Why Freelance?

So why should you become a freelance developer? What are the benefits of investing in a freelance career? Freelancing has become a hot topic after the pandemic. More than ever employers have realized that they can work with professionals from anywhere. Also for employees, many have realized that the freedom of working from home is just too nice compared to working in an office every day. Not only does freelancing allow you to work from wherever you want. It also has several other benefits that many do not consider. Freelancing is more like being your own boss, it is more challenging in some ways yet vastly more rewarding than working for a company. Freelancers almost always enjoy better compensation for their work, especially when you consider that most freelancers live in countries where the cost of living is much lower. The money they make at their freelance gigs goes twice as far as it would if they were stuck in the office. Freelancers learn more and from a broader range of industries than regular employees, there is no doubt about that. The main argument against this is that in freelance work you will just do general projects again and again. Although we can’t deny that sticking with one project for years will help you build mastery in that domain (traditional employment), however, we find that top freelancers don’t just jump around to random projects. Freelancing the right way can actually lead to more and more specialized work within the domain of choice. It is really all up to you to make sure you get the deep knowledge in the space you want to grow. So freelancing does allow you to specialize? Yes it does if you deliberately take initiative in your freelance career. Freelancing is just a level up from traditional employment if you do it right. Many freelancers we meet are just better at what they do, better at marketing themselves, and want more freedom in their lives. There is a reason they decide to be freelancers and that is because it gives them more of what they want. They would have no problem getting a regular job anywhere in the world.

6 Keys To Freelance Success/

1. Define Your Value

In order to start getting freelance development jobs you need to know what your value is. Are you a seasoned expert in area with high demand? (React.js, PHP, C#, Python, Cloud, etc) or are you a younger professional who has a couple projects under your belt? You need to know where you are today to understand the value that you could provide to a potential client. Be honest with yourself. If you have only done a couple of projects and don’t have a great portfolio keep working on side projects or work at a huge discount to get some experience. If you are a seasoned developer, are you marketing yourself like the best? See the portfolio section below to understand more.

2. Create A Portfolio

Ok, so you know your value. You can create dynamic and fast React.js frontends like the best in the business. You have 5 professional projects and have been working with frontend in a team for 5 years. You are beyond ready to freelance, in fact, many clients would love to work with you. What you need now to succeed is to make sure that you properly market yourself. You can keep it simple, showcase your projects, who you are, and show just how passionate you are about the space. Here are some great examples for inspiration: https://ejosue.com/ https://www.ybrikman.com/ https://caferati.me/ https://www.stavros.io/freelance-python-developer/ http://findmatthew.com/ https://www.driesvanbroeck.be/ https://pierre.io/

3. Find Your Clients

Ok, so you have the projects and the portfolio to market yourself. You are ready to freelance! Well… not quite yet. Getting clients is usually the area where most freelancers fail. Even experienced developers with an excellent portfolio will need to find a way to get in front of clients. This is where platforms like slashdev.io make life easy for you. We help you get the best clients in the business so that you can focus on your craft. There are many other options on the web as well (Upwork, freelance.com etc). Some platforms make you market and sell yourself, others like slashdev.io do it for you. Take your pick and start building. Selling yourself is really a lot of work.

4. Crush The Interview

So you found a client and you setup a call to get to know each other. This is a critical moment in the process. If you are prepared, know your value, and present yourself well you are going to knock it out of the park. Don’t go into an interview blind, do your homework and make sure you are ready to show them you are the right person for the job. If you can master your pitch, you give yourself a great chance of landing the job.

5. Produce Right Away!

Just because you got the job doesn’t mean you can relax. Many clients are still vetting you in the first weeks of a project. If things go bad, they will move on to someone who can deliver. We find that if you can produce right away in the first week and start pushing code, it makes an excellent impression. Also make sure to communicate every single day on slack, even if it is just a quick update. After a couple weeks of pushing yourself, you are probably off to a great start with the client and can settle into your normal working style, which if you are good is probably awesome anyways!

6. Keep Building Your Client List And Get Better Jobs

So now you have completed the process to become a freelancer. From here, keep getting more projects, building your portfolio, and designing your career the way you want it. If you have any questions about freelancing or want some advice, just reach out to us at info@slashdev.io we are always happy to help!