I've been an independent software developer for the past 3 or 4 years and I took a path that can be done by good software developer who is good at talking to clients. Talent agencies like Toptal and A.team are great to get started since you don't need to find customers. You can make $150 or more per hour which makes for a pretty comfortable living. Feel free to email me at dan@axelby.com if you'd like more specific advice or just to chat.
Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
41–50 of 51 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#42Your best strategy no doubt depends on who you are and who you want to be. Do you want to work on a wide range of projects, or stay focused on a niche, like embedded systems for hardware control, audio and music DSP, 3D graphics, games, web sites, ops and infrastructure, machine learning, algorithms for distributed systems, ...? You'll want to build a case for your capabilities and experience through a portfolio of school projects, open source contributions, demos, etc. In your niche area or programming language eco-system, there are likely to be slack channels, news groups, mailing lists, and blogs, so become a part of a community, helping when people ask questions, fixing bugs people care about, or blogging examples and common pitfalls.
Imagine you are working at a games company trying to hire a contractor to help with 3D audio programming. The ideal candidate is probably going to have a portfolio that includes 3D audio programming, or at least audio and DSP experience.
Personally, I'd focus on building valuable expertise in a community that includes the kinds of people and businesses for whom you would want to work. There is always demand for skilled engineers who deliver.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#43I've been an independent software developer for the past 3 or 4 years and I took a path that can be done by good software developer who is good at talking to clients. Talent agencies like Toptal and A.team are great to get started since you don't need to find customers. You can make $150 or more per hour which makes for a pretty comfortable living. Feel free to email me at dan@axelby.com if you'd like more specific a…
Hey man,
Thanks for the advice I’ll definitely reach out to you
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#44[dead]
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#45My advice would be to target a situation where clients search for you, rather the other way around (everything else I find unsustainable). For that you need to put your work out, like breadcrumbs - so the interested party gets curious and reaches out. Has worked for me for the past seven years. The cost of putting your work out is basically zero these days - all you have to do it put the time in, which you have to do…
For a different perspective: this hasn't ever worked for me. I have a reasonably trafficked blog and github and only twice in 7 years has someone asked me if I'd be up for contracting and both those times it was for a thing I wasn't qualified for. In contrast I've found contracts and been emailed by employers looking for contractors numerous times after I posted on HN's Who wants to be hired post. But it could be tha…
"Hello! I'm Phil, based in Queens, NY. I've been a developer and manager in the past. Some of the most viewed posts on this site are about building compilers, databases, and emulators from scratch.
I am building Multiprocess Labs around DataStation, an open-source data IDE to help you create dashboards and exports on data from every database, API, and file without cumbersome ETL processes.
I also run a Discord community for developers working on or interested in challenging programming projects like compilers, databases, emulators, etc. Come to share and learn from other folks!
You can find me elsewhere on Github, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Goodreads.
I love hearing from you!"
Probably because nowhere on your blog, or your Hacker News bio, do you say "please reach out for contracting."
You don't even say you're a contractor or have worked as a contractor in the past. It reads like you're a full-time employee.
ABC, always be closing.
If you don't have a call to action to convert blog readers into consulting customers, how will you ever get people wanting to hire you?
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a DS/ML consultant, but I've never done Kaggle or even serious public github projects. For context, I've only changed clients once, as my contracts have been very long-term. My initial client reached out to me and induced me into part-time consulting in the first place, and my second/current reached out to me based on previously working at the same company. So I'm not saying that I know everything, but n=1 says t…
>I've only changed clients once, as my contracts have been very long-term It should be pointed out that this is much closer to insecure employment than traditional contracting/consulting. No judgement from me, because I'm in a very similar position- freelance contractor on paper, but in reality, one client and a very employee-like working dynamic.
Also that changing clients is just as lucrative for contract employees as it is for fulltime employees.
You're usually expected to have 2-3 solid backup options, minimum.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
For a different perspective: this hasn't ever worked for me. I have a reasonably trafficked blog and github and only twice in 7 years has someone asked me if I'd be up for contracting and both those times it was for a thing I wasn't qualified for. In contrast I've found contracts and been emailed by employers looking for contractors numerous times after I posted on HN's Who wants to be hired post. But it could be tha…
"Hello! I'm Phil, based in Queens, NY. I've been a developer and manager in the past. Some of the most viewed posts on this site are about building compilers, databases, and emulators from scratch. I am building Multiprocess Labs around DataStation, an open-source data IDE to help you create dashboards and exports on data from every database, API, and file without cumbersome ETL processes. I also run a Discord commun…
I used to have contract info on there and I removed it because it wasn't effective. :)
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#48I’m a consultant and bootatrapped it into a profitable firm. First, understand the difference between a contractor and a consultant. Though not all differentiate the two, many do and that’s reflected in the market rates associated with them (consulting == contracting + hard-to-find expert advisory). Convert a single existing FTE role into a consulting engagement to get you started if you can. If not, your ability to…
> Convert a single existing FTE role into a consulting engagement to get you started if you can Can you give an example of what this would look like?
Often it’s as simple as requesting it. In my experience, the first few are less about being hard to convert and more about getting a 1:1 rate that is truly market rate and not just the equivalent of salary + benefits = rate. It should really be salary + benefits value + risk value (e.g. 100k/yr FTE salary is more like 100/hr contract rate, not 70/hr (need to include risk!). Also, push hard for a weekly rate and not hourly. Daily rate is second best but still much better than hourly. Again, remember the risk side. You need to compensate yourself for this and market rates usually take this into account, so don’t second guess why market rates are as high as they are (imposter syndrome can get in the way here for some, so keep that in mind too).
If you’re at an enterprise, sometimes you can go to one of the major contract vendors used by the enterprise for placing contractors, start an LLC (or other legal entity), and subcontract through them. If you can, though typically less successful in the enterprise space when you’re one person or building a small firm (the space I operate in) unless you are highly valued by your target company, try to go direct as a vendor yourself. There are many long term benefits to having vendor status in an enterprise.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#49I’m a consultant and bootatrapped it into a profitable firm. First, understand the difference between a contractor and a consultant. Though not all differentiate the two, many do and that’s reflected in the market rates associated with them (consulting == contracting + hard-to-find expert advisory). Convert a single existing FTE role into a consulting engagement to get you started if you can. If not, your ability to…
I'm also considering pursuing the independent consultant route and bootstrapping into a firm would be my end goal. Would you mind sharing what the steps in that process were for you?
See my comment to deserted in this thread. Does that clarify the steps or is there something more specific you’re asking about?
Re: Ask HN: How do you get started as independent consultant or contractor
#50I started doing a lot of contracting through recruiters which could be anywhere from a few days work to 6-12 month longer contracts. This allowed me to meet a lot of different people in my industry/city and build a reputation as someone reliable. After that's done then it's a matter of growing those relationships and once the recruiter lock-in period ends you can start to approach them directly and offer your service…
Can you elaborate on "contracting through recruiters"? Did you respond to recruiters who were reaching out to you with full-time positions and say "no thanks, but what about a contract instead?" If so, do you have any particular strategies for getting to a "yes" with that approach? Or did you mean that you reached out to recruiters and worked out a finder's fee arrangement if they brought you contracts? If so, how di…
I live in Australia so it might be a bit different in your country. The work started for me as shorter term contracts e.g. a recruiter would say "I'm looking for someone on a 6 month react JS project". I would provide them with a day rate and go work for the client as a standard employee. Overtime this has led to me meeting a lot of people, getting a lot of experience and building a client roster of my own.