TL;DR
Key takeaways:
- Building trust and relationships with a community of experts is crucial for success.
- Continuously staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in your field and maintaining a curious mindset is important for delivering innovative solutions.
- Diversifying your business streams, such as through a SaaS product or newsletter, can help to increase success and growth.
- Being a freelancer offers autonomy and independence, but it’s important to also consider the scalability of your business.
As my business as an independent AWS consultant enters its fourth year, I am proud to reflect on the growth and success I have achieved over these past few years.
When I first started out, I had a lot of uncertainty about what the future held – who had the good idea to start a business during the pandemic?
I had always been an employee, and I wasn’t sure if I had what it would take to become an independent consultant. But, with determination and a strong desire to succeed, I dove headfirst into the world of AWS architecture consulting.
Fast forward four years, and I am proud to say that my business has grown exponentially. I have worked with a diverse range of clients, from small startups to large enterprise companies, and I have helped them to design and implement scalable and secure AWS architectures that meet their specific business needs.
One of the keys to my success has been my focus on staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in AWS architecture: serverless, event-driven architecture, and micro-services. I am constantly learning and experimenting with new technologies and techniques, which has helped me to deliver innovative solutions to my clients.
Another critical factor has been my commitment to building long-term relationships with my clients. I take the time to understand their unique challenges and goals, and I work closely (hands-on architect) with them to design and implement solutions that will help them to achieve their objectives. I like to be in the Engine room with the operational teams of my customers.
Over the past four years, I’ve also had the opportunity to work on some inspiring projects, from building a global data lake to implementing a zero-trust security model. I have also had the opportunity to be part of major cloud transformation projects with a renewable energy company. Done some security awareness for a YC-backed startup or work for US customers like Google.
One of the ways I have been able to do this is through building a trust-relationship with a community of experts, with a newsletter called 💌 AWS Security Digest (Acquired in May 2024 by Plerion), where I share my thoughts and experiences on the industry, as well as tips, news and best practices for working with AWS Security, but also by sharing content on social networks about my daily experience on AWS.
Another way I have been able to gain trust is through a SaaS product I’m currently building, 💸 unusd.cloud. This product is designed to help customers optimize their usage of AWS resources, and it has been getting traction from customers in recent months 🚀.
For me, the best part of being a freelance worker is the freedom and liberty it offers. The ability to choose your own projects, set your own schedule, and work from anywhere can be incredibly empowering.
As a freelancer, I have found that the autonomy and independence it provides is invaluable, and at this time, I am not willing to give that up for a traditional, full-time job.
As my business continues to grow, I am excited to take on new challenges and continue to help my clients to achieve their goals with AWS.
My schedule is already quite busy for 2023. Still, if you are looking for an experienced and dedicated AWS architect to help you design and implement a scalable, secure, and high-performing architecture, I would be happy to discuss how I can help you.
That’s all folks!
zoph.