Freelancing after leaving Google
I'd like to share the story about Joshua Steinberg, an ex-Google freelancer.
This was a live stream presented by Wasabi (Yuko Fujisawa), a Japanese freelancer from Berlin.
Who is Joshua Steinberg?
He is originally from N.Y. and really wanted a job in California.
That is why he tried to join Google. And eventually he got it.
He was glad to work in California but after he spent a few days it turned out he was assigned to a branch in Michigan.
He spent 2 and a half years in Michigan branch and came back to the west coast, San Francisco.
Then he encountered a director of Asian and Pacific area who finally brought him an opportunity to work in Tokyo.
Joshua wanted to go to Japan.
English is not a dominant language there.
It always suffers foreigners who don’t know Japanese language.
But he thought it was exciting.
He is sure that his efforts was essential to get there though he had a good luck.
(And I'm quite sure that he was eligible since he acquired enough knowledge and experiences from his career.
Otherwise, he might not take advantage of the opportunity.)
Why did he quit Google?
He came to go on a voyage around the world with his girlfriend who was also working for Google
because she got a sabbatical leave for six months.
It nudged him to leave the company.
Travelling around the world was a longtime dream for them.
And he had been working for 10 years until then,
so he thought it was appropriate time for him to do that.
They got inspired by the trip and began to hope life just like world travelling.
Those around him was surprised by his decision.
But he was so determined because the company had become more hierachical.
He guessed it would make him less comfortable to stay there.
And also, when he imagined what he would be in 10 years, he believed he would be tackling new challenges in another place.
To Berlin
A former colleague in Google launched a Berlin based company named Wysker that is running a mobile shopping application with blockchain technology.
(If you are interested in its ICO, check it.)
And now he is also thinking about staying in Japan if his girlfriend continues to work there.
Mindset
If you are starting a new thing, you often have a fear.
And he does.
Most of us try to overcome such a fear,
but Joshua tries to accept it.
And he thinks everything is going to be alright after all.
It might be his personality uniqueness.
He also said something like
To add a value to oneself as a freelancer,
They have to be creative and to think many things by themselves.
To be creative, they have to go new places that is uncomfortable and to meet new people.
And he emphasized that things never happen until you start it.
We have no idea how it may be.
(Most of us prefer perfect preparation to start something new. Some notice it never ends and the fastest way is doing even if it’s not perfect.)
What I learned
As a freelancer, we will make much more decisions by ourselves.
It means we will be more responsible to every aspect of our lives.
It would be scary and we might feel like too much burden.
It is important for us to believe it all works out.
I have never had an overwhelming CV, or an skill set yet.
I’m trying to mimic his mind set at first.
FYI: To acquire Japanese freelance visa
There is no freelance visa in Japan.
To get permission from the authority, your identity has to be proven by your company.
However, once it is proven, you can renew it by yourself even after quitting the company.
If you have a friend who wants to have the visa, share it with him/her.
END
