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Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

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Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#81

Post by FpUser »

zerr wrote: post #70
FpUser wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once charged $20,000 for 3 days worth of work. Happened like this: one very huge phone company wanted some very specific self contained component written in Java. They shopped around and did not find anyone willing to do it. My friend was working there and told them that he knows that genius consultant (yours truly). So they called me up and during negotiations I told them that I will do it for $20,000. I was prepa…

Yeah, such projects happen and it always surprises me - why can't such shops find in-house devs (with regular salaries) for such projects?

Sometimes average corporate developer just does not cut it. Like you've got a bunch who know how to take data from a database and feed it to web form. Ask them to do anything else and they would expect you to send them to a training courses. I've met quite a few shops like that.

Meanwhile. This project required some imagination and multi-disciplinary knowledge. Sure the company have some geniuses but the company is huge multinational and for one department of their branch it was probably way simpler and cheaper to get someone from outside then shop their other brunch. Big companies are very bureaucratic

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#82

Post by raverbashing »

gk1 wrote: post #41
bitcoinmoney wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share what you consult on?

I'm an engineer-turned-marketing-consultant for enterprise software startups. I help them attract and convert more enterprise customers in a repeatable way.

Interesting

How long is your average engagement, if you don't mind asking.

Also I suspect this requires a lot of travel (and time away from home), correct?

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#83

Post by fyfy18 »

Not when I started, but after I'd been contracting for five years I ended up in a contract where the client ran out of money so couldn't pay me. I figured that because I was hired through a recruitment agency I was safe, but apparently not.

For those who aren't aware 'contracting' in Europe refers to what is effectively a short term employee who charges X/day. Clients usually pay net 30 - 60 and often you work through a recruitment agency. The agency is supposed to vet the employer and provide a good source of candidates, but for the fees they charge clients (10-30%) IMO they don't provide anything near that value.

This led to mistake after mistake on my part and now the client owes me £40k. I ended up working with a soliticor, and we have now agreed on terms for then to repay me, but I ended up with a pretty bad deal (it's effectively an interest free loan to them).

I've learnt quite a lot of lessons though:

- Under no circumstances work for free, if a client asks you to, it simply means they do not value your time. There's plenty of businesses who are willing to pay you so it's not worth the hassle. The only exception I'd say is if you are getting founder level equity (10s of %) in a startup you believe in.

- I had a bad feeling about this contract from my first week when I got in the office, guess I should have listened to my gut feeling :-)

- If a client is putting a lot of stress or pressure on you, fire them. There's plenty of good clients out there.

- Do not ever work for free https://youtu.be/jVkLVRt6c1U

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#85

Post by thdrdt »

sas1ni69 wrote: post #15

Not billing often enough. Send a bill every 2 weeks. If they miss one, stop working. No negotiations.

I think this is very bad advice. I had great clients who overlooked a payment. Just let them know and everything was fine.

It also depends on what country you live in. Where I live it is 60 days by rule unless it is in a contract signed by both parties.

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#86

Post by JUSTed »

super-serial wrote: post #20

I tried freelance and realized I hate it more than any other type of programming work. I can tolerate being an employee where I do what I'm told. After a month I get a feel for the environment so it becomes low stress and then I can keep my head down programming. Or I can tolerate selling software or having a SaaS. If I'm CEO I decide the direction of the product and then just have to handle customer support. But the…

You should only have to do that in the beginning and strive to earn more so that you can hire an accountant or a firm to keep the booking and calculate your taxes for you. Invoicing is a matter of minutes and some apps even do it for free. Once you've set up your templates for each type of contract and document, you should be good to go. The only true problem in freelancing is generating new (good) leads. That's it. Admin stuff is a piece of cake with today's technology.

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#87

Post by [deleted] »

sigmaprimus wrote: post #49
wwweston wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are some ways to (a) tell a good tax person from a bad one and (b) look for a tax person in such a way that increases your odds of finding a good one?

As a professional I always have my credentials and certifications framed and hung on my office wall for everyone to see. The same goes for awards and associations meberships. So when it comes to hiring someone where I don't get a personal reference I always look for this, I also start with professional association member lists and or their referal services. Most good accountants will provide you with a free consultat…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#88

Post by sumgame »

ama_ma wrote: post #67
sumgame wrote: post #60

Trying to find work through gig sites. I've spoken to multiple freelancers to learn that the best way to actually find good clients that pay well is through word of mouth. There is inherent trust in the relationship when someone comes in as a referrals vs when they don't. And that trust really changes the game in terms of how much more comfortable they are in terms of how they engage with you. They'll trust you with…

Interesting. Will like to give this a whirl. Just curious - a) if there is an option to import my existing network/contacts from LinkedIn or some CRM that I maintain. b) are you also building tools to help me showcase my consulting portfolio? (Like Dribble is for designers, but something more generic to encompass all types of freelancers/consultants). I would like to have a portfolio page on the platform - that I can…

We haven't worked on a) yet but its on the roadmap. We want to import it from gmail as of now but linkedIn is on the list too.

We have a very basic services page that gets set up. More than portfolio we focus on how you can help your potential client. So really trying to showcase a very specific problem that you're dream client can relate to.

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#89

Post by phreack »

mehrdadn wrote: post #53

Related question (especially to those saying you should've charged more): how do you start consulting in software engineering? Like where do you advertise and expose your talent to potential clients who would pay at a rate that you think is worth it?

The usual advice is to expose yourself to as many people in the business as you can via friends, studies, conferences, talks, hackathons, etc. And let as many people as you can know that you're open and able to create/improve that thing that will make them lots more money than they'd pay you.

Re: Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer?

#90

Post by antoinevg »

1. Not making it clear to the client up front that I'm charging for the week whether they have enrolled me in their IT systems or not!

2. Not making it clear to the client up front that if they wanted me to do the work the following week I've also have to charge them extra for having to reshuffle my schedule.

With big companies this stuff is very hard to fix after the fact, it has to be part of the initial negotiation.

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