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> With minor advertising and effort, I have more inbound work requests than I can personally take on. I'm very much interested in moving more towards contract-

by paf31 12y ago

> With minor advertising and effort, I have more inbound work requests than I can personally take on. I'm very much interested in moving more towards contract-based employment, so I would love to hear more about the mechanics of getting off the ground, and any recommendations for advertising my services etc.

mvid 12y ago
I might write a new post about getting started, but essentially I just strung up a portfolio website on strikingly.com and a google apps account. FigBug is right, most of your work will end up coming through people you know, you can augment that by hitting up meetup groups and hackerspaces.
theandrewbailey 12y ago
I just watched a webinar about freelancing. Although it's not specifically about getting off the ground, it is touched on a bit. http://doubleyourfreelancingrate.com/w/clientsfromhell.html http://doubleyourfreelancingrate.com/w/clientsfromhell.html You should get a link to the recorded webinar when you sign up.
FigBug 12y ago
I've been a contractor since 2010. I've never had any problem finding work. I have received 1 job through my website, everything else has been through contacts. Before contracting I had 10 years as an employee of various companies. I think it is much harder to do contracting with less than about 5 years experience, you just won't have the contacts. There is no trick to what I do, whenever I run into an old colleague, I tell them I'm contracting now. They will either have or know somebody looking for my skills. I've even gone back to companies I worked as an employee and helped them during crunch time. I think when you are employed full time, people are reluctant to make you offers, but as soon as you are a available the offers seem to appear.
acconrad 12y ago
Try the HN freelancer posts every month, just respond to requests that fit your skill set, compete on price and over-deliver.
maxmzd_ 12y ago
AngelList is a great resource. Fill out your profile, connect with people you know, and list yourself as a contractor. Then go through jobs looking for contractors and hit "Yes." This is how I've found 90% of my contract work over the past 3 years (in the Bay Area).

by paf31 12y ago

mvid 12y ago

I might write a new post about getting started, but essentially I just strung up a portfolio website on strikingly.com and a google apps account. FigBug is right, most of your work will end up coming through people you know, you can augment that by hitting up meetup groups and hackerspaces.

theandrewbailey 12y ago

I just watched a webinar about freelancing. Although it's not specifically about getting off the ground, it is touched on a bit. http://doubleyourfreelancingrate.com/w/clientsfromhell.html http://doubleyourfreelancingrate.com/w/clientsfromhell.html You should get a link to the recorded webinar when you sign up.

FigBug 12y ago

I've been a contractor since 2010. I've never had any problem finding work. I have received 1 job through my website, everything else has been through contacts. Before contracting I had 10 years as an employee of various companies. I think it is much harder to do contracting with less than about 5 years experience, you just won't have the contacts. There is no trick to what I do, whenever I run into an old colleague, I tell them I'm contracting now. They will either have or know somebody looking for my skills. I've even gone back to companies I worked as an employee and helped them during crunch time. I think when you are employed full time, people are reluctant to make you offers, but as soon as you are a available the offers seem to appear.

acconrad 12y ago

Try the HN freelancer posts every month, just respond to requests that fit your skill set, compete on price and over-deliver.

maxmzd_ 12y ago

AngelList is a great resource. Fill out your profile, connect with people you know, and list yourself as a contractor. Then go through jobs looking for contractors and hit "Yes." This is how I've found 90% of my contract work over the past 3 years (in the Bay Area).