leknarf
Joined 13 years ago
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253
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86
Member since
Jan 25
Andrew Frankel, Founder of Lambda (http://getlambda.com). Feel free to email me directly: andrew [at] getlambda * com
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Comment · 12 years ago
If we've ignored you, it's unintentional and I apologize.
Ken and I (Andrew) list our email addresses on our home page. Similarly, every automated email we send comes with the reply address set to one of our personal email addresses. Sometimes, people reply to those automated messages asking for things we can't really help with. I try to respond to everyone, but honestly, sometimes messages just slip through.
I've considered removing our email addresses from our web page. I'm sure that would decrease the number of messages we receive, which would increase the percentage we could reply to. But that would ultimately make us less available.
If you have any suggestions on how we can keep track of a high volume of inquires, I would love to hear them. Neither of us have run a startup at this scale before, so we're naturally trying to figure things out as we go.
Comment · 12 years ago
This is non-news for most hackers, but is actually surprising to people outside of the industry. The atlantic has a wide readership. A lot of people are having trouble finding any work. They'd be surprised that some people would find 30 job offers irritating.
Comment · 12 years ago
Founder of Lambda (http://getlambda.com) here. We negotiate these sorts of deals for a living.
We charge more for short-term trials (say 1 week), not less. Employers understand that flexibility is valuable and are often willing to pay more to avoid commitments. Conversely, they usually expect discounts for "buying in bulk", so it's reasonable to offer reduced rates for long-term (say longer than 3 months) contracts.
That said, $15/hr is way too low in any situation. There's a reason we set Lambda's minimum to $100/hr: doing so cuts out most clients that we don't want to deal with. I don't know much about your experience level, but a few years programming experience and some time spent as a startup founder should be enough for you to ask for $100/hr. I'm less familiar with the Texas market (we do business in NYC and SF), so $75/hr might be more appropriate, but I wouldn't go any lower than that.
If you send me an email, I'd be happy to hop on a quick call. We don't have many clients in Texas, so I don't think I'd be able to get you a better offer immediately, but I could give you some general negotiating advice.
Comment · 12 years ago
Consider applying for an in-house job with a digital media agency or a dev shop. You'll get paid a normal salary while building up a portfolio of client work. If you work with a small team, you'll also get a chance to learn what sort of clients are looking for outsourced development work, which is obviously helpful when striking out on your own.
You haven't told us much about your experience level, so I can't comment on whether you're qualified to land desirable freelance projects yet. I can tell you that most of the freelancers we have on Lambda (http://getlambda.com) have at least 5 years experience and have either done some client work before or are currently launching a startup. I don't think we have anyone with an empty slate.
Right now, it's much easier for developers to get in-house positions. Almost everyone I speak with is looking to expand their in-house team and they need some convincing to try working with a freelancer instead. Freelancers can make a lot more than salaried developers, but they also tend to be more experienced.
Comment · 12 years ago
Last year, we built this site: http://www.thecostofcarbon.org/, which was part of a project for Al Gore's climate change non-profit.
Currently, we're looking for devs for a company that helps museums keep track of their collections, another that makes it easier for people to cook healthy meals at home, and a third that's encouraging universities to incorporate 3d-printing into their curriculum.
So there's quite a bit of variety in the types of projects we take on. Social good is a vague concept that means different things to different people, but we can certainly try to match you with projects that fit your interests.
Comment · 12 years ago
It's pretty much just the USA. In fact, most of our clients are looking for devs in NYC or the SF Bay Area, so even US devs outside those areas are on the waiting list.
Comment · 12 years ago
This thread is weird if you're using the "Cloud to Butt Plus" chrome extension.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cloud-to-butt-plus...
Comment · 12 years ago
First, talk to people looking for developers. That part is fairly easy: just about any networking event in NYC has a dozens of people looking for devs. I don't know where you're located, but the same is probably true for your area.
Once you're talking, convince them that working with you will be easier/quicker/more-effective than working with anyone else. That's the hard part, which definitely requires some practice. Pro-tip: don't try to convince anyone that you'll be the cheapest option, which is almost always a losing game to play.
If you prefer, I'd be happy to do the hard work for you. I run a startup that connects senior freelance developers with high-paying companies: http://getlambda.com.
Comment · 12 years ago
Online rent payment. Rent and taxes are my only regular expenses that aren't automatically deducted from my credit card or bank account. And even the IRS accepts online (albeit manual) payments. In fact, rent is the only reason I have a paper checkbook at all.
It's an easy win on both sides. In exchange for letting me schedule automatic payments, my landlord could get much more timely payments. I think I'm reasonably responsible as folks go, but still occasionally forget to mail a check on time.
Comment · 12 years ago
The US also has usury laws, which I found fairly surprisingly when I was just starting out. I previously thought usury was a strictly a historic crime, like adultery or eating bacon on the sabbath. But some people are very much offended by the idea of lenders charging too high an interest rate.
They actually become relevant for late fees, since you usually do want your fee to be punitive enough to encourage timely payments. The usual practice is set your fee to 1.5% per month or the highest percent allowed by law (i.e. just below usury if that's applicable in your state).
Comment · 12 years ago
Most of our clients have been in NYC or the SF Bay area and they usually prefer local developers. Even if someone is working remotely, it's helpful to be able to meet once a week or so.
We're happy to take applications from developers elsewhere, but we might not be able to get back to you for a while.
Comment · 12 years ago
Sorry, it's US only right now. In fact, it's mostly local work (NYC or SF) so even US-based remote devs are at a disadvantage.
Comment · 12 years ago
Great article overall. I particularly liked the three mistakes you pointed out:
I nickled-and-dimed a client on change requests, alienating that client and making myself appear less professional. ... I would have been better served by her loving me than making a little more money.
I completely agree. In fact, this is part of the reason new freelancers often regret setting their hourly rate too low. It's important that you set a high enough rate that you can throw in unbillable work now and then without destroying your earnings. The best freelancers consistently under-promise and over-deliver.
For pricing my services, I need to start high and work my way down. I generally start client conversations on my hourly rate at what I would consider a reasonable ultimate number, and then allow myself to be driven down from there — generally because the client wants a long-term contract and expects to save on my hourly based on the length of the engagement.
Constant haggling will make every new project a frustrating experience. I usually recommend setting a fair rate and then holding the line when clients ask for a discount. That's tough to do with your first few projects, but becomes easier once you're more confident about your rate and abilities.
More projects, less hourly. When starting as a consultant, I was really selling only my hours. Now Symonds & Son is a business in its own right, and I’ve hired designers and developers to help with my workload. Working with other talented individuals makes much more sense on a project basis, where I can package their (and my) hours together.
This depends on what type of projects you're looking to take on. Landing pages and presentation work will probably pay more if you charge per project (since clients won't believe you can more 10x faster than cheaper devs), but building new product features for startups is probably better at an hourly rate (since startup clients always change what they're looking to build).
If anyone is looking to get started as a freelancer/consultant or just looking to expand their existing business, take a look at our startup: http://getlambda.com.