - now the employer pays them for you. Plus banking costs. Before deciding to go on free bread, count not only the possible income, but also these obligatory expenses and correlate them with each other. And for those who are now "suffering" in an office with a good social package and are used to, for example, a good VHI, it is important to estimate how much similar service will cost at their own expense. Or reduce requests.
Limited career and professional growth. Limited - that's putting it mildly, if you dream of career heights, then carding, of course, is not at all for you, unless for a while. It is more suitable for those who are close to a horizontal type of career. And if you want to "improve" in some skills, adopting the experience of older colleagues, then in carding this will also not work as efficiently as when working side by side.
It's hard to concentrate. At home, when no one is controlling you, it is much more difficult to concentrate on work than in the office. Lots of household distractions. And the temptations for procrastination too - you want to get into social networks, then turn on music, TV, have a snack and have another snack. A huge self-organization is needed, and only a few have it.
Lack of communication on work issues. If you are an extrovert, then this will become a significant problem for you over time.
Are you not scared and ready for difficulties? Ok, then you will find some helpful tips below.
How to prepare for the transition to carding
Ideally, the decision to switch to carding should be balanced, and the transition to this format of work should be gradual. Of course, it happens that life forces you to act without hesitation, but now we are talking about cases when there is time for preparation.
Upgrade your professionalism
Your income directly depends on your professional development. Choose intensively, master classes, online courses carefully, you need those that are appreciated in the professional community. Until customers know you in business, your skills will be evidenced by "crusts". Read non-fiction in your specialty and related topics, try to analyze what you read.
Make connections
Go to conferences, read thematic communities, get acquainted with the creators of potentially interesting projects for you. Learn to negotiate, read, for example, Jim Kemp's Say No First and Gavin Kennedy's Anything Negotiable. Acquaintances are converted into future orders and successful collaborations.
Work on your image
Start working with your image as an expert in a particular business ahead of time. Then it will be much easier for you to look for fellow carders when you decide to start free swimming. We talked about how to create a professional image for yourself on social networks here.
Explore the tools you need
Think over the process of interacting with drop services: how will you communicate, transfer the results of your work to them, where will you store the work done, how will you protect yourself from sudden whims of technology, computer viruses and fraudsters? You may need to master new programs for this, choose suitable cloud storage, tools for scheduling tasks.
Start with a part-time job
Start taking your first orders without leaving work. This way you will begin to acquire clients and at the same time get a feel for what carding is.
Good habits of a carder
And finally, here are some simple tips that will help you organize your carding work as efficiently as possible and reduce the risk of burnout.
1. Try not to work in areas not intended for this, such as in bed or in the kitchen. Organize a full-fledged workplace for yourself. Adjust the height of your desk, place a light source on the left, buy an ergonomic chair with a comfortable back and armrests - for example, Markus from Ikea. Make it a rule to periodically clean up your desk.
2. Set the boundaries of your working day, for example, from 9 to 18 or from 12 to 21 - like a normal eight-hour day at the office. Warn colleagues and clients that your working day is limited to these hours. This will save you from situations when someone asks you, for example, to urgently correct the layout at midnight. True, there are cardingers who deliberately broadcast to the client that they can be in touch 24/7. This, of course, is an advantage, but life is so hard. So it's up to you to decide.
3. Do not forget and do not be lazy to record all agreements with drop services. Working on trust is good, of course, but you run the risk of working for someone for free. And also try to discuss the current nuances of work in correspondence. Yes, it’s faster to call, but then, in case of misunderstanding, you won’t prove who said what. Correspondence is safer.
4. Break the day into parts according to the type of work. For example, in the morning before noon there is a turnover, then work on a serious task, in the afternoon - work that requires correspondence with drop services.
5. Stick to the regime. Let's say you set your personal start for the workday at 10:00. It is very tempting to wake up at 9:50 and sit down at the computer right away. Do not succumb to this temptation, otherwise you will feel that you have been spending your whole life in front of the monitor. Get up at least an hour in advance, have breakfast, do exercises - your brain should feel like a normal work schedule.
6. Take breaks from work. Go to the store, go for a walk, take your dog for a walk. Allow yourself to break away from business: no one will die if you answer the letter not immediately, but in an hour. This "reset" will allow the brain to recover. In addition, during a walk, while the brain is working "in the background", the solution to a complex problem can come naturally. But it is also important to adhere to a strict regime in this, so as not to get bogged down in procrastination.
7. Get out of the house. If you work during the day and rest in the same room in the evening, you can "sour". Sometimes try not to work at home, but in a cafe, coworking center, park or library. If you like it, start practicing working from a similar field office once or twice a week - this will dilute the routine.
8. Get dressed. Clothing may not seem to affect productivity, but pajamas are clearly not conducive to a work mood. It's not necessary to wear a jacket and tie, just tidy yourself up to draw the line between work and play.
If you are starting to work remotely, read the book Remote. An office is not required. Authors - entrepreneurs Jason Fraid and David Heinemeier Hensson - have created a successful company with all employees working remotely. In the book, they talked about how they managed to build the workflow as efficiently as possible. Some of the tips may seem trivial, but put them to the test: they work.
