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Comment by candiddevmike | Hacker News Reader

Sorry to tell you this, but you picked a terrible time to start contracting. I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there.

Also, I personally wouldn't use the US LLC if you don't live in the US--that would be a huge red flag for me as a potential client. Contracting is all about trust, and you want your business to appear as solid as possible.

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> I'd start on Upwork and see if you can get any bites on there.

Upwork is international and you're competing with millions of people willing to work for $5/day, are you not?

Gotta start somewhere and establish a list of references and a portfolio of past projects. The alternative is LinkedIn and wait for a recruiter to offer you a contract while they take 50% of the hourly rate. It's a really bad time for contracting.

Upwork and Freelancer are cesspits. Filled with people that don't bother reading your job and just spam your job listings. I'd sooner cold email startups asking if they need help (as annoying as that is).

Yes, but most good clients aren't focused on price-above-everything. There are other axes that you can compete on.

I disagree with both you statements:

Why is it a terrible time?

What's wrong with setting up a US entity? Actually from a US employer perspective you have a bit more recourse if you need to use the legal system than someone operating entirely out of a foreign country.

Been contracting for 7 years and there's been a 10x in opportunities from Q42023 to Q12024.

Things are looking very up.

You wanna share some tips on getting first few clients? any platform or just start sending emails and calling directly to them? Thanks

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