Finding Freelance Clients

Freelance is all about your network of clients. It takes a long time to build and maintain a solid client base and you need to know how to sell yourself.You're going to get mostly small "testing the water" type projects with new clients if you aren't very established yet. If you're any good, after a while these clients will continue to hire you for larger and larger gigs, and some will refer you to other, better, clients. Keep building the relationships and eventually

I couldn't agree more with this advice. I'm more of a dev than a consultant, but I believe this applies to many fields.I quit my job a year ago to start doing freelance/contract work, I never directly looked for clients but just by having good relationships with my former employer, colleagues, and people I know in general, by October I had so many projects on my hand I had to work 80hrs/week for a short period of time.Just to re-iterate in how many different ways you ca

It's not going to be easy;- There are many out there with skills you may have.- You will need a portfolio to show to your client to get leads, or a Usual trick that generally works is offering cheaply to get them on your confidence at the initial stages and then scale from there.- Network-based leads are the best, so grow your network.- Join all freelancing platforms, seek work and do not forget to check Ask HN: freelancer thread.

Try networking with people you know online or in real life.My consulting business (shameless plug: http://argonautlabs.com) got started by me reaching out to someone I knew via Twitter and asking if he needed any help in his consulting business. At that moment, he didn't, but he asked me to send him what my skills were. I did. Two weeks later, he sent me an email with something that was going to take 6-8 hours that he didn't really want to

You probably have done it already, but just in case: setup a personal website and create various freelancer websites. You wouldn't get called everyday but its likely someone will find you through one of those channels over several weeks. I have found that most people who contact me through those channels aren't from big corporate companies but rather people who currently hold a job and got an idea to implement. I am always doubtful of their success, but they can be more prepared and persistent t

I have started and stopped freelancing a few times now, each time basically just starting from scratch again. What works for me in the beginning is casting a net far and wide. You can post in the freelancer thread here in the beginning of the month, join programming Slack channels / Discords, sign up for freelancing services that aren't bottom of the barrel, reach out to recruiters, find forums with people that need your expertise, etc. There are a lot more options I am leaving out, bu

I have a few friends that moved to that role and basically it is like creating a personal brand.Start sharing knowledge on your personal website, blog, linkedin, twitter and other social media and also make sure to make it clear that you are open for conversation and could help other people/businesses. Attend local events and conferences, even become a speaker. Talk to a lot of people, see what problems they have and discuss how you could help. Get engaged with them, give an advice or do

The easiest way to start is to change from employee to freelancer (contractor) with your current employer.If you can start freelancing with projects lined up you won’t have to start out trying to get work, which will get demoralizing fast.Don’t expect to get much from the popular platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. While it’s possible to get good contracts there, those sites are (a) full of low-paying short-term gig work, and (b) full of low-balling competition. Your need to aim higher becau

Here's what i did to build http://www.cloudshuffle.com from a single dev(me) to a team of over 6 devs(+ a designer) in various countries. Also, from building social network clones(for $200) to building proper webapps for well known startups and companies like Compete, Hubspot.* Sign up for all freelancer Marketplaces: Elance, Odesk, Guru, Freelancer, RentACoder.* Sign up for RSS feeds for jobs(full time/freelance) in your domain.*

I've never even bothered with them. My freelance jobs have come through my personal network and various slack/skype groups.Your goal should be to find a few (1-3) clients who consistently have work for you and are willing to pay you daily or weekly. Take those relationships seriously, work hard, and give discounts when you fuck up or seriously overshoot your estimates. If you're good, they'll come back for more.