when you want a better service 1. bring the price it reasonably should be 2. they'll ask to bring it down 3. have things you can do already in mind to lower the price - less quality parts - longer deadline - simpler design # articles ## freelancing organizations [Contract Creator - Freelancers Union](https://www.freelancersunion.org/contract/) ## freelancing stories [Annie of Annie's Mac and Cheese | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26595790) [Annie's Mac and Cheese is based in the Bay Area, but Annie is not. Her](https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Annie-s-Mac-and-Cheese-is-based-in-Bay-Area-but-16049782.php) [Workers quit jobs in droves to become their own bosses | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29387262) [Workers Quit Jobs in Droves to Become Their Own Bosses - WSJ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-quit-jobs-in-droves-to-become-their-own-bosses-11638199199) [Saintcon: Lock Picking Lawyer Keynote | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29366212) [Keynote - LockPickingLawyer - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0GXWQDk0Q) [Why It's Great To Be A Consultant - zwischenzugs](https://zwischenzugs.com/2022/01/17/why-its-great-to-be-a-consultant) [How Ruben Harris Used the Power of Stories to Break Into Startups](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-ruben-harris-used-the-power-of-stories-to-break-into-startups-podcast) [I sold 640 copies of my book in one year | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31153963) [One year of sales](https://nts.strzibny.name/one-year-of-sales/) - enterprise-grade abstracted deployment from nothing (no in-the-weeds technical stuff) [Ask HN: What mistakes did you make when starting as a consultant/freelancer? | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21728436) [How Four Adoptions Led to a Magazine - Gab News](https://news.gab.com/2023/01/how-four-adoptions-led-to-a-magazine) [Freelance.tv](http://freelance.tv) Videos about freelancing ## hobbies [It's okay to make something nobody wants | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37596513) [It's okay to Make Something Nobody Wants](https://zhangluyao.com/blog/make-something-nobody-wants/) ## international competition [Reselling gig work is TikTok's newest side hustle - The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/22905356/gig-work-drop-shipping-fiverr-tiktok) ## necessary business administration [Taxes for Freelance Developers - How Much Tax You Should Pay as a Freelancer](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/taxes-for-freelance-developers) ## rates and negotiation [Ask HN: Generalist contractors, what is your hourly rate? | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32701641) [Albini pitching Nirvana: "I would like to be paid like a plumber" (1992) | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30892081) [I would like to be paid like a plumber - by Shaun Usher](https://news.lettersofnote.com/p/nirvana) [Everything I learned about negotiating and getting money in 2017](https://medium.com/@milanmoffatt/everything-i-learned-about-negotiating-and-getting-money-in-2017-df40a01eb170) my article on negotation ## setting boundaries [I am not a supplier | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34201368) [I am not a supplier | Musings about software](https://www.softwaremaxims.com/blog/not-a-supplier) ## side hustle [Side startups: Founding a business while working remotely somewhere else - Vox](https://www.vox.com/recode/23299590/side-startup-remote-workers-founding-businesses-while-employed) [Philippe Bourgau](http://philippe.bourgau.net/13-tricks-for-successful-side-projects/) (2017) 13 Tricks for Successful Side Projects [Erik Dietrich](https://www.daedtech.com/side-hustle-ideas-software-developers/) (2017) Side Hustle Ideas for Software Developers ## unemployment [Being laid off and unplanned entrepreneurship | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40704428) [On being laid off & unplanned entrepreneurship - Deep South Ventures](https://www.deepsouthventures.com/on-being-laid-off-unplanned-entrepreneurship/) ## using freelancing platforms [Etsy Strike | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30989344) [Etsy Strike - We're striking to protest the April 11 Fee Increase Etsy Strike](https://web.archive.org/web/20220401015610/https://etsystrike.org/) - MIND THAT THE PLATFORM MAY FALL APART OR GET AN ORWELLIAN PRICING MODEL (I.E., MAKE A WEBSITE) ## veteran advice [Mistakes to avoid to build a better 1-person business | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36431268) [4 mistakes to avoid to build a better 1-person business](https://tinyempires.substack.com/p/4-mistakes-to-avoid-to-build-a-better) ## work from home [Nathalie Marquez Courtney](https://increment.com/development/home-is-where-the-work-is/) (2017) Home is where the work is Flexible. Freeing. Lonely. Three remote engineers share what it’s really like to work from afar. [Julia Evans](https://jvns.ca/blog/2018/02/18/working-remotely--4-years-in/) (2018) Working remotely, 4 years in [Thomas A. Limoncelli](https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3417752) (2020) Five Nonobvious Remote Work Techniques [MorganGeek](https://morgan.zoemp.be/when-working-from-home-is-toxic/) (2021) When working from home is toxic [Gaël Thomas](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/working-from-home-tips-to-stay-productive/) (2022) Working from Home – Tips to Help You Stay Productive [Richard Clayton](https://rclayton.silvrback.com/10-things-i-learned-working-remotely) 10 Things I learned Working Remotely [Amy M Haddad](https://medium.com/swlh/effective-tips-for-working-remotely-23cc290a8c08) (2017) Effective Tips for Working Remotely [By the Numbers: Remote possibilities | WORLD](https://wng.org/articles/by-the-numbers-remote-possibilities-1720574103) [Discover How to Earn Income on the Road - The RV Entrepreneur](https://rvlife.com/feature/the-rv-entrepreneur/) ## working with difficult clients [How I Collected a Debt from an Unscrupulous Merchant | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25320941) [How I Collected a Debt from an Unscrupulous Merchant · mtlynch.io](https://mtlynch.io/collect-debt/) [Distributor cancelled an order and we need to move 30k bags of coffee [updated] | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34186886) [How we got grifted by a multi-billion dollar distributor and need to move 30,000 bags of coffee • Modest Coffee](https://www.modest.coffee/2022/12/how-we-got-grifted/) ## you don't have to scale [I don't want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37371084) [Why I don't want to grow my freelance design studio into an agency | Nela Dunato Art & Design](https://neladunato.com/blog/why-wont-grow-freelance-studio-into-agency/) [Small Efficiency - Confessions of a Steward](https://news.gab.com/2023/08/small-efficiency-confessions-of-a-steward/) [Sacha Greif](https://medium.com/@sachagreif/the-spiderweb-strategy-12ebd2f35595) (2014) The Spiderweb Strategy : Why it’s OK if some of your projects don’t make money # guides ## art startups [Resources for Design Job-Seekers - Are.na](https://www.are.na/carly-ayres/resources-for-design-job-seekers) mega resource! ## how startups run [What Startups Are Really Like](https://paulgraham.com/really.html) [Atlas guides | Stripe Guides](https://stripe.com/en-ca/guides/atlas-guides) [YC Startup School for future founders who aren't quite ready to start yet | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24944460) [Startup School - The Best Resource for Founders](https://www.startupschool.org) [Startup School for Future Founders | Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/startup-school-for-future-founders/) [Y Combinator Startup Library 2.0 | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24072970) [YC Startup Library | Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library) ## how to freelance [How to start a new business - The Creative Independent](https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-start-a-new-business/) [A Student's Guide to Startups](https://paulgraham.com/mit.html) [How to Start a Startup](https://paulgraham.com/start.html) [What is Freelancing? How to Find Freelance Jobs Online And Clients in Your City](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-is-freelancing) [How to Get Your First Freelancing Client or Project](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-get-your-first-freelancing-client-project) [How to Start Freelancing - Tips for Launching a Successful Freelance Career](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-start-freelancing) [How to be a consultant, a freelancer, or an independent contractor (2009) | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36756504) [How to be a Consultant, a Freelancer, or an Independent Contractor · Jacques Mattheij](https://jacquesmattheij.com/be-consultant/) [Articles, resources and community for freelancers | Work Notes](https://worknotes.co.uk/) [GitHub - mezod/awesome-indie: Resources for independent developers to make money](https://github.com/mezod/awesome-indie) ## making a website [How to make a website for your creative work - The Creative Independent](https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-make-a-website-for-your-creative-work/) ## rates and negotiation [How Much Should I Charge? - The nuSchool](https://thenuschool.com/how-much/#/start) [Business resources for leveraging design - Design Agency](https://designagency.io/) [How to Be an Ace Salary Negotiator (Even if You Hate Conflict) - The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/smarter-living/how-to-negotiate-salary.html) [GitHub - petermekhaeil/salary-negotiating: Curated list of valuable salary negotiation advice.](https://github.com/petermekhaeil/salary-negotiating) [Self-Employed and Taxes, Deductions for Health, Retirement](https://www.efile.com/self-employed-independent-contractor-income-estimated-taxes/) ## setting boundaries [What to Do When a Client Doesn't Pay: 10 Rules to Live By](https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2013/11/08/what-do-when-client-doesnt-pay-10-rules-live/) ## side hustle [Side hustle directory | Resources and guides to elevating your business: thesidehustle](https://www.reddit.com/r/thesidehustle/comments/123lref/side_hustle_directory_resources_and_guides_to) ## writing proposals [How to Write Freelance Proposals That Will Win Over Clients + a Free Template](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/free-web-design-proposal-template) # text ## mindset For sole traders and very small companies, the distinction between innovation and day-to-day delivery is barely noticeable and unimportant. It's all just business, and creative, responsive, flexible business comes easier to you the smaller your operation. Faced with a choice of doing a job for the money or doing a job for the fun of it, take the fun one whenever you can. You'll rarely enjoy the work you do for money. If the first commercial version of your work excites no one to action, it's time to move on to something different. Don't be fooled by the opinions of friends and family. If your work inspires some excitement and some action from customers, get ready to chew through some walls. You might have something worth fighting for. ## pricing models Don't advertise the free model, but provide it anyway: - allows for monetizing and free at the same time - Discussion by dang in thread: - [A group of open source Android apps without ads and unnecessary permissions | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37463662) - [Simple Mobile Tools](https://simplemobiletools.com/) A financial planner raised his fees by 40%. The first year following that increase, his income increased 65%. Today it's up 150%. A Canadian decorator charged $75/hr for years. Raised her fee to $125/hr, and the effect was immediate. Inquiries increased, from people eager to work with the region's "premier interior decorator". Her conversion rates improved. Once prospects believed they were dealing with the area's best decorator - the conclusion they came to from her fee - they were more apt to say, "When can we start?" Sales took less time. The fee increase also meant her more affluent clientele paid faster, more willingly, and without fail. - HIGH-QUALITY WORK DOESN'T COME CHEAP ## selling a car Tips for private sales of a car: Always set a time for ALL interested parties: "You can come see the car Saturday between Noon and 3PM. Text me when you are at the parking lot" (it's like an sales showroom open house listing, instead of making 5 random scattered appointments. "First come, first served") "Any test drives require proof of drivers license and proof of auto liability insurance, no exceptions. Otherwise you can be a passenger while i drive, and i reserve the right to have an security escort". (this dissuades car jackers) "Yes, you can bring your mechanic" "CASH ONLY, no trades, no checks" "Car sold as-is, no warranties expressed or implied : i have listed the condition of the car to the best of my knowledge". This makes all potential buyers arrive at same day, same place, you camp out there for a couple hours: if more than 1 arrives at a time, they might feel like they have to compete against each other. And don't be afraid to refuse to negotiate a discount, but politely thank them for their interest. Let them know that you will immediately remove the listing when it sells, so if listing is gone, they lost out. PS: don't list "OBO"/"Or Best Offer" in your price listing. This only invites sight unseen lowballers who waste your time. Q: "What's the lowest price you will accept?" A: "I'm gonna sell it for the price listed." "If you are interested, show up Saturday between Noon and 3PM. Have a nice day!" (Know what your car is worth beforehand, price accordingly, its a hot market for mid-priced used cars nowadays) And remember: 'Money Talks, Bullshit Walks…' EDIT: Was a car salesman for many years. Probably consummated over 500 deals. 2nd Edit: oops, yeah, the word 'consummated' subconsciously slipped out… That's ancient car salesman slang, the old-timer salesguys used to say that word because it meant someone got fucked … Whenever anyone asks me "what's the least you'll take for it" I always respond with "what's the most you'll pay for it?" If they won't answer I just thank them for their time and tell them I'm not interested in selling for the least amount possible. ## work from home NOTE: work from home is so ubiquitous that it will likely need to be a separate guide altogether - will likely go to NAG somewhere - move success-4 items there - reference the idea from AL, NAG and TT the screen changes color every time you change windows, and anyone can see it on a video feed Zoom trick: split the video vertically and put your multitask item on the top, and you'll look like you're paying attention to the speaker