Full Time to Self Employed #storytime

Name: Full Time to Self Employed #storytime
Uploaded: 2025-01-28T19:48:27+00:00
Duration: 1 min 5 s
Channel: Ryan Maloney
Description: In this first‑person story, Ryan Maloney explains how he launched his independent career while still employed full‑time. He recounts slipping into a…

28 Jan 2025 · 1 min

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1:05

In this first‑person story, Ryan Maloney explains how he launched his independent career while still employed full‑time. He recounts slipping into a stairwell at his office to take a call with music manager Scooter Braun, pitching an animated video for Asher Roth’s hit song. After securing approval, he spent three weeks creating the video, which amassed millions of views. The success gave him confidence and a portfolio piece. Rather than quitting his day job outright, Ryan built a second business during nights and weekends, eventually growing it larger than his full‑time role. This parallel effort allowed him to transition to self‑employment with reduced risk, framing the move as stepping onto a new cliff rather than leaping into the unknown.

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The thing I did to start my independent career. Working a full-time job and I'm in the staircase outside of my desk with the door closed on the phone with Scooter Braun. So on that call was Asher Roth. Had a huge hit, this is 2008, 2009, and Universal asked me to animate one of Asher's videos, but I had to get the approval of Scooter and Asher first. At my full-time job while my boss was on the phone, I just went out in the stairway, closed the door behind me. I gave them my pitch for the video and told them this is how I connect the song, these are the visuals I'm going to create. I was not 100% sure by any means that I could pull off this video, but I got the go-ahead and I spent the next 3 weeks making the video and it got millions of views. The thing I did to start my independent career is I started my next thing while at my full-time job. So a lot of people think you have to work a full-time job and then leap off this cliff into the abyss and try to figure out your, your business. You have so many hours at night to create so much stuff. So I built up a second business at night and on weekends. That was much larger than my full-time job. So by the time the time came around to make that leap, it was almost like I was stepping up onto another cliff rather than leaping off of a cliff without knowing what to do.