61–70 of 96 posts
I used to do freelance web development on the side in addition to a full time job, and I pulled in the income numbers you're aiming for, but I must admit it was hell. There's little worse than coming home from a stressful 9 hour day at the office and realizing you need to work another 5 hours for a bitchy freelance client. Or telling your friends, no, once again, I can't come this weekend because I have to work. If y…
Probably the most common question. Where do you get clients? I have two clients for some freelance and I do web application for them, earning me $19k over last 2 years ( plus $8k finishing in another month). They run their own businesses and they are very happy with them, but I am not sure how to expand past them. I don't think I will ever do it full time, but if I can choose the right gigs, could definitely be worth…
I guess it is a bit of a chicken and egg problem, but there's always a way to get those first couple clients. Reach out to your personal network, everyone knows someone who needs a website. Price the first couple of jobs cheap, do good work, and your name is bound to get passed around. Also after you build your first dozen sites, many of them are bound to require maintenance--eventually you end up with fairly consistant work even if you aren't closing new deals all the time.
After a year or so I had enough work to support me full time, and after 2 years I had enough work to bring on a second person.
If you can design, code, and talk business goals with non-technical people, it is highly unlikely that the W-2 rate paid by your current day job is in the near ballpark of what you'd reasonably expect to achieve by going into consulting at an appreciable fraction of full-time. Quitting your job and hanging your shingle as a consultant-who-solves-business-problems-with-technology will trade a lot of the certainty of y…
Let me put your point in plain words: Consulting currently pays a lot of money. You can make 6 figures without much hassles. Don't quit your job to start consulting without having a group of prospect to sell to. Build your prospects list first, by doing content marketing and networking in site like linkedin. If you want to take the business route, you can make that amount of money by automating tasks and selling the…
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Have either of you witnessed this happening in real life? There's always a comment to this effect in every "raise" question I've ever come across, but never have I seen any proximate information.
It definitely does! Take it from someone who's been responsible for giving the layoff list to HR as well as being a small business owner. Business leaders look at developers as a commodity. Why do you think so many companies still hold Java in such high esteem?
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Or just lie in response to the question.
If you can put "just" before "lie" then you're not taking this seriously, you've never found yourself really, badly lied to, or you have a serious dearth of ethics. Don't lie. Deflect, even if it's bluntly. Saying "I don't believe that's relevant, but I will tell you how much I'd like to make" pretty much says "I'm underpaid" but also says "I know I'm underpaid and I expect better," which tells them something useful…
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Fleitz' point is that switching jobs usually gets you a raise. Most people don't know how to avoid the "what is your current salary?" question, so the raise they get by switching jobs is pegged to their previous salary. Thus, get a raise first, then go fishing for another job. His point was not to get two raises from your current job!
Or just lie in response to the question.
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If you can put "just" before "lie" then you're not taking this seriously, you've never found yourself really, badly lied to, or you have a serious dearth of ethics. Don't lie. Deflect, even if it's bluntly. Saying "I don't believe that's relevant, but I will tell you how much I'd like to make" pretty much says "I'm underpaid" but also says "I know I'm underpaid and I expect better," which tells them something useful…
It's supplying an anchoring number, nothing to do with ethics.
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Let me put your point in plain words: Consulting currently pays a lot of money. You can make 6 figures without much hassles. Don't quit your job to start consulting without having a group of prospect to sell to. Build your prospects list first, by doing content marketing and networking in site like linkedin. If you want to take the business route, you can make that amount of money by automating tasks and selling the…
If you can, just meet with people. Sit down, talk about their problems, and how you can help them. Far more direct than blogging and hoping someone reads it.
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If you can put "just" before "lie" then you're not taking this seriously, you've never found yourself really, badly lied to, or you have a serious dearth of ethics. Don't lie. Deflect, even if it's bluntly. Saying "I don't believe that's relevant, but I will tell you how much I'd like to make" pretty much says "I'm underpaid" but also says "I know I'm underpaid and I expect better," which tells them something useful…
It's supplying an anchoring number, nothing to do with ethics.
Start by asking for a raise, a 15 minute conversation can usually net you a decent chunk of change. After you get your raise phone some recruiters, ask for more from the new company. If you get a raise and another offer you've probably got your 30k.
Agreed with pash. You make it seem like the OP should ask for a raise, get it, then ask for another raise after getting more offers. No employer will look favorably upon asking for two raises in quick succession.
On 50k, ask for raise, now on 65k. Ask new employer to beat current salary, offer of 80k.
Without the first raise you don't get to leverage a higher salary at the new job for the 30-50k op needs. And good luck getting 30k raise at the same job, that just doesn't happen.