

Ask HN: Once you have the skills, how do you start getting freelance jobs? - dgurney

Hi all,
First a little background: I started teaching myself CSS, HTML, and JQuery 8 months ago, and after a lot of hard work I feel I'm at a point where I can confidently deliver great work for a client (UI/design/build).
But how do I start getting jobs? It seems like many of you here do freelance work full-time. When you were starting out, how did you find your first jobs?
It seems like once you're started, referrals lead to referrals and it gets easier. I just can't figure out how to get the momentum started.
Thanks in advance!
Dan
======
gexla
This depends on what you want to do. Web development can be anything from
installing Wordpress with themes, which can be done by one person with little
skills, to large complex sites with teams of people with a wide array of
specialties (Facebook for example.)

The money tree starts with the guy who lands the gig from the client. That guy
will then either do everything himself (or with an in-house team) or do some
parts and then parcel out the rest to other contractors. If you can sell, the
you don't even necessarily need web development skills. You can simply land
the gigs and sub-contract out everything. Sub-contractors could even hand work
out to more sub-contractors.

Where you get work depends on where you fit within this scheme. As a CSS /
HTML / Jquery guy you are considered a "front-end" developer. Note that that
doesn't make you a designer or a UI guy. Those are totally different areas
which you haven't mentioned. CSS / HTML / Jquery has NOTHING to do with being
able to deliver good designs. You are simply a coder. You will likely be
handed all your designs.

If you aren't doing the selling at the root of the money tree then you
somewhere along the sub-contractor track. However, you still need to be able
to sell. You still have a client. Your client is going to be another
developer.

Now that you know who your customer is. You now need to locate that customer.
The developers you will be working for can be anywhere along the money trail.
They might be agencies which generally handle marketing strategy for the
client and directly sub contract out all the parts. They might be development
shops which receive designs from the agencies and handle all the building.
They might be solo designers who do generally do as much as they can but hand
certain parts off when they are overworked. I have worked with all of the
above.

All these people will likely be hanging out in places such as CMS forums, web
development forums and social networks such as Twitter. They talk to each
other to get help with what they are doing. For example, if they need Jquery
help, they will go to a community where they can get help on Jquery. Aside
from help, they will also go to places where they can discuss general
happenings in the industry. If they are passionate about Jquery, then they may
show off things they have done in Jquery. If they are unhappy about the
direction of Jquery, then they may want to talk about that. You get the point.

Your job is to start locating these various communities and participate. You
need to help people, engage in conversations and show off things you have
done. Collectively this process is building your authority. It's a PR game.
The more people see your face, the more they hear you talk about intelligent
things, the more of an authority you will become. Eventually you will start to
receive offers to do gigs for people.

Once you start doing work, then you are building a network. Your network is
your bread and butter. The larger your Rolodex, the more secure your future.
This is where your work will come in from in addition to all the above
mentioned activities. As you bring in more work from your Rolodex, you can do
less of the other stuff, but never quit. I have at time worked with certain
developers almost exclusively for periods and I have been in totally new
ground for periods. I have found that for me, always exploring new ground is
better for building those networks.

To do everything described above, you need something to stand out. Just being
an HTML / CSS guy isn't very sexy. How are you going to show that off? Your
personal projects and portfolio (this is the portfolio you have before you are
really even getting work) needs to be pushing the envelope a bit. Developers
specializing in nothing but spitting out HTML / CSS are a dime a dozen. There
is a lot of noise there to overcome. As you get closer to the bleeding edge,
you have less noise. Become and expert there.

What's leading edge? I don't specialize in those areas so you might know
better than me. Know HTML 5, CSS3 and all the other related buzzwords that you
see in Hacker News. In the JS (Jquery) world there is a lot more you can do to
impress. You can build Jquery plugins, become expert with building apps in
Node (then you get into server side programming which is a whole different
ballgame) and work on building great UI's. You could also begin to specialize
in things like UI or design if you see something you like better.

Also keep in mind that this is all a business. Customer managemment, business
management and sales are all more important than the technical skills. This is
a long and stressful track, just like any business. Make sure this is
something you really want to do. Contract developer is sort of like restaurant
owner in that it's an idea that everyone comes up with. There are so many
other businesses you can get into that you can do totally online that would
likely be more interesting and likely more lucrative. Consider this, you
aren't likely to ever get rich from doing web development for other people.
The people with the great chance of being rich is the people you are building
for, the client from which the money tree grows. ;)

------
vishaldpatel
People usually like to see a portfolio of pretty projects if you're a UI
person. Got a website with some work on it? It would certainly help having
one. In fact, you might even get a few jobs from here! =)

Once you have one, print a nice business card with your website on it.

Start networking. Meetup.com has programing / startup / business type
meetups... go them all! Be nice, have fun, listen to what people say, and when
the opportunity comes up - usually when they ask you what you do (people are
interested in you if you're interested in them), tell them you're a UI
designer. Give them your card. Take their card. Send them an email telling
them how glad you were to meet them (which, you were).

Place an ad on Craigslist / other popular classifieds sites. I know someone
who started getting UI work this way.

~~~
phektus
I cannot stress this more. Portfolios speak volumes, and if you have yet to
start on a project with your new found skills the obvious course of action
would be to create your own to start with.

When I was starting out with Python I wished to work with Django projects, so
I thought myself the framework. Then I created my first web app in Django,
<http://www.cvstash.com>, and with it I scored a couple of Django projects
just by showing it. Now I work full time. If I'm going to switch technologies
or would like to get some freelance gigs on other frameworks and/or languages,
say RoR, I would do the same. Work experience is better, but being able to
work on something on your own to start says a lot.

Off-topic: If you put time in examining a possible market with your website it
might even turn out to be a win-win situation, with you getting passive income
from it.

To summarize, you need a portfolio like vishaldpatel said. If you don't have
one yet, then get started with doing something for yourself. Buy a domain if
you don't have one yet, and show off your skills there.

------
beatpanda
I got my first jobs via Craigslist and still get many of them that way. Aim
high instead of starting with crappy jobs and working our way up- having a
good portfolio is actually better than having a lot of clients or references.

~~~
dgurney
Interesting. With the Craigslist angle are you posting ads for your services
or responding to existing ads?

I tried responding once and it turned into a classic "Craigslist" experience..
after a few skype conversations I showed up at the client's "office" for a
meeting, which turned out to be his house, and he wasn't there. Same with the
next time. And after telling him to get lost, now I get passive-aggressive
skype messages from him every week or two. yikes.. :)

But armed with some strategy I'll give Craigslist another shot.

~~~
rick888
I gave up on getting freelance clients through craigslist a long time ago.
Most are bottom-of-the barrel clients that want a ton of work for very little
money. Either that or they don't want to pay you after you've finished (and
want a ton of features for the same price).

There needs to be a site that not only has a rating system for freelancers,
but one for the companies paying them.

~~~
yeag123
Odesk sort of does this with feedback ratings: <https://www.odesk.com/> I'm
sure there are other freelance sites that do as well.

------
adyus
It's also important to work for the right person the first time around. Make
sure it's a job where you retain most of the control over the final look and
feel of the result, otherwise you may not be able to use it for your
portfolio.

------
eswat
Do you know anybody that’s in a band or owns a business? I’d let them know
that you are now in a position to tackle any creative, online problems they
may have, or suggest projects that would help them that you can deliver on. Or
hell, just tell everyone you know that you can create stuff now; I’ve been
surprised at how many people I knew from work had side-businesses they never
talk about, but could have used a website.

Just watch out for those that take your friendship or the difficulty in
creating a website for granted; don’t do the work for free, even if your
portfolio is severely lacking.

