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To everyone who thinks he's crazy, a single, solitary counter that is in no way indicative of a trend or a pattern: when it comes time to have someone build our

To everyone who thinks he's crazy, a single, solitary counter that is in no way indicative of a trend or a pattern: when it comes time to have someone build our iPhone app, I know who my first e-mail will be. You wanna know why? I know his rate without having to fill out a goddamn "contact me" form and his portfolio signals that he's worth the rate. Now, I have no idea how many hours it would take to build our app, but you're damn well sure I'm going to ask him to tell me. You not making as much? You hurting for clients? Well, maybe you should publish a rate and have an up-to-date portfolio on your website, not on Carbonmade or Forrst or Dribbble or wherever the hell the cool kids are these days. Cause I'll tell you: I've got cash to burn and I'm in the market for great developers and designers right now, and they're impossible to find, vet, and hire.

smokey_the_bear 16y ago
Really? We don't have a consulting page up at all, and we get contacted all the time for people looking to build navigation apps. If you look at similar apps in the app store, it's really easy to contact the developers. And it seems most developers charge between 75 and 250/hour. A wide range, yes, but certainly less than this guy.
silencio 16y ago
Really? It's that problematic to go talk to someone who'll want to talk to you about your needs and see what works out for both of you? You'd prefer the guy with that vague portfolio and a flat published rate instead? I don't publish my rate (let's just say it's not even half of $1k/hr except in extraordinary circumstances, like most developers I know consulting on non-specialized stuff), but I am at no shortage of clients right now. If I could actually slow my flow of emails from interested individuals, businesses, and recruiters for consulting and jobs, I'd be so happy... Anyway, I'm not denying Mike's claim to fame, and other than some of his nuttier blog posts/tweets he seems like a reasonable guy the few times I've met him in passing. But I'd want to do a little more research into a person's background before jumping on the bandwagon and assuming what he's done in the past is going to help you towards whatever goal you might have. And this is why I call his portfolio vague. While it might work for the kind of work he's looking to do right now because his expertise as being part of the teams behind so many hits is exactly what he's selling, I'm not about to work with/hire someone as an actual developer (and not just consulting on The Big Picture of things) without more info on what exactly he did on those apps. (Though I'm sure if he ever did consider doing that that he'll kindly provide it to interested parties.) BTW, his $1k/hr rate blog post was originally about his plans to travel worldwide and to use limited consulting hours at that rate to help fund it. I don't think he's the one you're looking for to send your first email to if you need a talented developer to work longer term. If you are looking for long term work, @schwa, the guy that wrote that tweet that Mike screenshotted and included at the top of this blog post, maintains a list of experienced developers looking for work (http://toxicsoftware.com/i-wouldnt-hire-an-iphone-developer-who-charges-less-than-999-95hour/ http://toxicsoftware.com/i-wouldnt-hire-an-iphone-developer-...). Big Nerd Ranch, the company founded by Aaron Hillegass, the person that wrote the book on Cocoa Programming, also does consulting (http://www.bignerdranch.com/consulting http://www.bignerdranch.com/consulting). Iconfactory does UI/design work (http://iconfactory.com/design http://iconfactory.com/design). The list goes on and on.
- ryanwaggoner 16y ago
  I don't publish my rate (let's just say it's not even half of $1k/hr except in extraordinary circumstances, like most developers I know consulting on non-specialized stuff), but I am at no shortage of clients right now. If I could actually slow my flow of emails from interested individuals, businesses, and recruiters for consulting and jobs, I'd be so happy... This is a signal from the market that you're not charging enough. What if you could get fewer emails and calls, work half as much, and make more money?
  - silencio 16y ago
    You do have a good point, but as I've learned to raise my rates without feeling ridiculous about it, I've gotten more and more emails and calls. I also don't have the balls or the experience to demand a regular $1k/hour rate, or even half that at this point. I suspect if I had both the courage and the appropriate experience/knowledge I could demand that and more easily, and still have the same problem...just with lots more money involved. I have charged clients close to $1k/hour occasionally during emergencies and with specialized work, but I can't deal with constant stress from trying to deliver my idea of what $1k/hr consulting should be, even with fewer hours. I usually don't have the experience or knowledge to do so :) Interestingly enough, most of the criticism I've read about Mike and this whole thing from other iPhone devs and such is not focusing around the rate. They're more focused on whether or not he'd actually be able to deliver something worth justifying that rate. Alas, that question will only be answered by whether or not Mike is successful in securing enough hours with clients that will pay that.
ErrantX 16y ago
I'm sorry but that makes you bit of a sucker. If his rate was a few hundred I could buy that the added cost was worth the convenience; but at over six times the going rate it isn't really worth it.

smokey_the_bear 16y ago

Really? We don't have a consulting page up at all, and we get contacted all the time for people looking to build navigation apps. If you look at similar apps in the app store, it's really easy to contact the developers. And it seems most developers charge between 75 and 250/hour. A wide range, yes, but certainly less than this guy.

silencio 16y ago

Really? It's that problematic to go talk to someone who'll want to talk to you about your needs and see what works out for both of you? You'd prefer the guy with that vague portfolio and a flat published rate instead? I don't publish my rate (let's just say it's not even half of $1k/hr except in extraordinary circumstances, like most developers I know consulting on non-specialized stuff), but I am at no shortage of clients right now. If I could actually slow my flow of emails from interested individuals, businesses, and recruiters for consulting and jobs, I'd be so happy... Anyway, I'm not denying Mike's claim to fame, and other than some of his nuttier blog posts/tweets he seems like a reasonable guy the few times I've met him in passing. But I'd want to do a little more research into a person's background before jumping on the bandwagon and assuming what he's done in the past is going to help you towards whatever goal you might have. And this is why I call his portfolio vague. While it might work for the kind of work he's looking to do right now because his expertise as being part of the teams behind so many hits is exactly what he's selling, I'm not about to work with/hire someone as an actual developer (and not just consulting on The Big Picture of things) without more info on what exactly he did on those apps. (Though I'm sure if he ever did consider doing that that he'll kindly provide it to interested parties.) BTW, his $1k/hr rate blog post was originally about his plans to travel worldwide and to use limited consulting hours at that rate to help fund it. I don't think he's the one you're looking for to send your first email to if you need a talented developer to work longer term. If you are looking for long term work, @schwa, the guy that wrote that tweet that Mike screenshotted and included at the top of this blog post, maintains a list of experienced developers looking for work (http://toxicsoftware.com/i-wouldnt-hire-an-iphone-developer-who-charges-less-than-999-95hour/ http://toxicsoftware.com/i-wouldnt-hire-an-iphone-developer-...). Big Nerd Ranch, the company founded by Aaron Hillegass, the person that wrote the book on Cocoa Programming, also does consulting (http://www.bignerdranch.com/consulting http://www.bignerdranch.com/consulting). Iconfactory does UI/design work (http://iconfactory.com/design http://iconfactory.com/design). The list goes on and on.

ryanwaggoner 16y ago
I don't publish my rate (let's just say it's not even half of $1k/hr except in extraordinary circumstances, like most developers I know consulting on non-specialized stuff), but I am at no shortage of clients right now. If I could actually slow my flow of emails from interested individuals, businesses, and recruiters for consulting and jobs, I'd be so happy... This is a signal from the market that you're not charging enough. What if you could get fewer emails and calls, work half as much, and make more money?
- silencio 16y ago
  You do have a good point, but as I've learned to raise my rates without feeling ridiculous about it, I've gotten more and more emails and calls. I also don't have the balls or the experience to demand a regular $1k/hour rate, or even half that at this point. I suspect if I had both the courage and the appropriate experience/knowledge I could demand that and more easily, and still have the same problem...just with lots more money involved. I have charged clients close to $1k/hour occasionally during emergencies and with specialized work, but I can't deal with constant stress from trying to deliver my idea of what $1k/hr consulting should be, even with fewer hours. I usually don't have the experience or knowledge to do so :) Interestingly enough, most of the criticism I've read about Mike and this whole thing from other iPhone devs and such is not focusing around the rate. They're more focused on whether or not he'd actually be able to deliver something worth justifying that rate. Alas, that question will only be answered by whether or not Mike is successful in securing enough hours with clients that will pay that.

ErrantX 16y ago

I'm sorry but that makes you bit of a sucker. If his rate was a few hundred I could buy that the added cost was worth the convenience; but at over six times the going rate it isn't really worth it.