Pyjama Profit : The Millennial's Guide to a Sustainable Freelance Career

Pyjama Profit is a guide for millennials to get started with a self-sustained online freelance practice, while developing their skills needed to succeed. The book talks about in-demand online skills and the different paths one can take to become an expert in these fields. A stable income from freelancing in college was the bedrock that had allowed the authors to explore their ambitions further and get to where they are today. In the process, they've worked with many of their own batch mates, colleagues and friends to help them set up highly successful freelance careers. The author duo decided to detail their story of what worked for them and how anyone in the country could thrive without being tied down to a full-time job. The authors feel the timing of the book is perfect because of the growing freelance economy and growing aspirations among millennials to find a job they love and not just something that pays their bills. Half Title 2 Title Page 3 Copyright 4 Dedication 5 Table of Contents 6 Preface: Pyjama Profit 9 Why we wrote this book 9 What this book is not 10 Chapter 1: Our Story 12 Prologue 12 Swinging for the big leagues 13 Our own separate ways 17 Chapter 2: The Freelance Economy 19 Freelancing is the future 19 Why freelance works, regardless of your country 21 The Pyjama Economy 23 The economy and you 26 Chapter 3: Learning Your Core Skill 29 Finding your value 29 The life cycle of a skill 30 The Pyjama Categories 31 Admin support 32 Marketing 33 Content writing 35 Design 36 Web development 38 Game development and 3D modelling 39 Product management 41 App and back-end development 41 How do I pick? 44 Chapter 4: Communicating Your Value 47 Why is value communication important? 47 How much should I charge? 47 Chapter 5: The Platform Game 52 Where do I land my first project? 52 Your player profile 55 Your superpowers 56 Bidding and proposals 57 Making a charismatic bid 58 Game rewards 59 Communication is key 59 When do you stop playing? 61 When things go bad 63 Chapter 6: The Freelancer’s Mindset 66 Setting targets 66 Common questions 68 Chapter 7: Your Personal Brand 73 Authority 73 First steps 74 Personal brand 75 What, where and how 75 The 48h guide to a personal website 78 Chapter 8: The Art of the Cold Email 83 Cold to warm 83 Prospecting 85 Finding emails 86 Sending personalized emails 87 Converting replies to calls 93 Finding opportunity on a call 93 Closing a freelance contract 94 Chapter 9: Tackling Tax 95 What in the world is tax and why should I care? 95 Chapter 10: Managing Your Finances 98 Building your support infrastructure 98 Chapter 11: Managing Stress and Ambiguity 106 Don’t take it too seriously 106 Overcoming anxiety 110 Chapter 12: Robots Will Take Your Job 113 Artificial intelligence(AI) 113 Should I be scared? 115 How the Pyjama Economy helps 115 Freelancer to Entrepreneur: The Jobspire Story 118 Part One: Manipal 118 Part Two: Delhi 123 Part Three: Bengaluru 129 The other alternative – building a smaller product start-up 130 About the Author 133