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Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

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Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#21

Post by jon_dahl »

icey wrote: post #17
xlnt wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know what you're worth? I've read "post your salary" threads and other things that show up on yc or programming.reddit, but I still can't really tell.

A quick and dirty baseline is to take your yearly salary and divide by 1000, giving you an hourly rate.

This is a good rule of thumb, and probably the most common one. It's basically identical to 2x your hourly rate as an employee. (FT employment is often figured at 2000 hours/year.)

So if you want the equivalent of $75,000/year, charge $75/hour.

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#22

Post by bprater »

menloparkbum wrote: post #13
bprater wrote: post #12

If you have cash in reserve until the end of the year, why not get serious and launch your own product based startup? With some emphasis in marketing, you could quite easily bank $5k-10k from the product and be in a good position to show off your project (that is already making moola!) for winter YC.

Because I went broke at a previous startup and am paranoid about having cash in the bank.

You're missing out on a great opportunity because of fear. If you are a good programmer, you can get work instantly (call some friends, tell them you are broke and need work).

What are you going to regret more in the future, winging it and seeing if you had what it took to create a startup even if it goes down in flames or being super careful but not being able to see if you had what it took to make something awesome?

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#23

Post by MaysonL »

xlnt wrote: post #9
thomasswift wrote: post #8

My advice: Attend networking events, meetups etc. Tell people you are looking for work, most of my work has come through friends (which you have seem to done) Charge what your worth beginning day one, maybe cut your personal friends a discount, but doing work for next to nothing to build your portfolio is great, but trying to raise your price afterwards is very very hard. To answer your original question: check dice.…

How do you know what you're worth? I've read "post your salary" threads and other things that show up on yc or programming.reddit, but I still can't really tell.

I got this advice from a couple of people, one the Engineering VP at the last job [i.e.: 40hr/wk nominal, W2] I had, back in '79, one the CEO of the company before that (whom I consulted with for ca 20 years during the 80s, 90s, and 00s) after he started up his own consulting/contracting company.

Basically, take your desired salary[including expenses/fringes], divide by 100, and that's your daily rate. You can come down a little for long term work, say more than 2 weeks.

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#24

Post by anewaccountname »

jon_dahl wrote: post #21
icey wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick and dirty baseline is to take your yearly salary and divide by 1000, giving you an hourly rate.

This is a good rule of thumb, and probably the most common one. It's basically identical to 2x your hourly rate as an employee. (FT employment is often figured at 2000 hours/year.) So if you want the equivalent of $75,000/year, charge $75/hour.

"2x your hourly rate as an employee"

Maybe if you can manage to pretend that your employer doesn't pay half of your social security taxes =)

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#25

Post by icey »

anewaccountname wrote: post #24
jon_dahl wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a good rule of thumb, and probably the most common one. It's basically identical to 2x your hourly rate as an employee. (FT employment is often figured at 2000 hours/year.) So if you want the equivalent of $75,000/year, charge $75/hour.

"2x your hourly rate as an employee" Maybe if you can manage to pretend that your employer doesn't pay half of your social security taxes =)

That's part of why you have to figure for a rate so much higher than your salaried rate.

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#26

Post by holygoat »

menloparkbum wrote: post #13
bprater wrote: post #12

If you have cash in reserve until the end of the year, why not get serious and launch your own product based startup? With some emphasis in marketing, you could quite easily bank $5k-10k from the product and be in a good position to show off your project (that is already making moola!) for winter YC.

Because I went broke at a previous startup and am paranoid about having cash in the bank.

Don't listen to the commenters saying "just go for it" -- having cash in the bank is important (if you aren't wasting time earning trying to get the work to do so).

As long as you stay busy, building a buffer is a good thing.

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#28

Post by mosburger »

SwellJoe wrote: post #19
xlnt wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know what you're worth? I've read "post your salary" threads and other things that show up on yc or programming.reddit, but I still can't really tell.

How do you know what you're worth? Think about what you need to make, and double it. Then double it again. You're probably getting close to what you ought to charge. I expect to pay $50-$200/hour when I hire a contractor (depending on whether they are famous for what they do or not), and when I did contract work I billed at $125/hour. I was reasonably well-known for the field I contracted in, with a published book an…

> Someone once told me that if you, as a contractor, don't get a response of "fuck you!" in response to your estimates about half the time, you aren't charging enough.

The variation of that story that I once heard was this: when the interviewer asks your hourly rate, tell them, then punch them in the face. If they're more shocked by being punched in the face, you aren't asking enough.

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#29

Post by hhm »

jon_dahl wrote: post #6

I did contract work for 5 years before founding a product company. Most of our work came from two sources: reputation and relationships. Reputation took several years to build, so it isn't 6-month solution. Relationships, on the other hand, can be built quickly. The best relationships for us were relationships with other developers. We've gotten dozens of good leads this way, and have passed out dozens to other devel…

How do you advertise yourself for contract work? Do you have a one person company, or you are just a contractor? While both things may in the end mean more or less the same, their perception might be different and you could be able to get paid more in the first than in the second case. Or am I wrong?

Re: Ask HN: where's a good place to look for smart contract work?

#30

Post by jon_dahl »

hhm wrote: post #29
jon_dahl wrote: post #6

I did contract work for 5 years before founding a product company. Most of our work came from two sources: reputation and relationships. Reputation took several years to build, so it isn't 6-month solution. Relationships, on the other hand, can be built quickly. The best relationships for us were relationships with other developers. We've gotten dozens of good leads this way, and have passed out dozens to other devel…

How do you advertise yourself for contract work? Do you have a one person company, or you are just a contractor? While both things may in the end mean more or less the same, their perception might be different and you could be able to get paid more in the first than in the second case. Or am I wrong?

I went from 2 people (myself and a partner) to 8, so I didn't do the individual thing myself.

In my experience, a single person ("John Smith" or "John Smith Consulting LLC") isn't at a big disadvantage against a small company (John Smith as sole member of "Razor Consulting LLC" or whatever). We would often compete with, and work alongside, individuals. It's all about getting your brand out there. You want people to hear about and trust your brand - whether it's your name as an individual, or a company name. But don't confuse people by pushing both. I actually recommend using your individual name unless you want to grow bigger than 2 full-time employees. I have several friends who are individual contractors, and most of them have incorporated under another name. But they are known by their personal name, not their company name. That's their brand, so to speak.

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