How do you find freelance coding projects? • Hacker News Board

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#11

Post by ssijak » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 10:32 PM UTC

I work on Toptal https://www.toptal.com/#connect-unmatched-coders-now

They filter both the clients and freelancers so you get quality on both sides. My experience is very positive for now.

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#12

Post by BjoernKW » Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 11:50 PM UTC

Please see this previous comment of mine and the resources it refers to: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15910781

The gist is: If you want your business to be independent, sustainable and profitable in the long run building a network to draw upon is essential.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket by exclusively relying on recruiters or - worse - sites like Upwork.

Have a professional online presence, i.e. website, that's controlled by you. It probably won't immediately help you with getting projects through organic search traffic but if executed well a professional website can help convince potential clients that you're the right person for the job.

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#13

Post by justdebb » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 7:33 AM UTC

Do you mean where to find freelance jobs/projects or ideas for side projects to code yourself (e.g. https://www.codementor.io/npostolovski/40-side-project-ideas...)?

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#14

Post by danieka » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 8:53 AM UTC

verdverm wrote: post #9

Toptal, like upwork, but way better. Curated on both sides

I've been working on a Toptal project for the last seven months and the experience has been good.

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#15

Post by artfed1 » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:44 PM UTC

justdebb wrote: post #13

Do you mean where to find freelance jobs/projects or ideas for side projects to code yourself (e.g. https://www.codementor.io/npostolovski/40-side-project-ideas... )?

Actually, I meant where to find freelance jobs. But thanks for the link.

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#16

Post by artfed1 » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:46 PM UTC

BjoernKW wrote: post #12

Please see this previous comment of mine and the resources it refers to: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15910781 The gist is: If you want your business to be independent, sustainable and profitable in the long run building a network to draw upon is essential. Don't put all your eggs in one basket by exclusively relying on recruiters or - worse - sites like Upwork. Have a professional online presence, i.e. websi…

Thanks for the advice, not sure that I want to run it more like a business, maybe find one-two clients on side 'cause I have a day job and I'm good with it.

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#17

Post by artfed1 » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:50 PM UTC

davidscolgan wrote: post #8

I've done freelance web development for a number of years now. In general, the best jobs have all come from inbound leads instead of outbound leads. Upwork and cold emailing and door to dooring can work but require a lot of effort and I don't find the clients to be as high quality as when they come to me. I much prefer when clients come to me. For this to happen, you have to increase your "luck surface area" - the mo…

Thanks for such a detailed answer covering your experience and approach. It makes me rethink the whole thing.

Also, how can I find out more about your mailing list?

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#18

Post by artfed1 » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 2:51 PM UTC

verdverm wrote: post #9

Toptal, like upwork, but way better. Curated on both sides

Is it hard to get approved on Toptal?

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#19

Post by BjoernKW » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 3:23 PM UTC

artfed1 wrote: post #16

BjoernKW wrote: post #12

Please see this previous comment of mine and the resources it refers to: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15910781 The gist is: If you want your business to be independent, sustainable and profitable in the long run building a network to draw upon is essential. Don't put all your eggs in one basket by exclusively relying on recruiters or - worse - sites like Upwork. Have a professional online presence, i.e. websi…

Thanks for the advice, not sure that I want to run it more like a business, maybe find one-two clients on side 'cause I have a day job and I'm good with it.

Freelancing always is a business. It doesn't matter if it's run on the side.

While you can outsource aspects such as marketing and sales you should be aware that in that case not only will you be leaving a lot of money on the table (because someone else higher up the value chain will capture that value for you) but you'll be dependent on third parties other than your clients, which means that your freelancing income can dry up at any time.

Re: How do you find freelance coding projects?

#20

Post by verdverm » Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 4:54 PM UTC

artfed1 wrote: post #18

verdverm wrote: post #9

Toptal, like upwork, but way better. Curated on both sides

Is it hard to get approved on Toptal?

Not sure, it probably depends on the specialty you apply for and the interviewers.

I did DevOps and it took more than a month to go through the process. There is a need for that specialty more than others, so that likely had some impact.