The dream needs work
A lot of people want to escape the 9-5.
Wanting to build something. Get some freedom. Have more control over your time and income.
So what happens?
You start consuming. Podcasts on the commute. Books on the weekend. Courses at night.
You're learning. You're preparing. You're getting ready.
Learning matters. Strategy matters.
But at some point, you have to do the work.
Here's what that actually looks like:
You need to get your first client. Not the perfect client. Not the dream project. Just the first one.
Close them. Do the work. Get the result. That's your first case study.
Then you get the next one. Then the next.
You build the business piece by piece.
I still do this, by the way.
After many years in this game.
Whenever I launch a new service or offer, I'm back to getting that first client again.
Building proof. Getting feedback from the market.
And that's also what makes it real.
The thing is...
It takes longer than you think. More effort than you expect.
The uncertainty in business?
It's always there. You can't eliminate it completely.
But you can close the gap. You can raise your certainty by doing things that move the needle.
Create content. Do outreach. Craft offers. Talk to more people. Meet people already in business, or in the industry you want to build in. Network with them.
Not because you feel like it. Because that's how you learn what actually works in the real world.
Sometimes it's about being smart and strategic.
But most times it's about doing it, getting feedback from your attempts, and adjusting along the way.
After your 9-5, when you're already tired from the day, you still need to reach out to prospects.
You need to follow up with leads. Book calls. Close deals.
You'll get told no. A lot. You'll refine your pitch based on what you're hearing. You'll try again.
That first client might take you 50 outreach messages to close.
That first case study? You'll probably work harder on it than anything at your day job.
The second client is a bit easier. The third one, you start to see the pattern emerging.
Even if you do all of it... it may still not work out the way you planned.
Would you still be okay with that?
Because that's the real question you need to answer.
Not "will it work?" but "can I be okay if it doesn't?"
Most people can't stomach that level of uncertainty.
So they stay stuck in learning mode. Preparing. Reading. Never actually doing.
But then again, the rewards can be immeasurable when it does work.
Sure, you get to control your schedule. But freedom comes with responsibility, and you learn that over time.
You're not just building a business when you do this.
You're building evidence that you can actually do this thing.
And that evidence compounds over time.
Most people stop before they get there.
They learn for six months. Try for two weeks. Don't see immediate results. Go back to learning more.
"Maybe I need a better strategy. Maybe I need more preparation. Maybe I'm not ready yet."
I'm not saying you shouldn't learn.
I'm saying that learning without execution is just expensive distraction.
The dream needs work. Real work. Daily work. The kind of work that makes you uncomfortable.
It takes more time than you think it will. More discipline than feels fair.
But it's also how you actually get out of the situation you're in.
Not by thinking about it.
Not by learning about it. By doing it. Client by client. Result by result. Piece by piece.
Your move:
You can spend the next six months learning more about entrepreneurship and side hustles.
Or you can spend it building your business, one client at a time.
Both take effort. Only one gets you somewhere different.
The dream needs work. Are you willing to do it?
-Rusydi
P.S. I'm planning a private marketing workshop at the end of the year. We'll dive into your marketing questions, business strategy, and identify multiple points of action you can work on and leverage for 2026. If that's something you'd want to be part of, drop me a text here.
