4 ms·

Ask HN: What should I consider as I move into freelancing?

• kachhalimbu 12y ago
  I started freelancing 6 months ago and I'm doing ok. I've made the same amount of money I would have made working a regular job but I only have worked 1/8th the time (billable work anyways). To answer your questions 1. Popular opinion here on HN is to charge by day or per project (considering what value you bring to the table). I found it hard to implement so I found a rate that was reasonable for the kind of lifestyle I wanted. This is an exercise you have to do it yourself. For me I figured out what was my necessary expenditure (bills + insurance, what was enough for me to keep myself happy (books,movies,outdoor day/weekend trips etc.). However as soon as I get my head around actually implementing popular HN advice I'm going to follow it. 2. I started with oDesk and so far have only got 1 project out of it. It was only 3 weeks effort. There is too much competition there and it is hard to stand out AND get good rate. Rest of the work I found through my network. I let everyone know I was freelancing, reached out to everyone I knew and asked if they have any project or any of their friends needed any help. 3. Following things helped a. My spouse was working until recently so it was comforting to know we will at least have food on the table and pay mortgage. If you don't have any support I suggest build at least 6 months savings first before jumping in or get a contract first. b. When I was not working I was either constantly searching for work or working on side projects. c. I had a pretty good previous work experience to bank on but if you don't have any make sure you have some sort of portfolio to showcase your skillset.
• cweagans 12y ago
  1. Charge by the hour. Your rate is not high enough. IMO, start at around $100/hour and see where that gets you. Don't fall into the trap of trying to calculate your expenses and divide them down into 40 hours/wk, etc - that simply doesn't work. What has worked really well for me is asking the question: "How much would I want to get paid to not spend the next hour with my family/dog/whatever is important to you?" 2. Stay away from oDesk, elance, Freelancer.com, etc. You won't get quality clients that way, and you'll constantly be competing with some guy that only charges $8/hr for "expert" level web development. Gun.io has been very nice for me, and going to networking type events in your area could help too. The majority of my business comes from people that I've met in person at an event like this. 3. Make absolutely sure that you bill for each and every hour you work. No freebies. You're running a business, not a charity. Get paid before you deliver the final product. Always have a contract. ALWAYS have a contract. In most cases, don't let your clients dictate technical solutions to their problems. They're the client, but you're the expert. Regarding a contract, you don't necessarily need to know legalese. Putting the terms in writing is adequate. See https://github.com/cweagans/Contract https://github.com/cweagans/Contract for an example. IANAL, YMMV, etc.
  • mavsman 12y ago
    All great information. I'd have no idea where to start with a contract so thank you for that. And for my rate, I really appreciate that as well. There's no way I'd ever start as "high" as $100 before I read what was said here so that's really good to know.
• davismwfl 12y ago
  My comments are assuming you are U.S. based. Get clients through friends, co-workers, previous employers and by going out and meeting people and companies. Start a blog or contribute to open source projects etc. That always helps your credibility and also helps you get recognized over time, but it doesn't happen overnight. 1. In the U.S. most contract placement agencies will charge between $75 and $135/hr per person, except in some of the higher cost locals where it will be more. You are competing against them regardless of what people say, simply because companies will talk to these agencies when looking at projects only requiring one or two people to do over a short period. You compete against them not by lowering your rate, but by offering a solution not a warm body. Overall, I see rates typically from $100-$185/hr in the South East, some try to get $225-250 but reality is I see those people losing deals and/or constantly discounting their rate to get work. Your rate should constantly be going up as you get more experience and successful projects behind you that you can point to, but you'll find the point which it is in balance with the market. Also, discounting your rate is generally a bad idea, don't do it if you can avoid it. A couple of clients have told me before that they think a discounted rate means you know you are overpriced and are just looking for a sucker. Not sure I totally agree, but I don't discount my rate because I never really have a fixed rate, I will vary it by the job, duration etc. 2. Avoid these sites, unless you are outside the US in a low cost nation where you can live on $1-2k USD/month. Use friends, co-workers and previous employers as a first start and go out and talk to people and companies. We have found work on Craigslist a number of times where companies were looking for a "coder" to write their project. I don't get turned off by poorly written ads, or obviously non-technical people seeking help and will call them up and discuss their needs. I have walked away with $40-70k deals this way when some friends looked at the same ad and said it was a waste of their time to call. Fuck it, call them the worse you find out is the job isn't worth your time but you can still use practice on your sales pitch and interviewing potential clients. I have a client right now that I found on Craigslist and called up, that contract ended up being roughly $60k over the next few months, not bad for less than an hours work searching craigslist and calling him up. Of course it took a couple of weeks to get the contract in place etc, but well worth my time. 3. There are a ton of things you need to know, get yourself insured, always have a contract with clients, get paid by the hour, day or week. Demand payments be timely and stop working when they aren't. Small clients I make pay weekly or at worst NET 10, medium clients I go NET 10 and up to NET 30 the larger they get. Accept you will get screwed over a few times with clients not paying or paying slow, just learn from it and try not to repeat those mistakes. Set expectations clearly, and avoid clients you feel are going to have unrealistic expectations, no matter how desperate you are. Don't take on more then you can do, it will just piss people off (rightfully), at the same time, don't turn down work, just schedule it for the future when possible. Don't let small clients drag out the project or let scope creep in. Every client will try, but small businesses seem to be the worst, they will call/email you constantly and always want more for free. Don't let people devalue your time by getting your time for free, you don't have to be rude, but make them respect that your time is worth money.
• MalcolmDiggs 12y ago
  I've been freelancing on-and-off for about 10 years now. It's been a great ride, but you're smart to ask about the pitfalls. To your questions: 1. The market sets your rate. For better or worse. You can argue a little up, and a little down. But at the end of the day you can only charge what the market will bear. In many cases however, that might be higher than you expect. 2. Build your own projects first. Spend a few weeks cranking out side projects and throw them up into a portfolio. Once that's done, start networking. The marketplaces are too commoditized (lowest-bidder type stuff), I'd stay away from there. Just go to business functions, social functions, etc and make sure people know what you do and that you're available. Tell your friends to refer their friends to you. Once you get rolling on your first client, your sales pipeline should be almost entirely referral based. Focus on doing such an amazing job with your first client that they run out and tell 10 people, which gets you 10 more jobs. 3. It's feast and famine. You'll have 6-figure months, you'll have 0-figure months. You'll need to learn to budget differently than someone on a w2. Save up a lot of "runway" (I'd recommend a year's worth of living expenses). Otherwise you'll find yourself in "salesman" mode when you're not even done with the last client's project yet. I think the biggest mistake new freelancers make is to just take on any client who shows up. It pays to be picky. You need to "qualify" the lead, just as much as they need to vet you. Only take on clients who have demonstrable ability to pay, are a joy to be around, and see eye-to-eye with you on project direction.