What to do after you max out your billable rate
I met with a reader last night who asked for some ideas about making more money after you've already maxed out your personal billable rate.
This is a good question, and if we limited the scope of the question to making money in the government contracting industry, you can do a few thing, such as getting firm fixed price projects that are more profitable because they take less time or hiring employees and building out a "real" government contracting company
But, I also advised him to look at his life more holistically. If I were in his shoes, a under-30 something single guy, I would
- Reduce my hours to half time
- Get in awesome shape
- Pick up interesting hobbies
- Pursue a serious girlfriend
- Get involved in the local community somehow
- Experiment with different online money making activities
I'm not against earning more money. But, once you have enough for your desired lifestyle, maximizing your free time so you can pursue other interests will make you happier and more satisfied.
The cool thing is that if you do things that interest you, you may actually end up with a fun income stream or business, like like this guy with a bird blog
So once you have enough money and cash flow, solve for free time and do other things with your life.