I left my job with $12k in savings just before covid kicked in and ended my new plan. I make more money now than before and really enjoy my new work. Someone with your skills will be fine.
Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
61–70 of 84 posts
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Recruiters here typically take 10-15% and I don't care as long as I'm getting what I want in revenue. Most recruiters are absolute snakes. They can be very useful and you don't have to let them negotiate for you. At the end of the day, as long as they get their cut they don't much care. Saves me endless hours at $X/hr searching myself. It's more cost effective for me to bill a client for those hours than market mysel…
How long are the contracts you're finding? And are you doing multiple at once? In the UK I struggle to see any contracting less than full time and six months. At which point, without annual leave, it feels like a much worse deal than an 0.8 FTE remote job.
My current one is in its 5th year.
I often do a few years on then take a year off.
Look for "initial 6 month" type listings that renew. Many business don't want full time staff, they want a workforce they can flex and will pay more for the privilege.
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#63When you have a network large enough that you know for a fact multiple people would be interested and lining up to have your services.
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#64Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#6515 year+ consultant through my own company with recurring clients and more work than I can handle (and no interest in delegating or growing) Never needed to network. Don't have to market myself. Never had or needed a full time position and never been short of work. Get to know good recruiters who have streams of contract work with goal based outcomes. Learn how the contracts are managed by middle men and understand w…
Why work with recruiters at all? They’ll charge 30-50% over your rate. They provide zero value besides the initial contact. Their overhead impacts your negotiation leverage for a higher rate.
I use recruiters because they're better at finding interesting work than I am. If I could do it all by myself then I would.
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#66Hello!
I'm also on a similar boat. I'm based in Brazil, but do speak spanish as I work at Rappi.
Would love to chat about this type of endeavor we got going on. Let me know if there is any prefered contact method!
Cheers and good luck!
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#67I'm self employed and work for only 1 client, so it's not very different from being employee, and I've ridiculously low expenses (haven't used my credit card since months and owner of my flat, no cars, very few possessions, simple free great life)
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#68[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#69Sounds good. Having clients before you start is essential. Focus on delivering good work, document it, so the next conversation with a potential client can be quicker.
I never really wanted to do consulting and freelance work, but through my network I got to a point, where more projects are lined up than I have time to do.
Also, one thing that helps me a lot is to just live frugally. Even though I charge a bit below market value I still could build up a financial cushion, so I do not have to work for the next 15 years or so, if something should happen.
Re: Ask HN: When to make the jump to freelance/consultant?
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
What kind of hourly rates can you expect to find on Top Tal?
Definitely a lot higher than on Upwork, on average.
Let's say someone working for FAANG making $300,000 USD per year (including benefits), that's roughly equivalent to $150 per hour. Could they make the same on Top Tal?