Lauri disembarked the Rocket and became an entrepreneur – would not recommend to everyone
The everyday life of a freelance full stack consultant resembles that of a consultancy employee in many ways. However, it is also a different kind of life. The freedom’s greater. There’s more potential for more substantial earnings. At the same time, the risks are also bigger. Former rocket scientist Lauri Naalisvaara does not necessarily recommend following in his footsteps.
Full stack developer Lauri stayed with Rakettitiede for 3.5 years before resigning in the summer of 2020. He was professionally drawn to freelancing.
The fire for entrepreneurship was already smouldering when Lauri started working for the Rocket.
“After hearing rumours of freelancers charging huge amounts of money, I thought that entrepreneurship could be a kind of end game to my own consulting career. At the time, I still felt like I needed more experience in both application development and the consulting world in general. That’s why I got onboard the Rocket,” Lauri explains.
According to Lauri, Rakettitiede’s salary model and way of working are semi-entrepreneurial. Working as a rocket scientist supported his plans for entrepreneurship.
“The big pay check directly linked to billing and the freedom to choose the projects yourself are worth a mention. At the Rocket, I was able to follow the sales negotiations when I was involved in selling myself for projects. All this steered me towards the direction I wanted to take professionally.”
Risks must be taken
The everyday life of freelancing and working at a consultancy is basically the same. Sort of.
Lauri is currently writing code for the new Prisma.fi online store. He enjoys the user-oriented project because of its technical challenges. Online stores are a staple of modern living, which makes the e-commerce world easy to approach for the developer.
Compared to working in a consultancy, being an entrepreneur potentially gives you a pay rise of a few dozen percent. Someone might even make up to 50 percent more if they hit the jackpot.
According to Lauri, the advantages of freelancing include the freedom to buy tools for one’s own company and the possibility to invest the company’s money before income tax.
“I had also given some thought to risks, of course. Sick days, bench time and the like, which would basically leave me pinched,” Lauri says.
“Rakettitiede is one of the companies that Lauri uses to find his assignments.”
“I want to do challenging projects with good technologies and skilled people. I find this to be the best way to support my self-development as a software developer. I would recommend using an agency with existing client contacts for finding a good project.”
Rakettitiede is one of the companies that Lauri uses to find his assignments.
“I have other mediators as well. I also sell my expertise myself or through my acquaintances on LinkedIn, for example. This also creates a broader range of projects to choose from.”
It goes without saying that managing to get a job without intermediaries translates to more money. And if you’re in rush to find a new project, it can be found reasonably quickly without spending time on the bench. No project means no money. However, Lauri hasn’t spent time on the bench at all so far.
“I don’t know if this is something I can actually recommended. An entrepreneur needs to have a certain kind of mindset and a tolerance for greater risks. The IT industry boasts good salaries and benefits for those who want to be employees. The work also involves fairly low-stress and risk-free office tasks. In other words, there may not be a need to become an entrepreneur if you are satisfied with how things are,” Lauri says.
Requirement for top notch competence
Lauri prioritises projects that broaden his skill set – a must for any entrepreneur. After all, the product he’s selling is essentially himself.
“It is crucial that I, as an entrepreneur, have trust in my own skills. My competence needs to be top notch so that I can confidently tell the customer what I can offer,” Lauri muses.
He also turns down boring projects that do not develop his skills.
“You can't afford to stay in a position that doesn’t help you develop. Assignments like that can be done for a short while, but it means you risk suddenly losing your interest and passion for the job. At that point it’s really hard to sell yourself anymore.”
“The IT industry boasts good salaries and benefits for those who want to be employees. The work also involves fairly low-stress and risk-free office tasks. In other words, there may not be a need to become an entrepreneur if you are satisfied with how things are.”
Taking care of one’s competence is an entrepreneur’s number one priority. However, Lauri points out that basic skills go a long way.
“You don’t have to be a rock star in the field of software development. Often clients are just looking to get a job done. It’s still important to be able to explain what you can bring to the table: knowing how to convincingly express what your competences are is an important skill.”
Seasoned consultants also need to know how to adapt to different communication styles.
“I have often witnessed situations in which a lack of, for example, communication skills or technical know-how have led to other team members not being on the same wavelength,” Lauri says.
Many teams value an emotionally intelligent and humane person, but sometimes what’s needed is a technical communicator. Possessing a longer experience in the world of consultancy facilitates navigating such conflicting needs.
Is freedom a gilded cage?
Freedom is both the best and the worst thing about entrepreneurship. The wonderful thing is that you can decide on when to have your work days and holidays as you wish. However, no work all play makes Lauri a dull – and penniless – boy. There’s also the constant need to improve.
“I’m the kind of person who needs to have something to work on and improve all the time. I am actively looking for ways to develop myself as an expert and keep myself relevant to customers,” Lauri says.
For Lauri, entrepreneurship is a way of rising to the next level. At the same time, as someone who considers himself a developer through and through, Lauri wrestles with finding an appropriate work-life balance.
“It would be great if I could just turn my brain off and stop thinking about my job – I really wish it were that simple,” Lauri chuckles.
Entrepreneurship provides the keys to finding a balance between freedom and structure.
“I’m not quite there yet – but one day I will be!”
Lauri plans to start 2023 by switching to a four-day workweek. No exact plan for how this is going to be done exists as of yet. What he does know, however, is that he’s going to work less, thanks to a hefty pay check.