tejay

Thanks for the shout out.

Most freelance platforms should be happy with ~20 hours/week of consistent work. One freelancer that mainly works with us at that volume had enough stability through Gun.io contracts alone to get a mortgage, which was a pretty big coup for us.

Feel free to shoot me a line at teja at gun.io.

Thanks for mentioning Gun.io.

I'd also add a recommendation to spend at least a third of the time you spend doing billable work in building up your own pipeline — regardless of whether you're using a freelance service like us or not.

Hi there - I'm the CEO of Gun.io. Shoot me an email at teja[at]gun.io. Our average rates on platform are 10x higher than that. In fact, that's why we started the business.

I don't think this is terrible news for entrepreneurs. It forces more operating discipline in the earlier stages. And, I believe we could do with more discipline as an ecosystem. As long as there's growth capital around once the business _is_ prepared to scale, we're all good.

CEO of gun.io here - thanks for the kind words :)

we're not perfect by any means, but i'm happy to see there's love for what we're about!

i work for a company that helps people find freelance work, and i agree 100%.

i always say think about our site as the equivalent of a BATNA: always find work via referral, but we're here when you can't :)

You're welcome at gun.io any time. :)

really really sorry about that - can you email me at [email protected] when you get a chance?

No doubt, the best freelance gigs are the result of close, pre-existing relationships. Easier said than done tho if you're just getting your start.

Try using the sites mentioned within the thread - pickcrew, gun.io, etc. - these sites generally have higher-priced contracts and more interesting work than the classic variants. Use these sites at first to discover what work you like and build long-terms relationships with a few key clients.

1. Remember that the comms overhead with freelance work can be really lumpy and unpredictable. Programming is the fun part - the phone calls and emails can get painful really quickly

2. Avoid hourly pricing whenever possible. Do value-based pricing. Just trust me on this one.

Much love :)

yay Nashville! Affordable, centrally located, and has okay food.

Wow, this is a great take on the classic infoproduct genre :)

Nice post. While I abuse caffeine, I manage to limit alcohol to a drink or so every few months.

My completely unscientific take: I feel noticeably grouchier ever since I've started doing this, but the physical benefits have been pronounced in terms of better performance, recovery, and appearance.

This appears to be an older post, but I think what the original author meant was that hard work alone isn't a sufficient condition for success (I'd argue it is a necessary one, though).

The real answer is there probably isn't a sufficient condition for success, but hard work in pursuit of your own goals (rather a manager's) increases the likelihood of a positive outcome.

Still, I'd have gone a step further. 'Career' is such a false construction. Go do fun shit and get really good at it. Maybe I'm naively optimistic, but if you're really good at something, it's pretty easy to get paid (a lot) for it.