11–20 of 35 posts
Add consulting to the mix. Like planning apps, choosing an architecture, backend, etc. Probably you do some of the above anyway, but rates for consultants are higher generally. I charge $100 to $200 an hour or $800 per day, and I haven't seen clients object much. And as said earlier - get referrals. Many past clients will be glad to pass your name around, assuming you did a good job for them.
1. alternative is direct sales and networking. do invest in your brand early, it's a long-term game. 2. I understand you're in USA. - By going into eastern europe, or Vietnam, or India you would not stop competing with Google and likes. Even when they do not have direct offices in the country, their suppliers do. - in most hot tech hubs competition for talent is fierce. - you would have a very hard time finding senio…
Add consulting to the mix. Like planning apps, choosing an architecture, backend, etc. Probably you do some of the above anyway, but rates for consultants are higher generally. I charge $100 to $200 an hour or $800 per day, and I haven't seen clients object much. And as said earlier - get referrals. Many past clients will be glad to pass your name around, assuming you did a good job for them.
Cool. Did you build your network through Upwork-like platform? How did you get started?
You have the upper hand here over me if you're in the U.S. I bet many of your colleagues/past colleagues, maybe even your friends can provide potential referrals if you ask. I was experiencing troubles when I first started doing programming and consulting because English is not my native language (I can write, but I sometimes stutter and slow down when I speak.), and because I live in Russia and it's a major no-no for a client in half of the cases (stereotypes never die).
But I methodically grew my network, and things started to get much better.
- You can hire a remote contractor. E.g. in the Philippines or India. When your company grows you can setup a satellite office there. I think the important part is the long-term commitment because it would be costly to hire new contractor every 6-12 months to train and on-boarding process. Also make sure your working time has overlap for better communication.
> What are some of the hot areas that we should build our expertise in besides mobile and web app development to expand our business?
- I suggest you find a niche business and make it your own product. You can find ideas on your clients. In the long-term it is really exhausting and costly developing green field project every year.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cool. Did you build your network through Upwork-like platform? How did you get started?
Nope. I can't stand their so-called "tracker software" when they're snooping what you're doing on your screen, etc. So, I started by asking my existing network for referrals. Later, I had some success with clients contacting me via LinkedIn, but referrals work much better, obviously. You have the upper hand here over me if you're in the U.S. I bet many of your colleagues/past colleagues, maybe even your friends can p…
referrals, referrals, referrals. Always be asking if anyone knows anyone needing your help.
Also, consider productized consulting.
At the least, consider hosting, that can be a good way to make money while you sleep. Also makes you more of a one-stop shop, which can be appealing to clients.
Use upwork as an absolute last resort. Find clients through word of mouth, referrals, social proof, networking, SEO, and maybe light ads and sponsorships. Only fall back to upwork if you can't fill your schedule otherwise.
Probably more importantly, change the type of client you're working for. People who use upwork and similar platforms are either uninformed, or intentionally looking for the cheapest work possible. You won't, as you put it, "grow your business" on that. Its possible for you to find some good clients there, but its much more rare and requires effort. So why not put that effort into finding clients who will pay you more?
Take the wins you've made on upwork, those clients who you did really good work for and really made happy, and ask them to refer you to other people, and engage those people off of upwork.
> We are most certainly leaving money on the table because we cannot handle all the job requests we get. We want to grow our team, but hiring developers in the U.S is not an option, given the high wage demands. What country is most suitable for hiring some good developers at reasonable rates/wages and being compliant with U.S labor and tax laws at the same time?
There's nothing wrong with hiring offshore people, but don't hire offshore people because you can't afford onshore people. You can't afford onshore people because you're way undercharging. Maybe that's your business model, but given you're asking about how to hire offshore people, I don't think it is. Raise your rates so that you can hire onshore people.
> What are some of the hot areas that we should build our expertise in besides mobile and web app development to expand our business?
You shouldn't chase hot areas, you should pick something that has longevity and dive into it. Okay maybe that means you can pick something hot and fresh today. But if you're always picking something hot and fresh every few months, you're not getting REALLY GOOD at one thing. Trying to go all in on something like blockchain or whatever means you need to now figure out how to build up your blockchain sales pipeline. Where would you even go for that kind of work? If you don't know the answer to something like that, then devoting time to getting good there is actually a negative EV for your business.
Once you position yourself as a specialist, raise your rates.
> How do we actively look for bigger companies that may be interested in offloading some of their work to a small team like ours? What are some efficient cold emailing strategies? Should we hire salespeople for that?
Do good work for smaller companies, and ask them for word of mouth referrals. You'll get intros to bigger companies, eventually.
> Is there a particular type of team structure or hierarchy that works well for services as opposed to in a product company? What roles should we prioritize in hiring?
This depends a bit too much on where your problems lie and what you're doing w/ your business IMO. At least, when your company is young. There's no one correct answer here. Fill in your skills gap and then hire to address your needs. But based on the rest of your post, I'd guess you need help with bizdev/sales.
> Finally, Any tips on how to build web presence?
IMO web presences for dev shops who truly want to succeed early on should be localized. Pick a city or geographic region (hopefully where you are already located) and a specialty and SEO the hell out of it. You won't stand out in a global marketplace, but you can stand out for local businesses looking for local help. And there are usually a lot of them.
Not trying to advise against it, just laying out the liability explanation that a lawyer told me.
Think about it the other way around - if you were a contractor for some business in Poland, it’s not like you would be worrying about being dragged into a Polish lawsuit in the same way as you are in the US.
1.You must own your sells and communication channels. Depending on third party platform is non reliable.
2.Do your business math, there is always a risk factor in hiring/growing your team beforehand.
3.If I am in your place, I will focus on being the best at what you do now and care for expanding the business later.
4.The better strategy is to search for bigger projects that you can showcase in your portfolio.
5.Your team structure will change according to types of projects that you work on.
6.Nice portfolio with clear copy and SEO. Blogging on social media on relevant topics.
More insight that I can give:
Put customer relationships on the first line. Underpromise and overdeliver. Say no to clients without fear. Rase your rates accordingly.
I hope this helps. Good luck.