Freelancing

How do I find clients?

@jarmos.rs on developersIndia discord shared the following advice:

I've come across a lot of people lately asking questions about freelancing. Among all the question one is very common: "How do I find clients?". So, I thought I should attempt to answer this question as much as I can.

But before that, a couple of gotchas & business 101:

  • It's cheaper & less time consuming to keep working with an older client than look for a new client.
  • Second, client interactions are pretty much like dating. Just as how you wouldn't date based on the other person's bank balance or ... you shouldn't do business based on the clients's budget either. Strive to deliver the best quality of service & products, the $$$ will flow in eventually.
  • And finally identify what kind of clients you would like to work with based on how you want to freelance.

With that said, let's try to identify who an ideal client is:

  • If you want to pursue a full-time job yet keep freelancing on the side to augment your income. Then your ideal clients are those who doesn't bat an eye about code quality, tests & standard practices. All they need is for their deliverables to work as they require it to be. Where do you find these clients? Fiverr, PeoplePerHour & so on. You could try Reddit too on that matter.
  • If you plan on making freelancing a full-time career some day, this is where you start dipping your feet before diving straight in. These clients are startup founders & MSME owners who either just got funded or don't have the budget to hire FT employees yet. Do note, these are clients with whom you can expect to create a long-term relationship & hence start earning more $$$ over time. Most of the time these clients aren't dumb & do care about quality checks & standard practices.
  • Third list of clients are those with the highest budget & those who're willing to hire you in the long-term (think 3+ months) for a project. You'll not find them right of the bat. It takes time, often years to build a relationship & find such clients. But these are also the clients who'll pay you the biggest $$$ & support your finances enough to obligate you to go full-time freelancing.

So, I hope it answered the question on "How to find clients?". Obviously, there's much to talk about & individual mileage will vary but I believe this is how anyone, regardless of experience can get started freelancing. Got more questions, ask here for others to learn something or as always my DMs are open.

Source

u/catrovacer16 shared the following advice on a post titled, Do freelancing actually works. Show Proof.

  • Search for freelancers on upwork that are doing similar work as you say front end developer etc. and learn how they are pitching their skills.
  • Make a good profile and set a good profile picture. Add relevant details about your experience in the field and how you are the best man for the job
  • Add as many visuals as you can in both profile as well as proposals. Like previously built websites with photos and links. A good catalogue easily catches attention.
  • Offer lower rates early on and mention why you are offering lower rates.
  • Pick a more niche problem statement, if possible draw them a plan how you would solve their problem efficiently.
  • Make sure your proposals are precise, to the point and curated to the client's needs.

Source

How do I decide how much to charge?

@jarmos.rs on developersIndia discord shared the following advice:

A while ago I shared a very brief write-up on how to get started freelancing . And since then I was asked a couple more questions like "How do I decide how much to charge?" & so on. So, today I thought it would be nice to share how I calculate my fees.

But before we dig into the main course, some starters first.

Remember;

  • You're your own boss when freelancing, so you decide how much annual income you should be earning.
  • The eventual profits that you earn is directly proportional to the quality of service you provide to the client.
  • Your earning potential is also decided based on where you procure your clients from. Clients from upwork & related marketplaces pay shit for more work. Clients from Angel.co & such who're more professional might pay you what's worth.

That said here's how I calculated my fees when I started some 6 years ago in college. I created an UpWork profile & started bidding only to realise I was getting ghosted. And if you feel the same don't be surprised. Marketplaces are a battle-royale to the bottom of the barrel. So, if you charge the lowest & you also get have good rating you can make a living off of marketplaces. Suffice to say, I didn't survive there & don't recommend to start out there either.

I went full-time on 2019 after quitting my job & was fortunate enough to land a client soon after who I was working with earlier. And as such this is how calculated my hourly rate: Expected Annual Income divided by # of Working hours in a year.

With that in mind, assume you want to earn ₹600,000/yr & work ~1920hrs/yr (8hrs for 5-working days a week). So, that would mean your hourly rate should be ~₹300/hr. Now obviously this is a rough estimation but remember my intention was to get your started somehow. And as you keep perfecting your craft you'll eventually learn the other nitty-gritty details as well.

Some ending notes, always prioritise providing the best service over your income. Don't regret increasing your hourly rate by some

Source

u/the4thkillermachine shared the following advice on a post titled, Do you freelance? How do you charge?.

I freelance full-time as an ML Engineer, so I guess I can help you with my two cents.

Setting a minimum base rate for yourself helps. Then charge them like this: base rate x (time to complete the task in hours x 4). So, assuming your rate is, say $75/hr & a client asks you to create a SPA landing page for them. You would charge them 75 x (8 x 4) = $2400 for one single landing page. Of course you can increase your base rate as you gain more experience.

Now if you're wondering why multiply the time to complete the task by 4? That's to account for the idea of unpromising & over-delivering. In other words, even if creating a single landing page takes you 8 hours to complete. Tell your client it would take you at least 24 hours to complete.

This way not only do you've a happy client who might come back to you again, but you pocketed 4x the profits as well!

I don't use the formulae any more as I've experience dealing with a wide range of clients & business problems. So, I quote a different rate for each client and/or the projects, depending on the complexity & other variables.

EDIT: I realized OP asked the question in context to Indian clients. Although I don't deal with many Indian clients, but I've hired Indian freelancers earlier. Their base rate used to be anything between ₹125-1200 depending on their experience.

The last freelancer, I hired was a college kid who charged me ₹125/hr.

Also, just so you know, charging Indian clients in $ might not work out, I guess. Although I'm not sure of it.

Source

Stories from the community

Must Read Thread Collections on r/developersIndia
200+ Insightful Handpicked Discussions
All AMA sessions with Engineering Leaders in India
Monthly Showcase Sundays
Monthly Community Roundups
Weekly Tech Discussions