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Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#41

Post by phzbOx »

rglover wrote: post #40

The one thing to remember is that it takes time. The best path to take with a skim portfolio is: 1.) Think about a project you'd like to work on. It doesn't have to be crazy, but preferably has elements that will challenge you. The best projects will hands down will be the development of tools that are useful to you/open source. 2.) If you have any network at all: friends, family or previous clients, send out a quick…

There are also live events in every cities (Hackaton/Workshop/Conference/Programming language groups) that are useful to meet new contacts. Most often then not, people are looking for designers and developers to help them with their projects. Startup events are also nice places to find fun projects to work on. Lots of startups are happy to hire less known freelancers for a lower cost and help them build their portfolio at the same time.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#42

Post by jakejake »

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is that you could become proficient with a certain platform and get your foot in the door that way. Just as an example, spend a lot of time on WordPress or Joomla or Drupal or another CMS. Write plugins, build themes, become really good with the platform. You'll pretty quickly find people using that platform for their companies who need help and you will be in a position to offer your expertise. That can be a way to get your freelance career off the ground.

Freelancing can be a great job but it takes time to build up a good client roster. The key to having a decent life while freelancing is having a client roster that needs ongoing work so you aren't constantly hustling for work.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#44

Post by vellum »

You need more projects. They don't have to be fancy, but they should look good. Once you’ve filled out your portfolio, you should go to meetups and talk with some other designers/programmers. Many of them are busy, and they might farm some work out to you if they think you’re dependable.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#45

Post by joshuap »

It can't hurt to "build an impressive app of your own", but as long as it's something that is useful to other people. Don't just build something for the hell of it. Build something that you're passionate about; that you can apply to a real problem. You could also work on an open source project - the community can act as a "client" of sorts.

Ask everyone you have interacted with on some sort of professional level to recommend you on LinkedIn. If they don't have an account, offer to help them sign up.

Email everyone you know and tell them you're looking for work, and make it clear what you do (this should be in completely non-technical terms).

Answer job postings personally. Online jobs have a lot of applicants, so make sure you are showcasing your personality, as well as your skills. Not every job is a good fit, so better to eliminate the obvious duds as early as possible.

Be honest. Don't try to sound like you have more experience than you do, but also don't be afraid to speak authoritatively about topics you know well.

Respect yourself. You are interviewing to solve someone else's problems, so if you're the expert in the room (so to speak), don't be afraid to be firm on how things should be done. Quality clients should respect you for this, and you're better off without the few you'll lose anyway.

Network anywhere and everywhere!

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#46

Post by meric »

Aloha wrote: post #37
meric wrote: post #19

I got started with only 1 project in my "portfolio". It was more like 5000 LOC however. Since then every client of mine has required me to sign NDAs so I currently still only have 1 project in my portfolio.

I'm surprised by a NDA that wont even allow you to disclose that you performed a project that did some certain things, or that you performed an undisclosed project for X Company, and then a list of the technologies involved.

I do disclose technology and general themes involved but frequently the contact says I cannot mention company names or individuals involved. Also even when I can, I cannot show the result of the projects to potential clients. Therefore, I only have 1 project in my portfolio showed to clients...

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#47

Post by patio11 »

zackmorris wrote: post #38

I've been trying to freelance off and on for the last 10 years but the only thing that has worked so far was when I tooted my own horn a bit on elance: https://www.elance.com/s/zmorris/ I've had one gig so far for $750 (that was an invite, not sure if from elance or the client) and it went really well. I'm hoping to find two gigs a month in the $500-1500 range each, because then I will be able to sustain myself indef…

You do iOS dev? You need to radically raise prices. If you do not, people will assume lack of competency, because your project rate would be undercharging as a day rate right now.

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#48

Post by aantix »

On a side note, when it comes time for your billing, check out my library, Big Bucks No Whammies (https://github.com/aantix/big_bucks_no_whammies). It allows you to generate an invoice from your git commits.

Here's a sample invoice: https://github.com/aantix/big_bucks_no_whammies/blob/master/...

Re: Ask HN: How do I start freelancing?

#50

Post by ilaksh »

The trick for me is just to be willing/able to work for Bangalore wages, go on odesk or whatever and find gigs that have actual specifications (they are relatively rare but there are enough if you keep paging through). Find one that you can get a good start on in a day or two and just do as much of it as you can before you have to move on. Then send them a link to the prototype you started. Usually after doing that a few times someone is smart enough to take advantage of my cheap labor.

Once I did something similar with a prototype, but it was on reddit instead of odesk, and turned into a great high-paying gig.

Of course, it would be better if you networked.

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