The freedom of making your own decisions about where and when to work is definitely one of the main perks of freelancing as a programmer . Best of all, this freedom enables you to travel and discover the wonders of the world while working to fund your adventures. And coming to China should be on the “must-do” list for any traveling freelancer. This country is incredible, and immersing yourself into the Chinese culture can inspire your creativity and teach you a lot of new things. And the experiences you’ll gain here are sure to be unique and memorable. However, not all those experiences will be good. Inevitably, you’ll feel frustration and anger when dealing with China’s many internet restrictions and slow connection speeds . But sometimes, the obstacle is the way ! This is where preparation matters. Being equipped with the right tools will make your trip more enjoyable and give you a chance to actually do some work while you are exploring China. In this post, I’ll offer you concrete tips for traveling to China while working as a freelance programmer. VPN and Apple Tech to Boost Productivity and Avoid Restrictions To all the owners of Apple tech, the first and, arguably, most important thing you’ll need to do as a developer traveling through China is find an Apple-compatible way around the “Great Firewall.” Of course, this means you’ll need a virtual private network (VPN) for Mac. You literally cannot do anything even remotely efficient as a programmer in China without using it. Therefore, if you want to work while here, post to Facebook and Twitter, or even access Google, you have to get a VPN and resign yourself to everything that using it implies. As you should already know, this means that your internet connection speed will drop somewhat. Considering that as a traveler using Wi-Fi in China, you’ll be subjected to a slow speed by default, performing some tasks with a VPN can be downright painful. You’ll need to use a device-compatible VPN even if you aren’t using a MacBook for work. However, in such a case, working in China will be even worse. As a consequence of multiple blocks and restrictions, your productivity as a programmer will drop greatly by default. Therefore, you’ll need to use the most efficient tech to stay on top of your game. While many Apple resources are blocked, just like everything else in China, due to the popularity of the brand, you get somewhat more leeway with the help of the local Apple services. It’s not a perfect solution, however, especially if you are going to do any app development whilst there. VPN can interfere with the testing, and it can slow down uploads/downloads that aren’t fast to begin with. Without this solution, though, you will struggle to do much online in China. The only services and sources that will be open to you are the local ones. This means they will only be able to provide limited information to […]
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Jun 20 Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash Some people say ‘cold email doesn’t work anymore’ . I say ‘you’re just not doing them right’ . In fact, I believe cold emails are one of the best methods for getting new leads, providing you’re prepared to do the work. And work it takes. If you haven’t cold emailed before, you need to know that it could take 100 or more cold emails before you receive even one reply. Sounds like it’s a whole lotta work for next to no return, right? Work? Yeah! You see, cold emailing is a numbers game. A percentage of the people you email won’t be interested in your services. A percentage won’t find your services even remotely relevant. Some of the emails you send will end up in the junk box or bounce. Many more will be simply ignored. These emails will poke and prod at your self-esteem. You’ll be worried you’re annoying people, stressed about being labelled a spammer, confused that you’re working your hands to the bone without getting a return for your hard work. If you have so much as a smidgen of self-doubt, these emails will seek out your inner-monologue of ‘I’m not good enough’ and do their best to play it on repeat. Yes, my friend, cold emailing is tough. But if you can keep your cool through all of that, there’s a flip side to cold email that’ll make it worth your while. You see, there’s a select few people who’ll read your tantalising tales and be compelled to hit reply. They’ll love your swagger and style, and they’ll want you to inject your personality into their business too. They’ll be chomping at the bit to get on a call and put gold bars in your bank. While you have to accept that many of your emails will go unread and/or unanswered, there are a few tips and tricks you can implement to increase your chances of receiving positive replies. 1. Be the rainbow on a cloudy, grey day. Being boring is the cardinal sin of email. In short, don’t do it. You’re not speaking to the school principal. And even when you’re speaking to a CEO, they have a sense of humour too. If you can make ’em laugh, or paint a beautiful image in their mind, you’ve got ’em hooked. Then it’s up to you to reel ’em in. The easiest way to inject some personality into your writing is to draft your email saying exactly what you want to say; boring is totally acceptable at this stage. Now walk away for at least 24-hours. Then when you return to edit, do so with one goal in mind — to make your email more interesting. E.g. The title of this section was originally ‘don’t be boring’. Boring, huh? When I edited this piece, I switched it to ‘be the rainbow on a cloudy, […]
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