Ask HN: Freelancers, do you hire a PM to manage you? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Freelancers, do you hire a PM to manage you?

18 pointsZoidPeru13 comments

I have constant churning of client and personal projects, but trouble focusing, prioritising, and reflecting. As a freelancer, do any of you hire a PM or a type of work coach to keep on track on the right things? What are your suggestions?

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If I were freelancing a PM would be the last thing I'd want. I had more than my fill of that kind of thing at BigCo.

On the other hand what could be very useful is some kind of marketing/business development person to help with finding clients.

I have a friend with ADHD who really appreciated the input of a business coach. (Basically they prioritized the jobs based on which ones brought in the most money the fastest -- and streamlined things by also recommending which projects to deprioritize/put on hold.)

But as a freelancer myself, the problem was always just earning enough money - so I never hired a coach or PM. I guess theoretically they can pay for themselves by getting you to finish more billable projects. But you have to be really objective and honest with yourself about whether that's actually happening.

I'm looking to change careers from SWE to PM but I don't want to manage huge projects so I have been thinking of freelancing as a Personal project manager. I would work with people to help them plan and deliver personal projects such as online courses, weight management, daily exercise, personal projects and life planning. Most people find it very hard to stay on course over a long period so that's where I would come in and offer my services.

I think you are correct in your thinking. Freelancers should hire a PM.

In theory yes! Practically speaking, I think it'll be very hard to find a pricing model that works.

You can get in touch if you want to discuss.

I wouldn't hire a PM for my practice and here is why.

Given that I am serious about my freelancing and want to build a real business around it going forward, I have to be serious about running my business. That includes things like setting priorities, client comms, and business development (=sales).

If I can't or won't be serious about these things, I won't have a business. And, eventually, my practice will look more like employment with a different paperwork (and no benefits).

Coaches can be very effective, though. I've had a session with a retired exec thanks to SCORE, and her advice was valuable. Getting actionable advice about running your business can bring measurable financial benefits, e.g., in your close rate, or your pricing.

Peer groups can have a similar benefit. I am a member of Jonathan Stark's group coaching Slack, and I learn something new every day.

I think it's important to address one's personal weaknesses that are related to one's business practice, and work on them rather than delegate. I am happy to outsource my accounting but I wouldn't hire a PM to talk to my clients on my behalf. Rather, I'll work on my communication skills so that I don't embarrass myself in front of a client :D

No, try reducing client churn. Hiring a PM is going to be a pain in the butt for both you and your clients (who will need to speak to two people, one of whom isn’t going to be technical). And it’ll set you back at least 30% of what you make.

Maybe a virtual assistant would do what you’re looking for? They can help with scheduling, admin, diary management, checking in with you. If you defined some prioritisation criteria in advance, they would be able to prioritise tasks too

I consider myself a "consultant", which is just a fancy way of saying "freelancer" in many ways (I do more consulting that actual producing of code, though). I usually rely on the company;s PMs - in my role, I'm helping them understand the technologies I know well and the strategies on how to implement and make money off of them, but they know product and project processes for their organization better than I generally want to.

If you're a PM looking for a role as a freelancer, I'd consider taking the consultant route. If you're a PM with a deep experience either in a particular industry (e.g. finance) or a particular technology (e.g. APIs), you can easily pivot to a consultant to those types of companies, helping their PMs and teams figure out how to compete.

But even when I was a full time freelance developer focused on producing code, though I would not question the value of having a PM, I specifically freelanced so I could manage myself.

I often set up a kanban board on a private repo in github.

Note: do _not_ share this with your client! Client channel should be separate and are dependent on on the client's preferences

No, I don't. But I have vaguely considered trying to hire someone to take on business development, proposal writing, and kind of project management - in the sense of keeping track of deadlines and helping me to prioritise what I should be working on, with a bit of client management in the process. No idea how I would find such a person.

Which factor do you think make those persons hard to find, or maybe even exist?

Sounds like you're looking for a secretary rather than a manager

The companies who hire me do so because I am a verb. They already have stocks of nouns who can "PM" for me.

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