A freelancer emailed me a question which I think is valuable to write about here. How would I go about finding [software] maintenance gigs? Should I market myself as a bug fixer? No, I wouldn’t label yourself as a bug fixer. Bug fixing sounds a really low value skill, even if the bugs are the …
Tag: freelance
Billable or not?
It can be difficult to know what is “proper” billing when you first start freelancing. Obliviously you know to bill for the time you’re using your skill. But what about phone calls with the client about the project? In-person meetings? Travel? Thinking time? What if you lost time going down the wrong path and have …
Project minimums
Or how I stopped wasting two hours to build a proposal for a project that would let me bill $600 When I started freelancing I used to talk to anyone who was interested in talking with me about a project. That usually included me creating a proposal for them too. Since I was timid, scared, …
Advice for new freelancers
A friend emailed me the other day: What one piece of advice would you give new freelancers? The single most important piece of advice I’d give new freelancers is to build a system or process for their marketing. While it might not feel that important at the beginning, having a system in place to do …
How I Manage my Freelance Finances
Over the years freelancing I’ve settled into a routine for handling my business finances (and my personal finances too). Weekly books The first part of my routine kicks off every weekend. I’ll sit down and do my bookkeeping for the week. This includes checking all my bank accounts, credit cards, and any other financial account …