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How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

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Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#191

Post by pknerd »

SwellJoe wrote: post #63
pknerd wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what about those who not even in US and belong to a "3rd world country" where one wish to give work only because it's Cheap?

Do the same things. Get a blog, become well-known for being awesome. I've hired several "third world country" developers at US market rates (not Silicon Valley rates; more like midwestern rates, like $30-$50/hour) because they were good . And, I've passed on $10/hour developers because they didn't convince me they could do the job. It's about value, not price. That's not to say you aren't at a disadvantage, if you're…

I do second you and there are some good guys like you who value talent rather than saving a few $$$.

Patrick's post is more about consultation rather than freelance work, I wonder whether people prefer to hire remote consultants?

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#193

Post by pknerd »

A question comes across my mind; being a developer how one can make a difference between working as a freelance or given consultancy? At the end of the day you're going to write code, No?

Answers by you guys may help many freelancers who might prefer to follow Patrick.

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#194

Post by jebblue »

patio11 wrote: post #113
mgkimsal wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mean "functional" as in "it actually works" or "functional" functional?

Fudge, English at 5 AM is not my forte. I meant "functioning" rather than "that one that gets mental co-citations with Lisp but whose definition I cannot conveniently call to mind at present." (n.b. I suspect that there's some business problem you can solve with that, too, but personally I'm pretty pedestrian with regards to programming methodologies.)

Thanks for the fudge, much nicer to read, appreciated.

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#195

Post by pknerd »

nhangen wrote: post #118
pc86 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was this a particularly "niche-y" software that you had (perhaps unknowingly?) positioned yourselves as the leaders? Presumably it wasn't The Next Big To-Do App but something that gave quite a bit of value.

It was our crowdfunding plugin for WordPress - http://ignitiondeck.com

great! you actually solved a problem which others did not and you're a winner.

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#196

Post by sabat »

dschiptsov wrote: post #80

"Finding a bigger fool" method because I'm, air quotes, "Internet famous." ? Oh I get it, it's very clever. Placing narcissistic postings on HN in an a proper time (Monday, morning) with a catchy headline and provocative wording, including digits is a nice work, of absolutely nothing special.)

No idea why this would be downvoted except for the fact that Patrick Can Do No Wrong. He's wildly opinionated, questionably successful before his sudden consultancy (he wrote a mildly successful Bingo card program in Java), and self-satisfied beyond measure.

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#197

Post by pknerd »

patio11 wrote: post #96
polyfractal wrote: post #81

I feel like every post by Patrick should be printed out and taped to the wall. So many great lessons in his writing. Thanks patio! Question of my own: if you are breaking into consultancy, how do you go about cold-calling potential clients? Say you've identified a few clients that you think you could help. What kind of email do you send them? Go the honest route and say "Hey, I'm new but I want to help your business…

So there's some sort of difference in the neurological makeup of developers and business owners around the phrase "you don't have to pay me." Developers think that proposition decreases risk. Business owners think exactly the opposite . It suggests that there's such significant project risk associated with employing you that the market forces you to self-indemnify for that risk upfront, which virtually no other servi…

Thanks Patrick for this piece. Very helpful. A question. What do you suggest if I visit some online site/system, find some weakness or area of improvements and contact the owner and tell how it can be improved? Will it work?

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#198

Post by emmett »

sabat wrote: post #196
dschiptsov wrote: post #80

"Finding a bigger fool" method because I'm, air quotes, "Internet famous." ? Oh I get it, it's very clever. Placing narcissistic postings on HN in an a proper time (Monday, morning) with a catchy headline and provocative wording, including digits is a nice work, of absolutely nothing special.)

No idea why this would be downvoted except for the fact that Patrick Can Do No Wrong. He's wildly opinionated, questionably successful before his sudden consultancy (he wrote a mildly successful Bingo card program in Java), and self-satisfied beyond measure.

Because it's mean spirited and adds nothing of value to the conversation. Your comment is similar; your dislike of Patrick is based entirely on who he is and doesn't bother to engage with the content of the essay at all.

Re: How I went from $100-an-hour programming to $X0,000-a-week consulting

#199

Post by pknerd »

trapexit wrote: post #148
mylittlepony wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is inspiring, you should write a book.

Thankfully, someone already did. It's short and sweet. http://www.amazon.com/Small-Step-Change-Your-Life/dp/0761129...

Thanks, will to get a hold of it.
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