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Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

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Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#151

Post by lza »

philip1209 wrote: post #14

I'm a digital nomad who as in the same position. I couldn't find contract work for high-skill engineers. So, I started building a marketplace for it. Today that's Moonlight - we are still small, bootstrapped, and growing, but we have companies ranging from startups to a publicly-traded company hiring through the site. Hourly rates average a little over $100US. https://www.moonlightwork.com

Just a word of warning. I signed up and their signup process requires you to link your card or bank account with stripe. And then the nightmare starts when you want to have access to the account at stripe. Stripe says you need to contact moonlight, moonlight says you need to contact stripe. I asked both of them to cancel my account. Moonlight replied that they cancelled it but stripe says they still have it and I can't get it cancelled. So yeah once you sign up your payment account is at the will of moonlight website.

Reminds me of that friends episode when Chandler tries to quit the gym LOL.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#152

Post by mikeleeorg »

Kluny wrote: post #109
mikeleeorg wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on which vector you deem yourself mediocre. If you think your technical skills are mediocre and want to be a technical contractor, then focus on being a great solutions provider. And by "solutions provider," I mean take the time to deeply understand the root causes of your clients' problems, then help them find the actual solutions. Sometimes these solutions are not even technical, which is totally okay. C…

I can write code that works, finish features, and I'm pretty good at debugging. I can also teach/encourage others without condescending, ask good questions, and explain a problem clearly technically and non-technically (once I understand it myself). I guess I'm mediocre in that it consistently seems to take me 8-10 hours to finish jobs that come with a 4 hour time estimate (my company is big on estimates). I'm also p…

If you like dealing with clients (and it sounds like you may be patient enough to be good at doing this), you could try your hand at being a project manager and managing several development contractors for the projects you get from your clients. I built a web development agency like this several years ago.

Basically, you start with the same clients that have been hiring you, then tell them you can assemble a team of developers to help get their project done, and all they have to do is work through you as the main point of contact.

This is easier said than done, of course. Starting with existing clients is a nice way to jump-start this kind of a business, but you'll need to find more clients eventually. There's also a whole arena of skills you'll need to develop in terms of recruiting, account management, and project management too.

This isn't for everyone. But someone with technical skills has a vast advantage in such a role over someone who doesn't, with all other skills being equal.

Just an option to consider as you think about moving out of a technical role.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#153

Post by DebasishPanda »

acconrad wrote: post #11

Here's my master list of remote job sites - you should be able to find something through here (my first remote gig was from HN who is hiring thread): HN - http://hnhiring.me/ Remote OK - https://remoteok.io/ Stack Overflow - https://careers.stackoverflow.com/jobs?allowsremote=True LiquidTalent - http://www.liquidtalent.com/ Working Not Working - http://workingnotworking.com Hired - https://hired.com/contract-jobs Gig…

Looks like the LiquidTalent site is gone.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#154

Post by Ma8ee »

cbzehner wrote: post #108
Ma8ee wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you belong in the cubicle. Stay there until you are good. (Which won’t happen automatically, you have to put in the work.)

This isn't true. Very few people are bad across the board -- find your strengths (as other commenters have said) and focus on those. It's better to be excellent in one or two areas, especially ones your passionate about than solid across the board. If you suck at something and it's causing problems, that's a different story -- but don't get stuck on comparing yourself to others. I wish I could downvote this comment.…

Quite a few people don't have enough skills to freelance. Either because they don't have that one skill in high demand, or they lack the drive to network and sell themselves. These people will just become miserable trying to make a living without a steady employer.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#155

Post by csomar »

patio11 wrote: post #149
csomar wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thomas, you talk a lot about raising your rates and I believe your points are valid. How do you go (being completely remote) from nothing to have a high quality client (as in corp/high net startup). Take these into consideration: - Can live off savings for the next 2 years. - Can expense 3/4 travel costs for US/EU/Asia. - Can setup offshore US/HK company and bank accounts. - Doesn't mind if the process take 2-4-6-8 m…

In parallel: 1) Produce publicly visible artifacts which demonstrate that you're able to apply technology to impact business outcomes. You do not need many of these; ~3 is fine. You do not need to block on the other steps. You do need to plausibly connect the technology to a business outcome; blockchain and beginner-level cryptography probably do not get you there. 2) Begin getting into conversations with people who…

1) How can I find out what to build if I don't have any significant corporate experience. I don't necessary like to work for software companies but I just have no clues of what "sells". (That is on a corporate level. Both services and products).

2) How do I get into conversations with decision makers? Cold approaches? I know I'm a decision maker for buying a sofa for my living room. But I get to discuss with the seller because I'm in his shop? How do I get to discuss with him if he doesn't have that shop to trap me there.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#156

Post by Kluny »

mikeleeorg wrote: post #152
Kluny wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can write code that works, finish features, and I'm pretty good at debugging. I can also teach/encourage others without condescending, ask good questions, and explain a problem clearly technically and non-technically (once I understand it myself). I guess I'm mediocre in that it consistently seems to take me 8-10 hours to finish jobs that come with a 4 hour time estimate (my company is big on estimates). I'm also p…

If you like dealing with clients (and it sounds like you may be patient enough to be good at doing this), you could try your hand at being a project manager and managing several development contractors for the projects you get from your clients. I built a web development agency like this several years ago. Basically, you start with the same clients that have been hiring you, then tell them you can assemble a team of…

I think I'd like to be a project manager, but honestly I'd be happy doing it at my day job. Any suggestions for how to show people that you can do that kind of job?

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#157

Post by OpenDrapery »

mancerayder wrote: post #66
OpenDrapery wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really surprised that so many employers use the middle man to find contractors. How do you tap into that market and skip the middle man? Seems like a win-win to me. (Except for the recruiter who's left out in the cold)

It's a critical question you're asking and one I'm actively exploring. It's a huge, huge pay difference if you eliminate these middle men. I think networking plays a massive role in it. I'm not a famous speech giver at conferences nor do I have an online presence past a simple tech blog I don't have time to update. However, it seems people sometimes want to work with me again and pay me for it. I'm learning now the v…

Conspiracy theory: Follow the money and you will usually find that the staffing firm or consultancy has a "good old boys" relationship with the employer. I've seen it personally, but I don't buy in to the idea that it's pervasive or even occuring more than 20% of the time.

Of course, in the world of sales, those relationships can form quickly. Even if you've never heard of me and my staffing firm, I can present you tickets to a concert or golf tournament, or something similar, and win (buy) favor fairly easily.

Most of these middleman staffing firms are not really differentiated from one another. They find a client and leech on to it.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#158

Post by barry-cotter »

csomar wrote: post #155
patio11 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In parallel: 1) Produce publicly visible artifacts which demonstrate that you're able to apply technology to impact business outcomes. You do not need many of these; ~3 is fine. You do not need to block on the other steps. You do need to plausibly connect the technology to a business outcome; blockchain and beginner-level cryptography probably do not get you there. 2) Begin getting into conversations with people who…

1) How can I find out what to build if I don't have any significant corporate experience. I don't necessary like to work for software companies but I just have no clues of what "sells". (That is on a corporate level. Both services and products). 2) How do I get into conversations with decision makers? Cold approaches? I know I'm a decision maker for buying a sofa for my living room. But I get to discuss with the sell…

If you like podcasts, there’s a great one by Kai Davis and Nick Disabato called Make Money Online. I can also recommend the Indiehackers podcast. The greatest insight to effort would probably be The Personal MBA by Josh Kauffman, a really great business book. What sells is solving expensive problems or making companies with lots of money better or more efficient at making money. You can get into conversations with decision makers by cold emailing people saying that you’d like to buy them coffee and talk about their business. Lots of them are busy and will not reply or say no. Some will say yes. These are informational interviews not sales calls because you don’t have anything to sell yet. Or you could go to your local chamber of commerce meeting and talk to people.

One recent Indie Hackers episode had Nathan Barry on. He swore by the tactic of doing presentations on a topic that would be useful to small business owners at chamber of commerce meetings, collecting emails and adding people to a mailing list. Apparently most of the leads he got didn’t convert themselves but they referred other people who did. All for the price of free coffee and donuts, a presentation and time.

Re: Ask HN: How to become a remote contractor?

#159

Post by 52-6F-62 »

Can_Not wrote: post #137
52-6F-62 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God I've had people do that to me with dogs . No, I will not be conversing with you further about spending $1000 more on a dog I don't at all want.

I heard you can go greener and get the best deals on the used dogs market.

I (think I) 100% understand the snark, but that’s usually where I’m looking. Not in the aforementioned situation though. So good call?

On a side note— with Toronto salaries we can’t afford a dog anyway outside of getting to come home midday to walk it. Walker fees run close to $500 a month. I’m in love with the rescue Korean Jindos though. They’re like goofier huskies. I just can’t help but look.

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