{"id":49553,"date":"2023-09-05T19:59:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T02:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/?p=49553"},"modified":"2023-09-25T23:27:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T06:27:57","slug":"become-freelance-programmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/software-engineering\/become-freelance-programmer\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Become a Freelance Programmer: 9-Step Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Programming is the kind of job that allows you a great deal of flexibility. Only a small percentage of programmers report full-time to an office and given that programmers are needed in virtually every industry, programmers can always find work that aligns with their own interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the ways you can gain even more freedom as a programmer is by going the freelance programming route. Most programmers tend to view freelance work with some apprehension, and understandably so. Going freelance means leaving the familiar safety of a full-time role and sacrificing this for the freedom of working for yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever thought about going the freelance programmer route, but aren\u2019t sure how to find the right projects or market your skills, then you\u2019re in the right place. In this article, we\u2019ll answer all the questions you have about freelance developers and show you how you can create a career in this space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does a Freelance Programmer Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Freelance programmers are software developers who don\u2019t work for any one company. Rather, they\u2019re hired on a project or contract basis and engage with an organization only for that duration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are advantages and disadvantages that come with working as a freelance developer. Freedom is an obvious advantage, as you get to decide who you want to work with and what kind of projects you want to work on as a freelance developer. There\u2019s also the freedom of working from wherever you want and structuring your work however you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are challenges that come with choosing the freelance lifestyle. When you become a freelancer, you essentially start running a one-person business. That means that all of the responsibility of finding a client base, marketing your professional skills, and doing housekeeping work like tracking business expenses falls on you. You have to be mentally prepared to do all of these accessory tasks if you want to become a successful freelance programmer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Become a Freelance Programmer: A Nine-Step Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A career in freelance software development comes with a lot of perks that aren\u2019t available to full-time employees. For that reason, lots of programming professionals become curious about how they can become self-employed. Here\u2019s a roadmap that you can follow to establish a career in freelance programming.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n\n<\/div>\n\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Make a Concrete Plan<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    Determine Your\u2026<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    Develop Your Online Presence<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  4. \n

    Establish Your Freelance Business<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  5. \n

    Identify Your Lead Generation Sources and Land Your First Client<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  6. \n

    Keep Prospecting (and Keep Your Clients Happy)<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  7. \n

    Join the Freelance Programming Community<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  8. \n

    Expand Your Skillset and Never Stop Learning<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  9. \n

    Grow Your Business<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Make a Concrete Plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There is some preliminary work that needs to be done before you start racking up projects as a freelance developer. Here are a few things that you should consider early on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do Your Research To Ensure That Freelancing Is Right for You<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s common for programmers to want to make a quick switch to freelancing when they hear about the freedom and flexibility that come with freelancing. While it is true that those things are on offer, you should do some in-depth research to make sure that you have the gumption to work as a freelancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can start your research online. Try to read first-hand accounts by actual freelance programmers as much as possible. In a similar vein, it\u2019s helpful to interact with freelance coders. This becomes easy if you know people in your network who work in such a capacity. If that\u2019s not the case, you can look up freelance programmers on professional networking sites like LinkedIn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When doing cold outreach to programmers you want to talk to, remember to always send a concise message on what your ask is. For example, you might request a 15-minute call where you can discuss specific aspects of working as a freelancer. Make sure you prepare for the interaction and have a list of questions ready for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Create a Flexible Roadmap for Your Freelance Programming Journey<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Having a concrete timeline creates a sense of direction and accountability. This is useful because it\u2019s easy to lose steam as you prepare for a career in freelancing. So creating milestones and deadlines is a good way to visualize your progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The specific form your roadmap takes will depend on your personal journey. You need to take stock of how much time it will take you to do the things laid out in this guide, such as setting up your online presence, registering your business, and generating leads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What\u2019s important is that you have measurable goals for each stage of your journey. Give yourself deadlines for each stage and track your progress. This will ensure that you\u2019re making tangible progress and don\u2019t get lost in the rigmarole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Have an Emergency Fund<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    You should be prepared to spend some time making less than what you normally make when you\u2019re just starting out as a freelancer, so it helps to have an emergency fund to tide you over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your fund should serve your basic needs for a few months. Take things like rent, food, and other basic living expenses into account. Also, ensure that you account for tools that you require for work. So if you need a new laptop or router, those things should be covered by your emergency fund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Determine Your\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There are a few things that you need to reflect on and decide before you start your freelancing career. Let\u2019s take a look at what they are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Specialization<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Freelance programmer is something of a catch-all term that you can\u2019t actually use once you have to start looking for freelance projects. You need to come up with something a lot more specific than that so that potential clients know what you\u2019re offering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can come up with your specialization based on your programming skills. That includes the programming languages that you know, your technical skills<\/a>, and the kind of tools that you\u2019re familiar with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So if you\u2019re someone who knows how to work with Swift and have built apps for the iOS environment, then you can market yourself as a Swift or iOS programming specialist. This tells your clients exactly what programming languages you know and what your skills are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Offerings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    At this point, you should have a sense of what your specialization is. But that still doesn\u2019t tell potential clients how you offer your professional services to them. So now you need to structure your specific offering to clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s say that you\u2019re a front-end developer<\/a>. You can\u2019t just tell clients that you develop the front end for websites\u2014you need to be more specific than that. So you would come up with specific offerings, such as doing user research, producing wireframes<\/a>, and coding the front-end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For each of those stages, you would also come up with a timeline and specify how many revisions you offer at each stage. Creating an offering in this way not only clarifies your programming services but also displays professionalism and shows clients that you know what you\u2019re talking about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prices<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, you need to come up with a pricing structure for your offering. This part requires some research. You need to figure out what market rates are like for each of your offerings. It helps to talk to freelancers in your industry to determine how they price their services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s important to remember that your hourly rate should also take into account some of the unpaid work that you will do as a freelancer. You\u2019re going to end up spending a lot of time writing emails and getting on calls with clients. Make sure that you take that time into account when determining your pricing structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Develop Your Online Presence <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    As noted earlier, you\u2019re essentially running a one-person business if you\u2019re a freelance programmer. And like any other business, you need to have an online presence where you can market your professional skills and create a pipeline of freelance opportunities. Let\u2019s take a look at how you can get that done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Build a Strong Portfolio<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    You need to have an online portfolio where clients can see all of the projects that you\u2019ve worked on. A personal website goes a long way in this regard. It allows you to present your past work exactly how you want to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When creating your online portfolio<\/a>, make sure that each project is presented separately and with concise information. Readers should be able to quickly glean information on project goals, coding languages used, and end results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world and gives you unmatched reach. So make sure that your LinkedIn is updated and that it\u2019s clear that you\u2019re a freelance programmer offering your services to clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Build a GitHub Profile<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    A Github profile<\/a> can also serve as a useful part of your online portfolio, as it allows you to display all of the various open-source projects and other kinds of work that you\u2019ve done. Clients with a more technical bent will often use Github to look at how programmers structure their codebases and use that to determine whether they\u2019re suitable for a specific project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Establish Your Freelance Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A freelance business is, well, a business. So there are a few non-coding things to be done along with your core work as a programmer. Here are a few things that you need to take care of: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Register Your Business Appropriately<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    You don\u2019t necessarily need to register a business in order to work as a freelance programmer. It is possible to engage with a business as an individual and pay your taxes as usual. That said, it is advisable that you set up a business because of the tax benefits and limited liability involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A sole proprietorship is the simplest business structure to choose if you\u2019re just getting started out. You could also set up an LLC at a point when your business begins to do significant numbers. Make sure to reach out to a lawyer or accountant in your area to find out about local laws and registration processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Find the Right Working Environment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Not enough freelancers spend time thinking about their work environment, which is important because the way you set up your workspace will often determine your productivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You should try out a few different kinds of working environments before deciding which one works best for you. That means that you can try working from different spaces in your home, at a coworking space, at coffee shops, and any other spaces that you think you might be able to work out of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Give each space a chance before picking one. That means that you spend a significant amount of time working in each environment. Notice how productive you feel and what your actual work rate is like. Only once you\u2019ve done these things should you decide that you should work out of a specific space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Organize Your Tech Stack and Documents (Contracts, Invoicing, etc.)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Any successful freelance programmer will tell you that you need to have a strong grasp of your own tech stack before getting started. You should have your development and production environment set up, decide how you want to do testing and determine how clients will be able to interact with any prototypes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another important piece of housekeeping is your paperwork. You should have a standard contract in place that you send clients at the beginning of each engagement. Have an attorney structure this document for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You should also have a standard invoice structure in place. An important part of invoicing for freelancers is using a time-tracking tool if that\u2019s how you price your services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Get Insurance<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    One of the most overlooked aspects of going freelance is losing the various insurances that were previously provided to you by your employer. It\u2019s now on you to get your own health insurance, life insurance, and liability insurance to protect you from legal action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are now various organizations that cater to the insurance needs of freelancers. Freelancers Union<\/a> provides a bouquet of offerings in this department. In the USA, the Affordable Care Act and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) are legal provisions that can be used to gain insurance as a self-employed individual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Identify Your Lead Generation Sources and Land Your First Client<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now for the exciting part\u2014it\u2019s time to actually start getting clients and providing your services as a freelancer. Here are a few avenues where you can get that done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Freelance Platforms<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    There are various online platforms where you can find freelance projects. These include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n