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Related question (especially to those saying you should've charged more): how do you start consulting in software engineering? Like where do you advertise and e

Related question (especially to those saying you should've charged more): how do you start consulting in software engineering? Like where do you advertise and expose your talent to potential clients who would pay at a rate that you think is worth it?

neurostimulant 7y ago
In my case, I start by telling my friends and people I was working with that I'm now available for consulting gigs. Eventually, one person (who know my works) recommended me to their friends. I did some projects for them, and they like my works so they recommend me to their friends, and so on. My wife also like to talk about what I do to her clients (she was a consultant working on a big consulting company, different field), leading to more projects.
phreack 7y ago
The usual advice is to expose yourself to as many people in the business as you can via friends, studies, conferences, talks, hackathons, etc. And let as many people as you can know that you're open and able to create/improve that thing that will make them lots more money than they'd pay you.
daxfohl 7y ago
All the freelancers I know (though only three, including myself) started off taking a job from a company they had worked with previously. Start off doing some moonlighting on a side project, then if it goes well enough to do full time, go for it. I think in all cases it was questionable whether our employment contracts allowed it but nobody's employer seemed to care. Typically you can charge 4x what you were making in salary, and it'll still be less than the company was paying for you earlier.
o-__-o 7y ago
Network at Conferences and meetups. Stay in touch with old colleagues. Listen to everyone’s problem and suggest a solution if you see they are really stuck on something. Reach back to those people and ask about their problems. If it’s ongoing, build a concise document that describes the problem and a potential roadmap to solving. Give it to client (see what I did there?) and tell them to shop around and use that roadmap as a guide. Build sales documents and go back to client asking to implement your roadmap by working on said solution, involve other key personal in that meeting. ... Profit! Lather, rinse, repeat. Sometimes the above takes 6-9 months. Sometimes you get a handshake on the spot. Sometimes they never call back. Just like dating, keep your options open to stay fluid and keep talking to potential clients on the regular.

neurostimulant 7y ago

In my case, I start by telling my friends and people I was working with that I'm now available for consulting gigs. Eventually, one person (who know my works) recommended me to their friends. I did some projects for them, and they like my works so they recommend me to their friends, and so on. My wife also like to talk about what I do to her clients (she was a consultant working on a big consulting company, different field), leading to more projects.

phreack 7y ago

The usual advice is to expose yourself to as many people in the business as you can via friends, studies, conferences, talks, hackathons, etc. And let as many people as you can know that you're open and able to create/improve that thing that will make them lots more money than they'd pay you.

daxfohl 7y ago

All the freelancers I know (though only three, including myself) started off taking a job from a company they had worked with previously. Start off doing some moonlighting on a side project, then if it goes well enough to do full time, go for it. I think in all cases it was questionable whether our employment contracts allowed it but nobody's employer seemed to care. Typically you can charge 4x what you were making in salary, and it'll still be less than the company was paying for you earlier.

o-__-o 7y ago

Network at Conferences and meetups. Stay in touch with old colleagues. Listen to everyone’s problem and suggest a solution if you see they are really stuck on something. Reach back to those people and ask about their problems. If it’s ongoing, build a concise document that describes the problem and a potential roadmap to solving. Give it to client (see what I did there?) and tell them to shop around and use that roadmap as a guide. Build sales documents and go back to client asking to implement your roadmap by working on said solution, involve other key personal in that meeting. ... Profit! Lather, rinse, repeat. Sometimes the above takes 6-9 months. Sometimes you get a handshake on the spot. Sometimes they never call back. Just like dating, keep your options open to stay fluid and keep talking to potential clients on the regular.