RWDevCon 2017 Inspiration Talk: Finding Freedom Through Freelancing by Lyndsey Scott

Becoming A Freelancer

As a member of Ray’s tutorial team, I’d signed up to receive contracting opportunities submitted to the site, and I took on one in particular.

It was a remote contract that paid relatively little money, but the designs the client had created were beautiful. I did everything in my power to make my client happy, and I made sure the app looked and functioned well enough to serve as a great portfolio piece for me.

Freelancing Tips

As a freelancer, the most valuable endeavors don’t always have immediate financial rewards. Reputation can be your most valuable asset.

Since that initial contract, I’ve found 40-hour-per-week remote freelance jobs pretty consistently over the past two years or so. Each client has recommended me to the next client, and my rate has increased gradually. I now typically work for a minimum of $125 per hour, depending on the length and complexity of the contract. I’m often the sole developer on a project, which I particularly enjoy because those apps can serve as an especially great showcase of my work.

At the start, I always choose money over equity, because although being able to receive your typical rate AND equity is ideal, most app companies fail. It’s hard to succeed in the app business. If a company can’t afford to pay you, chances are they can’t afford to market their product effectively either.

After building an initial app for a fee, I may go back and accept equity in exchange for future updates if I feel confident that the product will make money. If the app does in fact succeed, then that equity could provide an important passive income stream for me that can sustain me through the dryer periods.

When it comes to my remote contracts, I stay honest. I offer discounts. I post to GitHub often so that there’s a record of my work to account for all the hours billed. My clients like that I make suggestions and that I take initiative and that I attack each project from a design, from a user experience, and from an engineering perspective.

The best part is that even with 40 hours per week of freelance programming, my schedule is flexible. I can work night, weekends, anytime and still take acting classes, go to auditions, and pursue any acting or modeling gig that comes around.

Freelancing = the freedom of time

Freelancing = the freedom of time

I now have the freedom to pursue all of my interests, along with the freedom to reject modeling, acting, or programming work that doesn’t align with my goals. If I make money doing one job, I can use the money to help advance another one of my careers. Each career has helped fuel the others.

For those of you looking to pursue freelance iOS development here are 5 things I hope you’ve taken from my story.

1. If opportunities aren’t coming along, build up your resume in other ways.
2. Stay flexible but set firm boundaries. You can keep an open mind while still working towards your goals.
3. Don’t get too comfortable in any one contract. Keep networking.
4. Keep learning. Read up on design, user experience, app store optimization, etc. If you’re a front-end developer, learn back-end development. It only makes you more financially valuable.
5. Make your clients happy, and remember that even though it’s not technically your app, it can serve as a great portfolio piece, and having a stellar product to show off is crucial to your resume.

I’m sure all of you have multiple passions; if not, I suggest you go out and get some. :] Technology is useless if there’s nothing to apply it to, and being able to offer your expertise in areas other than iOS development can be extremely valuable to your client.

I hope you gained a bit of insight today into how freelancing can help you gain control over your schedule and allow you the freedom and time to pursue all of your dreams. Thanks.