“I saw that you’re a freelancer, so I’ve got a few questions” 💬
First of all, I’m sorry 😅 but I can’t (actually, I can no longer) take the time to reply. The reason is simple: to you, it feels like you’re the only one asking…
But in reality, there are easily 3–4 of you every day 😵💫. I’ve honestly stopped counting.
Imagine if each of you takes 15 minutes of my time — that’s 2 hours a day ⏰… And since there are only 24 hours in a day, my biggest problem right now is time ⌛
So I’m making this public post to answer the questions I get the most 👇
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Q: I just finished my studies, I have a master’s degree, and I want to start freelancing. A: That’s a bad idea 🚫. School and the real world have nothing in common. You might have been top of your class (congrats 🎓)… but in the real world, you know nothing 😬. You’re still a baby 👶. The stress of coding to earn money is nothing like learning in school. It’s much better to get a full-time job first and learn on the field 🧠.
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Q: How do you find your clients? A: Mostly through my network 🤝. I once worked with an IT services company (ESN) that placed me with a client, and it was a terrible experience 😤. It was just disguised employment (and, for the record, that’s illegal ⚖️). On paper, there was no subordination — but in reality, there definitely was. For example, they’d pressure me if I wanted to take a day off (even unpaid). In that kind of setup, they don’t need a freelancer — they need an employee!
Being very active, sharing code and services publicly 💻, gives me access to “off-market” gigs that only come through your network. They’re harder to get, but when it’s through trust and reputation, the relationship phase is much faster. It makes things so much easier 🙌.
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Q: I’m really good at what I do — is that enough to freelance? A: Nope 😅. You need to learn a lot more. Everything your employer used to handle for you — taxes, accounting, admin — you now have to do yourself 💼.
A business account isn’t managed like a personal one 💸. Just because there’s €50,000 sitting there doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want 😬 (well, you can — but not for long). Bad habits like overdrawing your account? Forget it ❌. No one’s going to pay your taxes for you — and with social charges, you pay with a one-year delay. If you don’t know that, it’s gonna hurt 😬.
There’s also sales, prospecting, client management… You need to spot bad deals 💣. The classic “look at our project, then we’ll talk about budget” is a red flag 🚩. Your time is ultra-precious — use it wisely ⏳. Learn to read people quickly and get yourself out of tricky situations.
And here’s the best advice I can give you: watch out for shiny objects 💎. A gig that looks amazing on paper can turn into a nightmare 🔥, while a client who “doesn’t look cool” might end up being amazing 💪.
I’ve had people make dumb comments because I worked with clients who weren’t “hype.” Yeah, well — all the free content and services I offer exist thanks to those clients ❤️ (two of them come to mind as I write this — they’ll recognize themselves 😉).
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Q: Are you anti full-time employment (CDI)? A: Not at all 😇. It just doesn’t suit me. As I’m writing this, it’s 10 PM 🌙. I love my work ❤️. The 35-hour work week? Never heard of it 😅. Either I’m working for a client, on my blog, or on my own projects.
For example, I recently learned Ruby on Rails in 2 months, during summer 2025 🧠. That was my idea of a great vacation 😎. I love what I do, so when I’m learning Rails, it doesn’t even feel like work. And right now, the little sister of Vite Une Table is about to launch 🚀 (originally in Django, now fully rewritten in Rails — yeah, I’m completely crazy 😜).
But I’m not the norm. A lot of people just want to earn a living 🍞 — for them, freelancing is the worst idea 💀.
Others love their jobs but want more time for friends and family 👨👩👧👦. Those people are happy with a full-time job 😊, and that’s perfectly fine.
I have friends (well, mostly one 😉) who used to worry about my work rhythm. She was afraid I’d burn out 💥… But over time, she realized that when I’m working and learning, I’m happy 💖.
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Q: On-site or full remote? A: Right now, I’m full remote 🏡. People who started tech early often end up constantly answering questions — and have no time left for themselves 😅. It’s suffocating.
Remote work makes me super efficient 💪, and when I need to help friends, I can really take the time to teach them calmly 🧘.
I do have one special client where remote isn’t possible due to the nature of the job. It’s occasional — and honestly, it’s nice to see people sometimes 😁.
But that client has always been such a true RUBY (pun intended 😉) that I happily move my royal behind 👑 when needed.
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Q: But in 2025, does full remote still exist? A: In public job listings, not really 🤔. But as I said, I rarely go through that route anyway. If you prove yourself, stay serious, and build a strong network 🌐, finding work won’t be a problem. (It won’t happen overnight — it takes a lot of work 💪.)
Then your biggest issue won’t be finding clients anymore… It’ll be finding time 🕰️.
