Ask HN: How do you approach professional development as a freelancer?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4720221

by digitalWestie • 14 years ago

6 3 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Let me clarify. I'd like to know how to 'level up' my career as a freelance developer. In the corporate world there can be a clear career ladder and pay-scale. Naturally, it doesn't work this way for freelancers.

I was wondering if you had any tips on other ways to advance your career as a freelancer and demonstrate your progress too.

N.B. I mean ways other than just accumulating more projects in your portfolio.

gdp• 14 years ago

There are many complex issues here, but here's a simple strategy:

Don't accept less money for the next job than you accepted for the last one.

If you keep doing this, you will find that progress occurs naturally, or you reach a point where your earnings potential hits some kind of maximum.

gexla• 14 years ago

Leveling up in business means making more money. The way to make more money is to use leverage. You can leverage time by hiring employees. You can leverage technology by reaching a larger audience and selling things that can be cheaply duplicated (software.)

If you want to level up, you will never get there being an independent development services provider. You are basically trading dollars for hours. Raise your rates all you like and you will still be up against that time ceiling.

Web development shops are hard to scale. It's an industry that's full of independent developers and small teams (unlike gaming for example, which is dominated by the big players and difficult to be in as an independent.) If you want to go big, then you probably need to switch the focus of your skills from providing development services to others to building your own products.

digitalWestie• 14 years ago

great answer gexla, sort of confirming how I'm starting to feel

Ask HN: How do you approach professional development as a freelancer?

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