
Freelancing, half a year in. - Alan01252
http://alanhollis.com/freelancing-half-a-year-in/
======
jiggy2011
So, how does one work at all with multiple programmers and no version control?

Are you creating patch files and manually merging them (like Linux used to
do)?

Or are you just using a shared FTP and keeping a spreadsheet of who is using
which file at any particular point?

The amount of discipline and organisation required to use either of these
methods would appear to be far higher than that required to sit down for a few
hours to learn a basic VCS like Subversion using a graphical tool.

~~~
Swizec
The first thing I do when starting a new project is get everyone on git. If
the project is far along and is using svn, I can live with that ... sort of.

The next thing I do is explain that I will be spending more time for coding
upfront because I will introduce testing into the project.

These are not negotiable.

~~~
Alan01252
I'd be interested to know how you sell git to your clients.

I have listed all the positive benefits of version control in detail to my
clients and still have the idea rejected due to it being an "unnecessary
complication"...

~~~
krmmalik
If the opportunity arises, try the following approach: Tell your client " I
use some very specific tools for my work as they increase my productivity and
efficiency, and as part of the work i deliver to you, i'd like to continue
using those tools to deliver to you. You'll receive multiple benefits as a
result, and i can name them if you wish, but don't wish to bore you with
technical details"

Just try it. Not making any promises, but i think you'll have better luck if
you do. Sounds like you're either framing things wrong, or allowing certain
people to make the decision when it should be yours to make ;-)

~~~
jiggy2011
I suppose it depends on if you're trying persuade another programmer or the
end customer.

The way it is framed seems to suggest that they have an existing (probably
solo) developer who is used to not using version control and is frightened by
the thought of adding new tools and processes.

If you introduce such a person to version control it will necessitate them
spending some time to learn the system which they may be defensive about since
they see it as some outsider encroaching on their territory.

In such a case the best bet might be to follow their method until you hit some
situation where there is a problem or significant reduction in productivity as
a result (shouldn't take long) and then demonstrate the virtues of using
source control.

If on the other hand it is a non technical person who is making specific
dictates about source control then that might raise another set of red flags.

~~~
krmmalik
Yeah - When I was providing IT support services, we used to run into a similar
kind of problem all the time. In the end we realised that we were going to
execute in a way where they had no option but to use the tools that we wanted.
We at all cost avoided getting into a debate with internal IT staff, and as
for the client gave them only one option which was to do things the way that
we wanted.

Your method of using appropriate timing to introduce new tools is also what we
employed and works very well.

------
jiggy2011
What non programming skills have you found most useful for freelancing apart
from general business stuff?

For example when I have looked at freelance web programming jobs, especially
for smaller companies who don't have an in house team they seem to also expect
you to do the design work.

Do you have other freelancers that you sub-contract out to, do some yourself
or stick to strictly scoped (programming only) projects?

~~~
Alan01252
I explain very clearly that I am not a designer right from the start. Again
I've lost projects to digital agencies because of this, which is sad, and is
another problem I'd like to solve but haven't yet.

The biggest non programming skill I have, and something that I appear to be
okay at, is in face to face meetings. I've not yet walked out of one meeting
where I haven't then got a job.

There's probably a few things that have helped here.

1\. It's easy to demonstrate my knowledge face to face.

2\. I repeat in my head "be confident" throughout the entire meeting.

3\. I dress smartly.

~~~
jiggy2011
How do you explain the value add that you provide or do you stick mainly to
marketing yourself in terms of selling a certain skill per hour?

I ask mainly because of recent patio11 posts about emphasizing value in terms
like "I can increase sign ups by x% by doing Y". This would seem to require a
lot of experience and analytical/stats knowledge that a programmer might not
necessarily possess however.

~~~
Alan01252
When I say I'm not marketing myself correctly, it's exactly this point I'm
talking about.

At the moment my value add for my clients is my previous experience and my
communication skills. I try to reply to emails as fast as I can, that alone
sets me apart from most other freelancers.

I would love to be able to sell myself in similar terms to the way patio11
does, but as you rightly state it takes a lot of experience that I for one
don't have, yet.

That being said, I've read so much information about on-line conversions
techniques, have run successful (profitable) affiliate PPC campaigns, got on
the front page of hacker news multiple times and done other things that maybe
99% of other people on the planet have never done.

I'm sure there's something in there that I can sell as a value add.

------
jaggederest
£20k ~ $31k

To save anyone else having to do the math.

Also, yes, your rates are still very low, Mr. Hollis, although I suppose it
depends on how many days you worked on billable projects. I would expect to
see more like £40k for six months given your CV.

~~~
Jabbles
For comparison, top† graduate software engineers (in London) will be on
~£35k/year.

†Not like "won IOI" top, but I imagine Google/Microsoft/FB etc. has a graduate
starting salary around that.

~~~
Alan01252
From my experience that's also the very very best graduates. I don't know of
anyone who's gone in at that figure.

I was earning just less than £35k two years after graduating with a 2.1 ( not
sure what the equivalent is in American university terms ). And at that point
was earning considerably more than anyone else I knew who graduated at the
same time.

~~~
davedx
I went from GBP 33k to 40k within a year after graduating, in 2001. This was
for an investment bank though. (London)

~~~
Alan01252
Banking/finance does seem to be the industry which breaks the standard,
especially in London.

I think I've mentioned here before, but I know a friend of a friend who
supposedly earns £50k a year as a Java developer for a bank, but didn't know
what a constructor was.

The mind boggles.

~~~
jiggy2011
Probably because he never used one, all his classes came from factories :)

------
vignesh_vs_in
I have always wanted to do freelancing but refrained from it.

Below are my skills,

Official: I got 5 years of experience in various fields,

1 year as manual tester for a Mainframe/JSP based application.

2 years as an automation test engineer, which is a fancy way of writing
scripts to do automatic tests.

2 years as a tools developer for an automation framework, work involves
writing java/Oracle based tools to do a specific task.

Non Official: . 2 years learning to code and worked on basic android
applications. . 2 years on iOS ranging from games to apps.

Side Projects:

Android:

Personal Finance Calculator (<http://bit.ly/STAJ8n>) helps you to calculate
Loan Interest rate.

Baby Names (<http://bit.ly/STAJ8n)Provides> List of Baby names and their
meaning

Mobile Number Tracker(<http://bit.ly/STAIkI>) provides caller info based on
the mobile number (Only India).

Mobile Number Tracker US (<http://bit.ly/PGakKz>)

iOS Game:

Juicy Fun (<http://bit.ly/Ub7IRv>) physics game

Atom Ace (<http://bit.ly/UxZ6F9>) a different kind of puzzle.

iOS App:

London Tube Map (<http://bit.ly/QqAXo7>) shows london tube statues.

Movie Theaters (<http://bit.ly/SwedyD>) shows info about latest movies and
movie theaters which plays them.

I am not sure what will I be able to charge clients as I don’t have
professional development experience, and also living in India doesn’t help
things I guess.

My big question is, will I be a fool to try freelancing at this stage and with
my experience?

edit: formatting

~~~
benjaminwootton
Customers will rarely go looking for a shopping of skills such as JSP,
automation testing, Java, Oracle etc.

Instead, they'll say 'I want a website to do X' or 'I want an application to
do Y'.

A lot of the time, they didn't even care what you use or how you do it.

Your set of published apps in the relatively hot mobile space puts you in a
good situation in this regard.

The first step would be to build a portfolio of your work.

~~~
vignesh_vs_in
I just bought a domain. I will build my portfolio and blog more. Thanks.

------
showsover
As someone looking to try freelancing in a couple of years (only been
programming for about 2 years) it is reassuring to see that you can make a
decent amount of money with almost no network.

How do you find freelancing vs ordinary job? Do you have savings for harder
times?

~~~
cageface
Freelancing has helped me understand just how much my previous job was paying
me that didn't show up on my paycheck. Health insurance, matching 401k
contributions, and various miscellaneous other perks are actually quite
valuable. So you really have to take these things into account when you set
your rates.

The other big difference is that a salaried job means a regular paycheck, no
matter how busy you might be in any given month. But there can be a lot of
downtime between billable hours freelancing so that's another potential dent
in your income.

Personally I prefer to bid a fixed price instead of an hourly rate for a
project. This makes it that much more important to consider your initial
estimate carefully but it also eliminates a lot of micro-accounting and
haggling over how much a single hour is worth.

You also have to be careful not to take on more work than you can handle.
Unlike a regular job there's no hard ceiling on how much you can make in a
month but it's easy to get in over your head this way.

So far I'm really enjoying the freedom and variety of freelancing but I think
a regular job is easier in a lot of ways.

~~~
NickPollard
The OP is in the UK so thankfully health insurance is not an issue as it is
state-provided out of your taxes (although some companies do provide
subsidised private healthcare, which some people might value highly).

You're very right about the other things though - pension contributions, paid
sick leave etc. which freelancing doesn't cover, so it's important to compare
them carefully.

~~~
mseebach
Healthcare is public, yes (although a private insurance is a popular benefit)
but the tax that pays for it (up to 13% I think) is deducted separately. Ie.
for your employer to give you a salary of £10000, he has to pay £11300. If
you're self employed, you have to pay this, so it can bite you when comparing
salary and contracting rates.

~~~
RobAley
Thats not correct. PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax for employed people and the
equivalent Income Tax for self-employed, along with similar rates of National
Insurance for both, go into the general tax pot which pays for healthcare and
other government programs. Employers advertise pay rates from which the tax is
deducted, so in that way they are the same as contracting rates (the tax is
deducted from both). Employers also pay a small National Insurance
contribution on top, which doesn't come out of your wages.

~~~
mseebach
Yes, it goes in the general tax pot, but it's still called national
_insurance_. Although you don't have to worry about coverage, you very much
still have to pay.

> Employers advertise pay rates from which the tax is deducted, so in that way
> they are the same as contracting rates (the tax is deducted from both).

Yes, this is correct for income tax and the employees portion.

> Employers also pay a small National Insurance contribution on top, which
> doesn't come out of your wages.

The problem is that it's _not_ a small contribution on top, it's 12.8% above a
low threshold. For a £35k salary, it's just under £3,800 - see
<http://www.listentotaxman.com/>. And as a contractor, you have to pay that
for yourself.

------
coob
Congrats Alan, can I just say I like the look of
<http://whensgoodforyou.co.uk> \- I've had that on my pile of 'implement
someday' but you've actually done it. Fantastic.

~~~
Alan01252
Thanks very much coob. It still needs a little more work doing to it before
I'm happy with it.

At the moment I've got my friends alpha testing it, and have got some good
feedback. Hopefully I'll be confident enough to post a SHOW HN soon.

------
narag
What are "digital agencies" and how to find one?

(Sorry if the question seems stupid, I haven't heard the term before and it
seems a little too general to return meaningful results in Google)

Edit: Thank you benjaminwootton!

~~~
benjaminwootton
Web design and marketing companies that specialise in online stuff.

They often have more design and campaign work than development, so they will
regularly bring on freelance developers to help with projects.

