The truth about freelancing

18 points by jonathanstark 9 years ago | 15 comments

sulam 9 years ago |

In addition to everything else listed in the article, you should also learn to proofread, and especially learn the correct usage of "your" vs "you're".

And before someone accuses me of nitpicking, keep in mind that as a consultant you are very often communicating using written media.

sandworm101 9 years ago |

Freelancing, for me, rarely involves working from home. If and when you can work remotely depends on the type of work, not your employment classification. This article was written from a very narrow perspective. Even the 100$/hour dream is misplaced. 100$ is nothing for many freelance contractors. I make more. That said, I spend 2/3 of my time on non-paid tasks such as proposals and giving talks at conferences.

Fyi, most lawyers (or their firms) operate under some form of "freelance" as an outside contractor charging by the hour. Recent surveys show that even at "big law" firms only 25% of lawyer time is actually billable hours. The rest, like me, is spent doing all the other things you must to bring in work while maintaining your freelance status.

k__ 9 years ago |

I worked as employee and as freelancer and prefer the last.

I just can't do this office 9-5 stuff.

But it's not the end game for me.

I don't like how most companies are structured and I don't like the attitude most CEOs have. So working with one, or a few, customers is only a bit better than working as an employee.

I think the optimal case is to create some products and have >100 customers, so if one tries dumb shit with you, it doesn't threaten your existence. Also, I think it's easier to motivate yourself to work on something that is your own and you believe in, than to implement "the visions" of other people on a constant basis.

BigChiefSmokem 9 years ago |

Best advice: "it’s all about finding value for your client and getting compensated for that." The less people on Earth that can do what you can, the more you should be charging, especially if it's a decent-sized organization footing the bill.

hellofunk 9 years ago | |

Unfortunately, because there is such wide income disparity in the world, you are always going to compete against another competent freelancer who will accept much less than you. That drives everyone's rate down. I'm speaking primarily about remote freelancing jobs, which are the only ones I've accepted over the last many years.

mamcx 9 years ago | | |

Or more realistic outside USA: You will rarely found the customer that pay top money.

You can bet we charge less not because we want, but because that is the local rate. Sometimes we can score a outsider, but for much we talk about the magical properties of remote-worldwide work, even more if is consulting/freelancing, is very much about local + native language.

blowski 9 years ago | | |

If you compete only on coding skills, sure. But introduce software architecture skills and you become a bit more unique. Throw in excellent communication skills and ability to configure and maintain a CI/CD process and you're rare as rocking horse poo.

taplogger 9 years ago | |

Yep, for one of my clients the most value I delivered was convincing them NOT to move forward on a feature. I should remind them of the tens of thousands of dollars they saved next time I raise my rate.

xherberta 9 years ago |

An unmentioned corollary: freelancing's finest hour is when you don't really need the money.

antisthenes 9 years ago | |

Life's finest hours are when you have fuck you money in general.

sofaofthedamned 9 years ago |

Seriously, this is HN worthy?

dimitri-gnidash 9 years ago | |

As a person who does freelancing and running the agency successfully, I can attest that "remote contractor living in exotic locales" is a recurring developer fantasy.

I have had quite a few people ask me how to get clients. I always struggle with the answer. What do you say referrals? It is a business like any other and you will need to exercise other skills besides software development.

In that sense, the article providing a different viewpoint is HN worthy as this is exactly where lots of entrepreneurial developers congregate.

ptrptr 9 years ago | |

Yeah, why the negativity?

hkon 9 years ago |

Yes, or you can learn to develop software professionally and never worry about money again...