Ask HN: Freelancing starting out – any tips or tricks?
Thanks
* 1. Productize your service: Create a clear proposition, and turn your service into a product-like-package. Have a clear deliverable, timeframe and price.
* 2. Then, create ‘side projects’. These side projects should be super valuable to your specific target customer and 100% free.
* 3. Instead of marketing your main service, promote your side projects. These are free, frictionless tools that people gladly share. Driving traffic to these free side projects is a lot easier and the sharability is higher.
* 4. On these side project, upsell your productised service, driving a portion of the traffic to your main service.
Voila.
Make sure you have at least one website built up that represents a good example of your work.
Make sure you document everything you do. If you finish a project, take screenshots. Set up a portfolio online. Get a LinkedIn and update it often. That is a great place to show off everything if you don't have a website. Every job in which you receive a paycheck constitutes as working a job that you can list on your LinkedIn resume. Make sure you list out the details of what you did or do for the client. Don't go crazy, but list important keywords.
With LinkedIn, you should also connect to clients who are on there and get them to write you a RECOMMENDATION as soon as possible. ( http://www.confessionsoftheprofessions.com/useful-feature-li... )
Specialize in customer care, service and support, which is something that many web developers lack and will make you in demand. A client wants to know they can pick up the phone or send an email and receive an answer within a few hours. They are panicking already about issues with website or whatever, and you are the person who can keep them having a peace of mind, and you can certainly charge for that. I usually come in when the web designer before me has disappeared without a trace or is hard to contact.
I was referred to a very popular client in my town. She runs a paint and wine business and her web developer before me, developed all custom software, which worked, but had so many problems, that I ended up charging her hundreds of dollars just to repair the damages. It began to get annoying and while the money was great, I hated that I had to charge her for someone else's mess. It also gets exhausting tracking down a few dozen PHP files and figuring out what is causing the problem. Touching someone else's code is never fun. I came to her with an ultimatum: I could keep charging her hundreds of dollars a month and she would keep losing money from paying me, or let me install a calendar system that will cost her a few thousand dollars to install, but save her more money in the long run, as I probably wouldn't have to charge her to keep putting band-aids on a wound. It has been installed for a year now and I can tell you, she has definitely saved thousands of dollars.
Sure, I'm out thousands of dollars because I'm not charging her to patch bugs, but I'm not annoyed anymore, because I installed quality software that actually works. She comes to me with new ideas for her website and that is where I continue to make money with her.. and the general maintenance fees. She is more likely to stick with me because she really is saving money and she knows it.
I would highly recommend that you get a business card. You can get a few hundred made for less than $20. Hand them out to your clients. Do a good job. It will likely be that your clients will refer you to their friends. You can give them a referral percentage on the first project you do for the new client or you can just thank them. Whichever you prefer is best. If you have clients who run a business with a physical location, ask them if you can drop off a few cards and leave them in the front of the store.
Note the local businesses in your area. "Ma and Pa" places or small businesses. Check to see if they have a website. If they don't, show them the website(s) you have already built and give them a good deal on building them a website. Don't undercharge, but don't overcharge, either. This is where you'll have to figure out what a good 6-10 pages cost ... or more specifically, what price would make you feel comfortable doing a website. If they do have a website, but you clearly see it can be improved, than ask them if they are satisfied with their website, or if they are looking for a new look.
Lastly, make sure you know how to write up an invoice. Keep ALL documents of everything you do. Keep it organized. Google Drive or OneDrive is a good place to store them so you never lose them.
I have been in the business of freelancing websites for almost a decade. My first website was for a non-profit organization so I did not charge them at all. My second website, I think I charged $250, and then $500, and my prices only went up as I gained more experience. The other reason they also went up: I have noticed a huge change in what clients are looking for nowadays. Years ago, you would build them a website. Make a few changes they wanted and be done with it. Nowadays, clients are more selective, more picky, and want more custom work. So by the time you get done, you were literally working for free for them with all the changes they want. Be fair in charging your clients. If they aren't a million dollar business, and even if they were, you aren't going to make a million dollars from that one business. So don't get greedy.
Most of my clients nowadays are also repeat business wanting newer websites, as they themselves are entrepreneurs, and I usually get new ones from word of mouth. I don't usually seek out new clients anymore. I'm actually looking to get out of this business soon.
Good luck. It's a fun business to be in but it can get tiring. As for competition... Craigslist is filled with people looking for websites. Local businesses are a great place to start. And most people don't want someone who is "remote" or "overseas". They want someone who is local, in the same timezone, and in their area.
Would you mind reaching out to me offline? ryan@luma.im