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Was kind of curious as to how many people on this board are freelancing and if you have any advice in regards to this.  I’ve picked up some work recently (not a whole lot), but it’s given me the itch and I’m wondering if it’s worthwhile pursuing. 

Some areas to discuss:

- Are you doing freelance strictly on CI?
- Do you design and code?
- Do you have someone you partner with?
- How long did it take you to get where you are now?
- Tips for getting started?

Any thoughts in regards to this are appreciated.

- no (only some maintenance atm)
- I do frontend, but no design if I can avoid it
- no, but I’ve got people working for me now
- about 30 years 😊
- get good clients!

Last point is the most important. You need to solid way to acquire work, as it will be near to impossible to compete with all other developers out there that your prospective client doesn’t know either, but are probably cheaper or better in selling themselfs.

So find those clients, do a good job, and use them as reference and to start building your network. Make sure they will recommend you to others.

Try to find a source of recurring income. Sell maintenance on web applications that will provide a few days of work a month. Offer your clients to host and/or manage their web applications for them (for a monthly fee).

Get actively involved in projects, and use that to make a name for yourself. If people know you, and your work, they will contact you when they’re in need of someone with your skillset, because they know the quality you produce.

From the development point of view, standardize and modularize. Theme everything. Lousely couple. This will allow maximum re-use of your code, which means you can deliver faster and faster the more projects you have done. Which might win you the client.

Also, consider the downsides of freelancing. I don’t know your age, but you will have costs that need to be covered, costs that are not related to whether you work or not. Costs that need to be paid even if you are out of an assignment for 3 months. Work out a strategy to cope with that, and how much you have to work and for what hourly fee to get you covered. If that fee is to high, you need to many hours a month, or you’re nervous about not working for 3 months, then maybe freelancing is not for you.

Wan,

Thanks for the insightful reply.  You bring up some very good points.

I had thought of some of them, having a recurring income, that is independent of having freelance work.  This would/could support you and your family (in my case) and if it’s consistent perhaps allow you to charge a bit less when bidding on a job as you know you’ll have other work.

As for getting active in projects…yeah that’s a big one that I need to do. 

Again thanks for the info. 

Build your profile with good quality work regardless of framework. If you are a backend developer make sure you have a good designer that has your back if you need something in a pinch in addition to a good web hosting company that is reliable and that can scale.