How I make £50,000/year working 4 hours a week
And how you can, too (with surprising ease…)
This is Article #3 in my free Why Are You Working So Much? 🥱 series. Sign up to learn how to make more money by working less and having more fun!
A few years ago I gave up over £1m in equity, leaving a company I’d cofounded to go travel the world.
For the next 3 years, I received a weekly influx of Instagram DMs along the lines of:
OmG dream life, i wish i could travel all the time, u r so lucky to be rich
The irony was: I hadn’t even cashed out my equity, my profit share payments weren’t due yet, and my puny cash savings were locked away in investments.
As far as my bank balance was concerned, I was BROKE AF…
And yet apparently I was still living someone’s supposed “dream lifestyle” — travelling carefree, learning new skills, and eating like a pig.
Well, here’s how I financed it…
The big reveal.
My dirty little secret…
While travelling, I was working 4 hours a week as a freelancer…
There. It’s out now. I can never take it back.
Freedom-lancing
I started off charging ~£100/hour, first as a private tutor and then as an executive coach for entrepreneurs.
Working just 4 hours a week on a chill Sunday afternoon, I made £2,000/month.
More than enough to live like a king in Colombia, Israel, Egypt — and most developed European countries, too, like Belgium and Spain.
(As long as you’re not a moron who falls for every second tourist trap.)
After some time travelling and freelancing, I received more requests than I could handle and the rates naturally started going up…
The tutoring reached ~£200/hour and the coaching substantially higher (to the point where I don’t even bother taking a salary from the company I run).
This is just an inevitable consequence of being good at your freelance skill.
You get testimonials, referrals, credibility, confidence in your ability to deliver results…mix in some commercial awareness and intelligent pricing plans, and the money just follows.
I helped my brother through an almost identical journey.
After forcing him to quit his apprentice job selling lightbulbs at B&Q on £3.20/hour, I made him a quick website to start flogging video production services.
He started working for free, then £10/hour, then £20…and now his day rate is £1000+ and he’s free to spend 95% of his time training MMA + making short movies.
These aren’t isolated “freak” results.
Freelancing is the most straightforward route out of the rat-race, towards a life where you spend your time doing things you actually want to f*cking do…
(Without panicking over bills!)
I know hundreds of people who’ve made it to the other side:
My sex coach friend, who charges £80/hour, helping people improve their love lives.
Our mobile optimisation expert, on $105/hour — usually fully booked for the month.
A masseuse I used to date, who financed her full-time osteopathy studies providing massages just a couple evenings a week.
All of these people have literally just learnt an in-demand skill, spent a few months getting good + getting testimonials, and now they’re free to do literally whatever they want.
No boring 9am Zoom calls, no emails at 10 to midnight, no stress, no restrictions…1 day of work per week (max) and the rest of your time for living.
And that can mean whatever you want it to mean.
For me, I spend my free time writing, learning (currently studying Astrophysique in French), travelling and growing my business.
For you, it could even mean getting another job — but one you actually enjoy, vs one “you don’t mind because it pays the bills”.
Next Steps
If freedom-lancing sounds interesting and you’re fed up with your 9–5 status quo, it’s time to do something about it.
Let me help you.
This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, because no one actually wants to be rich — they want to be free, free to do what they want.
So this is a get free in about six months plan.
No, I’m not selling anything (because hey guess what? I don’t need to!)
Just sick of seeing smart, ambitious adults waste their lives in bullsh*t jobs, while ruining their health, because they believe it’s the only way to make money or “become successful”.
All you have to do is sign up to my Steroids For Your Brain newsletter 🧠 for the next article in the Why Are You Working So Much? 🥱 series.
We’ll discuss why passive income and side hustles are (usually) bullsh*t, and then deep dive into the nitty-gritty of building your 1 day/week freelance career — developing skills, finding clients, negotiating rates…and finally what to do with all your new free time ✌️❤️
👉 Subscribe now to the Steroids For Your Brain 🧠 Newsletter
And every Thursday magic internet Ninjas will send you:
1. A new article from my Why Are You Working So Much? 🥱 series
2. Something to make you 🤔 thought experiments & deep questions
3. And one extremely interesting fact 🤓 like how squirrels use their tails as umbrellas:
