samlev

I know PHP is horrible, but I use it, and so do thousands of other people.

Until there is something else where you can deploy a prototype by dragging a single file onto a server with a FTP program, then PHP is serving a purpose that no other language can meet.

So stop crying about how PHP is horrible; stop trying to fix what is obviously a broken language; make something else that can fit this need, and you will kill PHP.

The only reason why still PHP exists past hobbyists is because people who start businesses want a fast prototype, cheap hosting, and no fuss. It may not be ideal, secure, fast, scalable, maintainable, or anything else, but if it's making money in the shortest amount of time possible, with the lowest cost barriers, then it's a success.

Open Source. Sure, you don't get paid for it directly, but it can get your name noticed, and show people that you can code.

Either contribute to an existing project, or start your own.

Think of it as code busking.

Markov chain generator seeded off existing comments?

Going freelance isn't in itself a poor decision. Quitting a paying job without a steady stream of work already lined up is.

Start trying to build a customer base on the side. Once they're bringing in enough to cover your expenses with a reasonably healthy percentage over that, then consider quitting your regular job.

Freelance work is not steady work, so you have to be sure that you can cover your expenses with regular work before you should be thinking about dropping a regular income for it.

You will need to build up a steady base of regular clients, and build up word of mouth. If you're not a designer, then it becomes really hard for people to discover you in any way other than word of mouth.

tl;dr: Don't quit your day job. Work extra hours until you're earning enough regularly and reliably to cover your expenses, then consider dropping your full-time job.

One more reason why software patents are a toxic idea that should really just go away.

Yeah, I stumbled on to the payment plans. I'm not certain about the price points you've set there - it would ultimately depend on who your target audience is, and if they would be willing to pay $1200/year for 70GB storage and your current feature set (and branding, I guess).

It looks like you're trying to go after basecamp here - everything (interface wise) is as simple as possible, but it adds conversation and extra description to todos, which is an improvement over what they do.

I tend to have... Opinions... about project and task management software. I'll be happy to give it a go and pass on any thoughts/suggestions/problems that I have through the 'feedback' option.

How would you be monetising this? A 'per seat' option, a 'per project' option, or some other way? What are you thinking of charging?

#EDIT: Also, who do you see as your main competition in this field? Who are you gunning for? What frustrations with other software/solutions drove you to build this?

The short answer is "You get what you pay for". There are plenty of 'cheap' contractors who get as many jobs as possible, churning out bad code that kind of does the job. Most of these will be "copy and paste code" style contractors who only write a little bit of relevant code to make it look "right".

I would, generally, avoid any short-term developer who's charging under $50/hour.

The other thing to note about elance, vworker, etc. is that there are a number of companies in very low-cost places (such as India, Pakistan, etc.) who will then re-distribute the work to their own employees. They tend to produce very low quality work, and there have been some horror stories about these types of developers using the job to insert nastiness into your site for their own ends (why hack a site to insert your malware when someone will give you access and pay you for it?)

YMMV. Treat them like any other person you want to employ and check them out before giving them much access or responsibility.

You could probably hire a free-lancer to get most of this stuff going for you (there are plenty of sites around for hiring people to do small jobs).

Ultimately, though, you should look at trying to do as much as you can yourself. The better you understand your system, the better you can run your company.

Still, CDN and database optimisation isn't the first place to start. As I mentioned, look at YSlow, which should give you a few places to work on for optimising your sites.

As mentioned by someone else, depending on the technology your sites are running on, there may also be plugins/tools available to speed things up with little to no real effort.