I often hear questions about how to become independent or how to make a living through remote work, but this is something you should aim for from the moment you plan your life. And it's about thoroughly considering jobs that can be done remotely.

Trying to suddenly switch to remote work without any effort isn't that easy, is it? The problem is the path to get there. This time, let's write about how to achieve a remote lifestyle without joining an organization.

1. Think about what kind of jobs can be done remotely.

I did this first. I wanted to work freely under my own direction rather than working within an organization, so I became a web designer. Until then, I had been in customer service, but I tried a career change – or rather, I had no career at all back then, so I started my career for the first time. I was 23 years old. I initially joined as a part-timer, then gained experience and transitioned to a full-time employee, and achieved independence at 26.

However, it's not just web designers who can do remote work. There are many other jobs that enable remote work: writers, remote back office, consulting, engineers, service holders, bloggers. There are simply a lot. Even existing jobs that aren't remote might be transformed into remote services depending on your ideas. In any case, let's think about which direction you want to go.

2. Join a company to hone your skills.

Once you've decided which direction you want to go, join a company that deals with those skills. Join and thoroughly hone your skills. Once you feel you've gained most of what that company can offer, join another company. Logic, theory, and ways of thinking are enough. Skills inevitably take time to acquire, so ultimately, if there's a place with skilled seniors, I think it's better to change locations and acquire diverse values.

There's a saying, "Even a stone needs three years to warm up," but those three years aren't for the same company, but for the "industry." You should continue in the same industry with the same skills for three years, regardless of which company it is. If there's a skilled person from whom you can learn skills, that's all that matters.

By the way, in the case of web design, you generally don't need to go to school. However, if there's a place where you can take a flipped classroom style course, try it. A flipped classroom, for web design, is like Dotinstall, a service where you can study skills on a website. You study by yourself using such services, and then ask a teacher about parts you don't understand or want to confirm. This is the most efficient way.

Regarding the above, it's fine even after joining a company as a part-timer or full-time employee. Study on a website and ask your seniors. That's enough to acquire the skills. If you haven't acquired them, it's because your own motivation is low. Technology and skills don't grow if you "try to be taught." They only grow when you try to study on your own. If you can't do that, it's better to give up early.

3. While you are an employee, look for potential clients.

While acquiring skills as an employee, look for clients. Go to various events and tell many people what kind of work you do. Then, some people will surely give you hints and connect you. The number of clients will appear in proportion to the number of people you meet and talk to. Go to many places, meet many people, and talk. Don't forget to make business cards.

Alternatively, try doing some small jobs, mainly through crowdsourcing platforms like CrowdWorks and Lancers. It's possible to make a living just with CrowdWorks and Lancers, depending on the job content. However, there are industries with extremely low unit prices, so check that in advance. Since the unit price also changes depending on the skills you acquire, it might be a good idea to check the unit prices of the industry and crowdsourcing services in advance and consider which skills to master. However, no matter what the industry, if you have valuable skills, there will always be clients who want them at a high price. Polish your skills.

And this client search is too late after you become independent. In the end, it can take nearly three months from finding a client, receiving work, completing it, and earning income. If that happens, unless you have a lot of savings, you will become mentally anxious. This mental anxiety is the path you should most avoid. When you become independent, you don't have colleagues next to you to help, so your personal state can affect your work.

Also, although you will eventually join and then leave the company, maintain a good relationship with the company you are employed by. Companies that use skills suitable for remote work often allow you to continue working as an outsourced contractor even after you become independent. To remain a good business partner even after becoming independent, you should not have a falling out. Rather, feel as though you can repay them by working together even more after becoming independent.

4. By the way, you don't have to stick to skills.

I've been writing about skills so far, but you can achieve remote work without necessarily sticking to skills. You just need to create a system. A system for generating income. For example, gather creators and create a system to receive work. Create a place where you can sell your knowledge and expertise. Do self-branding and raise your profile. In short, if all you need is a system to earn income, then just think about it and create it.

It's akin to creating a business. As long as you have something to offer that customers are willing to pay for, you will earn income. If you are imaginative and proactive, you might achieve it in an instant. Even without skills, if you become someone who creates a business, remote work can be realized.

What you must be careful about at this time is not to forget the thought of "what kind of business can achieve remote work?" If you just start a business, it's counterproductive if you become too busy to move anywhere. Even after starting a business, create a situation where you can freely move around. It's also valid to think with this as your core.

Most importantly, when creating a business, you need a belief or a kind of flag like "why are you doing this?" It should be something inspiring, like changing society or bringing innovation to the world. Otherwise, people won't strongly support you. Who would want to strongly support a business that was started "just because I want to do remote work"? Fundamental elements can be surprisingly important.

5. After becoming independent, even if you get busy, carefully consider whether to venture into entrepreneurship.

Achieving remote work and gaining many customers! Getting busy! When that happens, the topic that always comes up is whether or not to start a company. As an individual, there are various issues such as not being able to receive work directly from large companies (especially listed companies) or concerns about credibility. This is especially true when doing large projects. So, you might be invited to "form a corporation," but let's think about it for a moment.

Certainly, right now, if sole proprietors and corporations properly engage a tax accountant, there isn't much difference in some aspects. However, once you start hiring employees and setting up the internal environment, the situation changes completely. First, not only will you lose the ability to use money at your own discretion, but you also won't be able to freely hire or fire employees. Even if sales decline, you won't be able to flexibly deal with the situation, and only fixed costs will increase. If that happens, you'll lose all freedom. Organizing will undoubtedly eliminate freedom.

So, it might be better to say "wait for organization" rather than "wait to start a business." You can earn a sufficient income even as a sole proprietor. There's no need to force organization from that state. It's freer to work as an individual. If the workload is unreasonable, or if the client cannot directly open an account for an individual, try not to accept it. Adjustment and balance are important. If you fall ill, find colleagues who can take over your work, and make sure you have some kind of insurance. Nowadays, insurance supporting sole proprietors is also becoming more comprehensive, so consult with an expert and get insured.

6. Tips for further building your lifestyle.

This is about communication methods with clients. Inform them that direct meetings incur costs, and make full use of online tools like Skype and Chatwork. As your work increases, more people will give you work without needing to meet in person. Also, avoid frequent communication. The problem with work in current Japanese society is that there's too much communication that's completely unrelated to work, or appears related but is actually wasteful. Just cutting that will increase your income.

Furthermore, the more communication increases, the less meaning remote work has. If you go to the office multiple times a week and work from home, it's a waste of transportation costs; it would be better to have a seat in the office instead. This can also be the case for outsourced work.

That said, don't eliminate human interaction; continue good relationships, like having a drink together occasionally. Wasted time and communication are completely different things. Even if you eliminate wasted time, you can still have communication that conveys human emotions. Properly judge what is wasteful and what is not.

For example, you might be casually asked several times before the 10th, "Shall we have a meeting?" for work that was due by the 10th. However, you might wonder why you need a meeting now when the work is progressing smoothly, and end up having a rather meaningless discussion. Then you'll think, "Why did I even go today?" In the same vein, there are times when you receive an abnormal number of phone calls. This is also wasteful. It's better to do what you're supposed to do instead.

Also, in this era, many meetings can be handled via Skype. If it's a meeting that doesn't require looking at documents, it can be completed with multiple people on Skype. Some people might need a little "getting used to," but if you properly lead them on Skype, there won't be any particular problems.

Instead, let's make sure to have thorough discussions and finish satisfactory work by the agreed-upon time. If we minimize mutual communication, it's natural for the other party to feel anxious if there's no contact. However, if the work is consistently done properly by one day before the deadline or on the deadline, even without constant contact, the other party will eventually learn that unnecessary communication is not needed.

In addition, to supplement the reduction of communication, let's prepare real-time communication tools like LINE and Chatwork, practice skills to effectively put situations into writing, and respond quickly. By fully utilizing online tools, communication can be compensated for. We will reduce expensive direct interactions and aim for a state where work can be done without even stepping out of the house as much as possible.

7. Summary

Therefore, once you've drawn a path for remote work from the beginning and decided to walk towards that goal, all that's left is to start. If you schedule and proceed with a flow of acquiring skills, starting a business, or transferring communication methods online, you can switch to remote work at an early stage. Then, whether it's overseas or in a rural area, you can move to any environment you like and work.

Currently, remote work is gaining social attention. Recruit also announced that it would introduce remote work from October 2015. It seems to have already started in June, and as a result, efficiency has remained unchanged, and working hours have been reduced. Many people also wish to continue. Perhaps one of the options for realizing remote work might be to join a company that has such a system.

Until now, it was natural to be at the company if you received money, to arrive at work at a fixed time, and to go home at a fixed time or after overtime. But is this routine truly the most efficient method for the company, for the business, and for an individual's lifestyle? Just as it is the modern way to question what was once taken for granted and bring about change, it is an undeniable fact that this is an era where we must bring about change in the way we work.