So You Think You Can Freelance?

http://blog.grouptalent.com/2012/so-you-think-you-can-freelance/

by whather • 14 years ago

54 16 14 years ago

blog.grouptalent.com

If I had to give a single tip, it would be "don't do fixed price contracts".

whather• 14 years ago

I agree you shouldn't do fixed priced contracts for larger, long-term projects. But a fixed price for a 1-week long project seems to work out pretty well. That's why we developed the 1 week long sprint payouts.

thibaut_barrere4• 14 years ago

Hehe - I remember my first freelance contract: I quoted 6 hours, and it ended up being 36 hours.

But then if the scope and environment and almost everything is crystal clear etc, it's totally doable :)

tptacek5• 14 years ago

If I had to give a single tip, it would be "don't bill hourly".

The simplest fix for this: give clients proposals that quote an estimated price for the whole project in units of person/weeks, and have your SOW say "time beyond N weeks can be billed at a cost of $X/person/day".

thibaut_barrere4• 14 years ago

For clients expecting estimates, I tend do these in days or weeks; but these are still (best-effort) estimates.

jontas• 14 years ago

If I charge hourly, the better I get the less money I make. I can offset this by raising my rate, but a high rate can be intimidating to clients.

They'd rather hear that a project will cost them $1,000 and they can assume that is 20 hours @ $50. In reality, it might take me 5-10 hours. They would've balked at a $200/hr rate, but don't blink at the $1,000 project fee.

Working hourly means your own interests are directly aligned against the client's.

ChrisLTD• 14 years ago

I really like the idea of charging for 1 or 2 weeks at a time. I'll have to try it.

tptacek5• 14 years ago

I'm not in love with any scheme that causes you to resist quoting prices your clients will understand. They want to know how much the project will cost. Tell them how much you think it will cost.

There is a huge premium to be captured by consultants simply by eliminating the appearance of uncertainty. Clients pay extra for perceived determinism.

medinism2• 14 years ago

I agree giving the project owner the appearance of certainty will make him feel safe and comfortable - however it is not good for them. The longer and more complicated the project the more likely your estimate will be wrong. So giving the customer a sense of overall effort is good - misleading them by telling them you know how much the overall project will cost is bad.

tptacek5• 14 years ago

So provide a conservative estimate billed in week-long increments. You come in way under the wire, they get a week or two deducted from the final cost of the project. Customer dicks around with requirements, you get to say "I am happy to do whatever you'd like and make whatever changes you'd like but I need to remind you that we have a fixed schedule for this project".

All this stuff about "what's best for the customer" tends to be an elaborate justification for complicated pricing schemes that alienate customers while ironically undercharging them for the services you provide.

Avoid customers for whom a week's worth of your time is a make- or- break- the- business decision.

thibaut_barrere4• 14 years ago

Definitely agree!

Extra related point: some clients will really appreciate to have a higher quote that doesn't risk to go up afterwards, because the budget will be locked at project startup for internal reasons (vs. having a lower cost planned, but extra cost afterwards).

alanstorm• 14 years ago

That's solid advice, but only follow it once a sense of trust and rapport has developed between you and the client.

There's far too many things a potential client may not be telling you about the project, and it's incredibly hard for the independent freelancer to do enough business development, or for the client to do enough vetting, to know which random internet person is trustworthy. This is especially true when you're just starting out.

A one week sprint that solves a small, immediate need the client has will keep the project manageable, and protects both the freelancer and the client from a potentially bad situation. Worse case scenario, one of you is out a week's work. Best case scenario, after a few sprints a rapport and trust develops, and you can start providing your clients with estimates for larger pieces of work, knowing they'll be treated as estimates and not fixed bids.

Don't eliminate the appearance of uncertainty when you're legitimacy uncertain. That's bad communication. If a client needs solid estimates out of the gate they don't need an independent freelancer. They need a full-service agency.

Swizec• 14 years ago

Really good post, I'd just like to add one more piece of advice:

Don't over-extend yourself. When your paycheck is directly proportional to the amount of work you put in, it is very easy (and indeed tempting) to take on more work than you can comfortably handle.

Avoid the temptation. You are no good to your clients if you're always tired.

So You Think You Can Freelance?

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