Start Getting Paid as a Web Developer 💰
You may find that, even after you know how to build web sites and applications, you can’t find a company to hire you. In this video, I share my solution to your problem.
▼ Why Freelancing
Start with freelancing because it allows you to gain experience while also earning money and getting your foot in the door with great companies.
▼ How to Fail
Here are some common ways people fail at freelancing as new web developers.
🎯 Targeting tech companies– This doesn’t work for the same reason it’s hard to get hired straight after bootcamp or after you’ve learned to build on your own. The bar is too damn high.
🐔 Counting your chickens before they hatch– In the video, I called this mistake “putting all your eggs in one basket,” but this is actually the better chicken-based cliché to describe this problem. A prospect is close to signing a contract, so you stop pursuing others. Then, that client falls through and you have to start over again. Keep going until the contract is signed and the deposit check has cleared (and even after that)!
😖 Getting discouraged– You’re going to get turned down a lot. It’s nothing personal. Just keep going until you find the right fit. In fact, look for reasons to disqualify clients. (See https://raddevon.com/articles/how-to-...)
🤦♀️🤦♂️ Overpromising– Don’t lie to sign a client. It’s bad business. Balance this against the knowledge that you’re never going to feel ready to start freelancing. You’ll have to start before you feel ready, but don’t swing too far in the other direction and start claiming you can deliver things you can’t.
▼ How to Succeed
Here are my tips for succeeding at freelancing as new web developers.
🤝 Build your practice on relationships– See the previous video in this series. (https://raddevon.com/articles/2020-we...)
⚡️ Short-circuit trust- You get hired when people trust you, but it can take a long time to earn that trust. Find ways to shortcut that like by building a proof of concept to show you can build what the client wants.
🗣 Make sure people know what you do– You want clients and you want to get paid. Don’t be shy about telling people what you do and when you can help with a problem. Don’t be salesy though.
💸 Help for free– Don’t spend 1,000 hours building someone an app for free, but if you have some quick advice that would help someone, tell them! This helps earn trust. The same people you help for free will come back when they need something big.
🤑 Keep selling when you have enough work– Much easier said than done. If you don’t do this, you’re going to be in the feast/famine cycle forever.
💵 Charge enough– You probably need to charge more than you think. Quick tip: take the yearly salary you’d like and divide by 1,000. That’s a reasonable hourly rate for starters.
▼ STUFF I USED IN THE VIDEO
▸ A chime sound by Stickinthemud on freesound.org- https://freesound.org/people/Stickint...
▸ A cool song by this Jason Shaw person- https://audionautix.com/creative-comm...
▸ Clips from various TV shows and movies