I used to work at a multi-national and got fired.
I always wanted to try freelancing but didn't have the courage to leave a well paying full-time job and take the risk.
This gave me that opportunity and I went ahead to started a productized content-as-a-service http://contentiskey.co which offers unlimited content for $250/mo
Right now am busy searching for customers, you can join me
Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
41–50 of 53 posts
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#42Is anyone on gigster or upwork ? I've taken a few months off work and I want to do some freelancing to make money on the side and also stay up to date but I'm unable to find quality work out there.
You can get work from gigster or upwork but you will not make the rate you should be making. They have access to the clients - find your own clients and charge hourly or weekly, 2-3x per hour what you made as an employee. As everyone else has said, use your network. That's the best way to get good work.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#43Still brand new to this, but have pretty much hit the tipping point from "unsure if enough work" to "too much work" immediately. If the goal is to be on your own, one thing that is incredibly useful is to build a network of people who would be in a complimentary business to yours, are likely to stumble across work that you would be able to do, and aren't in the position to do themselves. For me, that's working with a…
Curious but what business are you in that's complementary to data science?
I’m primarily an engineer, though I have worn the data scientist hat in the past. There’s a bunch of data engineering/plumbing work that’s necessary in any data science organization, as well as data visualization for things that are beyond a standard chart.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#44i worked for near free for a few months to prove my chops and built up a bunch of clients + a portfolio and started from there.
Where did you find clients?
i reached out to a bunch of start ups and offered to work for free basically -- it was 8 years ago, so i think times were a lot different, there were a lot less start up backs then, i think its probably a lot easier to find paid work
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#45My first consulting gig was mostly born out of necessity. At that time (2011), I was one of the founders of a startup, whose product was an enterprise / intranet search engine.
As is common with enterprise products sales was hard. Not being Microsoft, IBM or any other of the big names in the industry didn't exactly help either. Suffice it to say, the company didn't do too well.
However, trying to sell an enterprise product came with the benefit of making a lot of new contacts, many of whom needed bespoke software development and consulting (rather than a turnkey enterprise search solution).
Hence, I quickly transitioned into the IT consulting business.
In more generally applicable terms, networking and becoming known for an area of expertise in my opinion is absolutely key for continued, sustainable success as a freelancer / consultant.
So, here for some more general pieces of advice:
Go to events / meetups. Talk to both people from the industry you market your services to and fellow entrepreneurs and engineers. When doing this continuously and consistently consulting gigs almost inevitably will come up.
Create a professional website that describes the services you provide and the value you create for your clients. This is essential. Don't just put up a CV and be done with that. If you want to stand out you have to explain why you're not just a commodity paid by the hour but how you can solve a problem for your clients.
On that website, write about your current work and your area of expertise in general. If such opportunity presents itself (which it also almost inevitably will once you start networking with others at meetups or other events) give talks about these subjects.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#46I'm doing freelance EE hardware design. About 5 years into my career I worked for a small consulting firm that did a lot of mechanical engineering and a little electrical. The owner could not find enough work for the mechanical guys and was tired of the ups and downs of consulting so he closed the business. I asked him if I could continue working directly for one of his old clients and he said sure. So that would giv…
Got a portfolio you can link to?
Sorry, I'm new to HN and not sure about posting it here. I could contact you offline via email or some other means.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Curious but what business are you in that's complementary to data science?
I’m primarily an engineer, though I have worn the data scientist hat in the past. There’s a bunch of data engineering/plumbing work that’s necessary in any data science organization, as well as data visualization for things that are beyond a standard chart.
Interesting. Do you have a website?
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#48If you're currently working at an agency, one trick is to see if they have any smallish clients that you could take with you when you leave. For an agency those customers can be more noisy than they're worth so they're pleased to see the back of them - but they can be valuable as a freelancer. It's worked out well for me in the past (and was a win all round).
I'd just point out that you probably want to be very clear what your existing contract forbids here, and get any exceptions/releases to that very clearly spelled out in writing before attempting this. Companies can get vindictive if they think you're stealing their clients without permission.
A client is seldom worth a lawsuit that you'll likely lose.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#49Worked in a specific industry for a while, made some connections in that time. Left my full-time job and let my contacts know I'd be doing freelance/consulting work. Landed a few starter clients from this, then just asked for word of mouth referrals (by far the best leads for me). I'd also suggest having a landing page for your business/service, and maintaining a blog on this site where you write commentary on things…
This is really good advice. In addition: 1) Your network will be your main source of work. I've been freelancing for just over a year and every single job I've had has come as a result of relationships I made when I was in full-time employment. 2) In terms of billing do not be afraid to charge a lot more than you would expect to make if doing the same work as an employee. You'll get better at this. 3) It also helps i…
IMHO "Know your stuff" in this case means specialize (in tech) and find a niche (in an industry/domain and the market/clients you work with). Speaking from experience of doing the opposite for the better part of a decade. Cannot recommend. Would not do again.
Re: Ask HN: How did you get started as a freelancer?
#50My first freelance gig was a friend whose startup just came out of a YC co-hort and needed UI/front-end help (I had just left the company both of us had worked together at at one point).
He already knew what I was capable of so there wasn’t much marketing/selling involved. That came after, through local networking and finding odd projects on Dribbble and hiring websites that had a section for remote designers. I had kept my main site sparse—and still do—so I had an easier time to drive initial conversation towards business goals instead of pixels and colours.