As discussed in the previous issue, you must protect your time and mental well-being.
This week, we’ll look at ways to set clear ground rules in how you work and communicate with your clients.
Cheers—I hope you have a great week! ☕
As always, please reply to this email and let me know if you...
I had a burnout in early 2021.
We encountered a medical issue in the family in early 2020 (not COVID), and I kept hammering away at the client work throughout the year—even though I could afford to scale down a bit.
By early 2021, I was exhausted.
I took an extended break from contracting in...
This week's article describes how the lifestyle feels so you can consider how it would fit you.
A separate question is, “Will it pay well?”
We’ve talked about hourly rates a bit earlier, and I want to give you a tool to run your numbers on employment vs. freelancing. We’ll swing back to this...
One question I hear, particularly from younger software developers, is "when am I ready to try freelancing?" Here's a few things to think through if you're in that situation. Or maybe you know someone else who could benefit from this checklist?
Have a great Sunday, see you next week! ☕
How do you...
This week, I’ll start by talking about ways to figure out what you should charge per hour, only to end up waffling a bit about “what is valuable in life?”
Spoiler: My goals are slightly different from those of Conan the Barbarian.)
Anyway. I write about hourly billing here because that is how I...
It's Sunday again, which means another article from me. I hope it's helpful to you.
By the way: do you enjoy shorter or longer articles? I'm unsure if I should shoot for a specific length or just let it swing wildly each week; feel free to shoot back an email or drop a message on my Twitter...
Hope you're having a good weekend! ☕
From the outside, working for yourself looks scary these days: we’re in a recession, and you hear stories of tech downsizing left and right. “You should try to hold on to a steady, salaried job instead.”
No, I don’t think so.
Let’s examine what happened in...
Hope you're having a great Sunday.
This week: we demystify the admin part of working for yourself!
When I talk to other developers who are thinking about working for themselves, one common objection is this:
I don’t want to deal with that admin crap; I just want to code!”
And when consulting...
Hope you're having a great Sunday! When you move into contracting/consulting as a software developer, it helps to have a network: leads and opportunities will pop up for you.Here's a few tips on how to grow your network before you start working for yourself.
Early on in my career, networking...
Another week, another bit of freelancing advice! Have a great Sunday.
The software development sector goes through cycles, just like any other profession. We’ve had a boom for the last ten years, and before 2023, many developers had not experienced a real downturn during their careers. But there...