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Ask HN: How to find better clients as a two-person remote dev team?
I'm a European developer and I've been subcontracting through Gigster and similar for the last year making around $7.5k/month ($50/h) working with US based companies, 100% remote.
Recently I've decided to team up with a good friend and work directly with clients. I do client-side development (React, es6 etc.) and UX design, while my colleague does Ruby on Rails, DevOps and system administration. We are high-skilled, self-managing, and have worked together on several complex projects.
We work remotely and are based in a small Central European country, but we're happy to visit US based clients when required. We are looking to charge $80+/per person/per hour.
The biggest hurdle is finding the first $80+/h client, as we never took the time to grow our professional networks (subcontracting will do that to you).
I've read patio11's essays and those of many other similar authors, but most of the advice is based on local consulting.
Are there any HN-ers who are working 100% remotely outside the US, and have been able to earn $13+k/month consistently? What's your story?
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- BorisTheKnife 9y agoHow did you get a gig at Gigster?
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- person_number_8 9y agoI just applied via their website, but it's not worth it imho; they don't have enough clients. I got into Toptal aswell and they do a much better job.
- m0ck 9y agoSorry for unrelated comment, but I'm curious, because I'm from Central Europe too, wanting to be freelancer one day. When you say you make 7.5k$/month, what is your net income after you pay every insurance, tax etc (I haven't really looked into the details of freelancing yet)? Because income like that would put you into top 1% in this area. Or am I wrong? BTW. Small Central European country => fellow Slovak? :)
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- person_number_8 9y agoNot Slovakia; but close to Slovenia ;) $7.5k gross, $5.6k net after all taxes. Subcontracting platforms take a huge cut, so the client is paying around $13k to the platform. We're trying to remove the middleman and work with clients directly. And we're not really freelancing, more like contracting. Most of our engagements have been 6-12 months long. > Because income like that would put you into top 1% in this area. Or am I wrong? Probably, but one can always do better. Edit: Whoops!
- JSeymourATL 9y ago> The biggest hurdle is finding the first $80+/h client... Suggestion - reach out to Slovenia Ex-Pats in the US working as CIOs/CTOs/VP of Engineering. They will likely be more willing to work with an overseas contractor. You can find them by sorting on Linkedin. Also, recommend this book on prospecting > https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26270465-fanatical-prospecting https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26270465-fanatical-prosp...
- person_number_8 9y agoGreat suggestion, I did not think of that at all.
- tixocloud 9y agoYou've just pointed out the key issue - taking the time to grow professional networks. As always, it's easier to sell services face-to-face and through someone who already knows you than it is to go cold. As you're looking to do remote work, your competition will be the local dev shops. To be able to command $80+/hr, you'll need to provide proof that you're worth that amount to take on the risk of being remote. Look at referrals, look at testimonials, share your project communication process, put out side projects to showcase your quality of work, do everything you can to help people feel more comfortable that you will be able to deliver what you're charging for. Once you've done that, I'm convinced that you can go further than $80+/per person/per hour. It all boils down to trust and relationship (or rather the level of relationship you have with the person).
- j_s 9y agoHow many clients do you have outside of the various intermediaries? It seems like you can deliver, just have to find a foot in the door on your own. It might be worth practicing this on smaller opportunities. I also am not sure of the ethical/legal implications of asking your current clients through various platforms to act as references and/or refer work directly to their colleagues without the intermediary involved, even if they can not themselves cut out the middleman. Unfortunately here on HN there seems to be a much larger supply than demand: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=seeking%20freelancer&sort=byDate https://hn.algolia.com/?query=seeking%20freelancer&sort=byDa...
- person_number_8 9y ago> How many clients do you have outside of the various intermediaries? Most of our engagements were between 6-12 months long, so we don't have tons of past clients to begin with. Of those we worked with, most can't afford us anymore. That's why we switched to exclusive platforms in the first place. > I also am not sure of the ethical/legal implications of asking your current clients through various platforms to act as references and/or refer work directly to their colleagues without the intermediary involved, even if they can not themselves cut out the middleman. It's against the contract and kind of douchey. Moreover, I've only worked with one client on the intermediary platform, it was almost a year long contract. I honestly think that cold, hard selling is the best option right now. Once we get the next client, we can look into the future and start increasing our presence and nurturing our network. The success of these exclusive platforms proves that there are thousands of companies and entrepreneurs that are willing to pay high rates for high-skilled remote professionals. I'm relatively certain that we can sell ourselves, but our biggest challenge right now is indentifying companies that are willing to buy.
- Mz 9y agoFill out your profile here on Hacker News. It should give some idea of what you do, that you are available for remote work and some means to contact you. Then make sure you participate in a way that makes folks think well of you. Do the same with any other forum or social media accounts you have. Make sure to check the Freelancer Seeking Freelancer post that HN does on the first of every month. Edit: I am not a programmer, but I do work 100 percent remotely.
- j_s 9y agoYes I hope they are still paying attention to this discussion, update their profile, and post their offer on the monthly freelancer discussion you mentioned and I lninked elsewhere. I don't have the experience to deliver this type of an opportunity, but they may hear from someone already in the states looking for what their team can provide - even if looking on behalf of someone else. Perhaps no contact info was a way to avoid these recruiter-ish types!