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This is, I feel, the biggest problem seen by people who want to jump ship from salaried positions to freelancing/independent contracting. I've asked around a l

This is, I feel, the biggest problem seen by people who want to jump ship from salaried positions to freelancing/independent contracting. I've asked around a little bit whenever this topic comes up and the majority of people who I've talked to say that their best source of customers comes from people that they know. Not a very satisfying answer for me, since I don't know a whole lot of people (maybe that's just my view of things, I could be wrong), and of those people, very few of them need someone with my skills and expertise (or, to be more frank, I doubt any of them would be able to match the paycheck I currently get from my employer). It's equally likely I'm not imaginative enough. In any case, if anyone is "living the dream" in the Seattle area, drop me a line - I'd love to chat with you and maybe have a coffee (haha).

throwaway520141 12y ago
This is exactly right. If you are a salaried developer or lead who has not had too many jobs in the past, your chances of 'people you know who know how good you are at your work AND have the authority to sign or highly recommend you for a contract' are pretty slim.
poulsbohemian 12y ago
Bentcorner - email sent. Best single sentence sound byte I can offer is unfortunately straight out of Glengarry Glen Ross: “Always Be Closing.” Which is to say, the way to develop those customers that just happen to be people you know is to constantly be putting yourself out there. I’ll go to several networking events in Seattle next week, several more in Portland, then will be back in Portland a week later. Then I’ll hit several more in Bend, Oregon a few weeks after that. I’m not a “sales guy” I’m a tech guy by training and experience, but if you want to be in business for yourself at any level, you have to take the initiative to develop those relationships.

throwaway520141 12y ago

This is exactly right. If you are a salaried developer or lead who has not had too many jobs in the past, your chances of 'people you know who know how good you are at your work AND have the authority to sign or highly recommend you for a contract' are pretty slim.

poulsbohemian 12y ago

Bentcorner - email sent. Best single sentence sound byte I can offer is unfortunately straight out of Glengarry Glen Ross: “Always Be Closing.” Which is to say, the way to develop those customers that just happen to be people you know is to constantly be putting yourself out there. I’ll go to several networking events in Seattle next week, several more in Portland, then will be back in Portland a week later. Then I’ll hit several more in Bend, Oregon a few weeks after that. I’m not a “sales guy” I’m a tech guy by training and experience, but if you want to be in business for yourself at any level, you have to take the initiative to develop those relationships.