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Easier said than done. They may respect you but they'll also likely not hire you. They have to respect you AND know you. It's hard to justify paying someone a l

Easier said than done. They may respect you but they'll also likely not hire you. They have to respect you AND know you. It's hard to justify paying someone a lot if they are an unknown quantity. I checked out your HN profile: do you think you can hire more because you specialize in Computer Vision/Graphics? I'd also imagine your clientele is highly-targeted as well?

chrisbennet 8y ago
As long as someone hires you, you are much better off. The clients that want "cheap" are generally not great clients. It's counter intuitive but charging more gets you better clients and more respect (in addition to more money).
- acconrad 8y ago
  I should have asked what you believe is more. $75-100 is definitely in the "cheap" range, $100-150 I see for senior generalists, and $150-300 I see for the principal/architect/specialist rates. At some point the number isn't sustainable unless you're like a brand-name entity (e.g. John Carmack, Jeff Atwood, John Resig, and I'm just guessing here).
  - chrisbennet 8y ago
    Good point. For context, I'm outside of Boston, not a web developer and I charge a very reasonable $150-$200 hour. This weeds out the clients that expect something to "take a couple of weeks" but have no idea what is involved and then don't appreciate/value the work once it's done. ("My kid cousin could have done this.") Many contract shops would be happy to tell you that "no one will pay that", pay you $65 hour and then turn around and charge $130+.
    - meesterdude 8y ago
      > Many contract shops would be happy to tell you that "no one will pay that", pay you $65 hour and then turn around and charge $130+. or $55/$150 in my case :(
    - semperdark 8y ago
      How do you market yourself? Personal network?
      - chrisbennet 8y ago
        That the weird thing. I don't (market myself). I made website but I don't get leads from it. It's just a portfolio. I am very friendly and I do keep up with people I worked with decades ago but that is the extent of my "networking".
        semperdark 8y ago
        Interesting. I've heard that before, it does seem to be mostly a matter of building up a solid reputation over time and getting referrals. Thanks for the info!
        chrisbennet 8y ago
        I’m naturally friendly and I keep in touch with people I’ve worked with. I go out to lunch with them every now and then, etc. I keep in touch with them because I really do like them but a happy side effect is that decades after I last worked with them, they’ll contact me with work. I know some people can go 30 years and not have any friends they used to work with. At the very least, you should make contact on LinkedIn for your (former) colleagues when you leave a job. Drop them a line once in a while. “Ping” them a text at Christmas, etc. You don’t want to wait until you need work to start building your network.
chrisbennet 8y ago
"I checked out your HN profile: do you think you can hire more because you specialize in Computer Vision/Graphics? I'd also imagine your clientele is highly-targeted as well?" Sorry, I didn't answer your question. Yes, to some extent, they just can't find someone else to do their project. I've got a kind of bizarre mix of skills I guess. I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "highly-targeted". I don't look for clients, they just fall in my lap. They probably fall in my lap because I have those skills (and some others). The typical job goes something like this: someone I've worked with before asks me if I'm available and if I could do something like X. I tell them, "Why yes, I'm an expert in X, as far as you know." (Just kidding.)

chrisbennet 8y ago

As long as someone hires you, you are much better off. The clients that want "cheap" are generally not great clients. It's counter intuitive but charging more gets you better clients and more respect (in addition to more money).

acconrad 8y ago
I should have asked what you believe is more. $75-100 is definitely in the "cheap" range, $100-150 I see for senior generalists, and $150-300 I see for the principal/architect/specialist rates. At some point the number isn't sustainable unless you're like a brand-name entity (e.g. John Carmack, Jeff Atwood, John Resig, and I'm just guessing here).
- chrisbennet 8y ago
  Good point. For context, I'm outside of Boston, not a web developer and I charge a very reasonable $150-$200 hour. This weeds out the clients that expect something to "take a couple of weeks" but have no idea what is involved and then don't appreciate/value the work once it's done. ("My kid cousin could have done this.") Many contract shops would be happy to tell you that "no one will pay that", pay you $65 hour and then turn around and charge $130+.
  - meesterdude 8y ago
    > Many contract shops would be happy to tell you that "no one will pay that", pay you $65 hour and then turn around and charge $130+. or $55/$150 in my case :(
  - semperdark 8y ago
    How do you market yourself? Personal network?
    - chrisbennet 8y ago
      That the weird thing. I don't (market myself). I made website but I don't get leads from it. It's just a portfolio. I am very friendly and I do keep up with people I worked with decades ago but that is the extent of my "networking".
      - semperdark 8y ago
        Interesting. I've heard that before, it does seem to be mostly a matter of building up a solid reputation over time and getting referrals. Thanks for the info!
        chrisbennet 8y ago
        I’m naturally friendly and I keep in touch with people I’ve worked with. I go out to lunch with them every now and then, etc. I keep in touch with them because I really do like them but a happy side effect is that decades after I last worked with them, they’ll contact me with work. I know some people can go 30 years and not have any friends they used to work with. At the very least, you should make contact on LinkedIn for your (former) colleagues when you leave a job. Drop them a line once in a while. “Ping” them a text at Christmas, etc. You don’t want to wait until you need work to start building your network.

chrisbennet 8y ago

"I checked out your HN profile: do you think you can hire more because you specialize in Computer Vision/Graphics? I'd also imagine your clientele is highly-targeted as well?" Sorry, I didn't answer your question. Yes, to some extent, they just can't find someone else to do their project. I've got a kind of bizarre mix of skills I guess. I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "highly-targeted". I don't look for clients, they just fall in my lap. They probably fall in my lap because I have those skills (and some others). The typical job goes something like this: someone I've worked with before asks me if I'm available and if I could do something like X. I tell them, "Why yes, I'm an expert in X, as far as you know." (Just kidding.)