31–40 of 43 posts
Also, I hate to be "that guy", but spelling and grammar are both important if you're going to be selling $x0000 projects (and you should be). In this post alone, I noticed "wandering" and "tide to a platform". It's important. Always write as if a client is going to read it, because it's very possible that they will.
Approximately 80% of my clients came either directly or indirectly through contacts I had met in the few years before I became a freelancer. Even for the other 20%, the knowledge I picked up during my dilbert years helped me enormously -- if I hadn't had that first-hand experience of my now-customers point of view, I'd have been far less effective at my job: I wouldn't have understood what they needed (which is often not the same as what they ask for, or what they think they need) or how best to fill those needs.
I'm a strong believer that to be a good freelancer, you have to have put in at least some time on the other side of the desk. All the good freelance money is in corporate work. Startups can't afford you. Mom-and-pops need so much hand-holding and education that it's not worth putting in the hours teaching them why what they want is physically impossible or why that custom layout costs more than the wordpress template they found on crappyfreewordpresstemplates dot com or etc. Big slow corporations are the ones with both the need and the money to spend, but to work with them you really need to be able to speak their language.
Lean how to sell. When I was in college I got frustrated at not having software dev opportunities and only opportunities working at the mall (I went to college right after the dot com bubble). This curse ended up becoming a blessing because I learned how to empathize with what people wanted and what they were trying to accomplish. A lot of freelancing is just being able to sell yourself. When you find a lead you have…
Clients usually come to you (or you go to them, but preferably the first) because they are not knowledgable in the part where you specialize in. But in order to prove (show value) that you are a good web developer, you actually have to be a good salesman.
You can start dropping HTML, CSS, Frameworks, Libraries, Angular, React, Ruby, Python, Symfony, Django, Hibernate or Spring on them, it does not tell them a thing.
And once you got the gig, depending on the client, you will have to reassure them on a daily/weekly/monthly basis everything is on track so they keep believing in you.
Furthermore, in order to get some quality leads, you will have to get your name out there. I started at an early age as well, doing websites for family members and small companies in my community for a bargain. Doing so I got some exposure, got more requests and slowly raised my prices.
Also, I hate to be "that guy", but spelling and grammar are both important if you're going to be selling $x0000 projects (and you should be). In this post alone, I noticed "wandering" and "tide to a platform". It's important. Always write as if a client is going to read it, because it's very possible that they will.
Consider this scenario: You take your car to a mechanic to get fixed. When you get the car back, there are oily finger prints on the hood and fender. The steering wheel is sticky and there is dust on the dashboard. Most people will have concerns about the quality of the work done.
It's the same with all professions. Your potential client probably knows little about the technical aspects of your work, so they will judge you on the basis of things that they can observe and understand.
Lean how to sell. When I was in college I got frustrated at not having software dev opportunities and only opportunities working at the mall (I went to college right after the dot com bubble). This curse ended up becoming a blessing because I learned how to empathize with what people wanted and what they were trying to accomplish. A lot of freelancing is just being able to sell yourself. When you find a lead you have…
I second this. Well, the part about the soft skills. Of course you need to be a good web developer, but typically you won't get judged by your uber development skills. (Depends on your client though.) Clients usually come to you (or you go to them, but preferably the first) because they are not knowledgable in the part where you specialize in. But in order to prove (show value) that you are a good web developer, you…
Stay away from "doing something for big companies"... I have created a HackerNews clone without any success and a time tracking app in AngularJS for 2 big companies... They let me down bigtime and lost a lot of time ( = money) because of that -> they won't help in publicity.
Also created www.ledenboek.be - a member management application, before i found out that sporting clubs don't have money in Belgium... ( it does work great though).
I'd do it all again any time (although you should have some patience though... Not all your friends/acquintances want a website / app right now... ). I'm releasing a website tomorrow, working on one right now and got a new request for a website today. So that's 3 websites in 1.5 weeks without any publicity. Be fair to everyone, be honest also! ( don't try to cover things up, if something is hard / difficult to do. Give them an alternative). They understand if you do something a different way, if it saves a lot of time. When you notice someone isn't "communicating", but just rammeling what they want without any discussion. Stay away from those clients, they think everything is easy peasy.
When someone says they want this or that. Ask them why they want it... Some people don't know IT and give a "bad solution". If you create it, they won't be happy, because they don't realize their solution is bad! Talk to the client and discuss.
PS. And i still haven't asked my brother ( who totally needs a website, because his current one is lame for a clothing store :P ). I'm delivering a website for a collegue of him tomorrow (as mentioned). So he'll hear about it on his own work ( his girlfriend has the clothing store)..
Know how the world works, people talk - i recreated a website for a "student club" in the neighboorhood for a bargain. They'll know me in the future ;)
If you're good / honest / fair, people will come to you. Raise your prices when you have too much work.
Don't be afraid to share knowledge / they'll remember you as the guy who can help them.
If you know someone who has a problem, if one of you're clients has the solution. Redirect them (or introduce them), say something particular so your old client will know you referred him ( like one of my clients is creating an airplane, i always mention that... It is an extreme example though :P - if you don't believe me : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su1RCCxCMEs , that's the guy)
I wouldn't do odesk / elance / whatever... You have less competition in your neigboorhood and you won't have to drop your prices under the hourly wage. Talk about what you do, there are always opportunities if you LIKE what you do.
And at last, LIKE what you do. If you wouldn't do it for more then a year, then think about something else.
I once took six months off to freelance early in my career, and failed spectacularly. Four years later, I took six months off and tried the same, and was able to replicate my full-time salary without too much difficulty. YMMV, my by experience is having a few years of solid, full-time employment experience (along with good portfolio, network, and all the other things a freelance career requires) will pay dividends in…
> along with ... network I'm curious. Are you talking networking with other developers, or within a niche (e.g. with potential clients)?
When staring in freelancing, at least initially, you will be casting a line out into the vast pool of the people you know, and desperately hoping someone has a need for your services, bites, and ultimately gives you some money.
Some of my initial freelancing gigs came from places like stray tweets, random run-ins at non-tech-related parties, VC friends who passed my name on to their portfolio companies, ex-bosses who did the same, etc etc.
For many, freelancing, at first, can be getting on by the seat of your pants and simply hoping the cosmos divines you with a new gig (often from somewhere or someone you never saw coming) before your savings account dwindles to zero.
Pick up marketing and business skills in addition to web development skills, intern for an agency to learn how to hustle and network, intern for a product company to learn how to produce iteratively, and learn how to teach what you know even if you think everyone already knows. Don't be afraid to specialize, over the years you'll have specialized in a number of areas as your interests and passions drift. Specializing…
As an aside, see if local agencies around your area are hiring freelancers. Mine did and though they didn't get any benefits, pay was regular and substantial (our freelancers probably came in about three or four days a week depending on the project load).
Also, I hate to be "that guy", but spelling and grammar are both important if you're going to be selling $x0000 projects (and you should be). In this post alone, I noticed "wandering" and "tide to a platform". It's important. Always write as if a client is going to read it, because it's very possible that they will.
Didn't really proofread my submission, and i do apologies for the poor quality of my post