Freelance, Sun. Apr. 23 1:30 p.m. - PANEL NOTES

Snow Dowd, moderating, with Lordalex Leon, Philip Kerman and Danny Paterson joining at the last minute to replace Guy Watson could not attend.

SD: How does your creativity work for you?

DP: I'm not an accountant or a business person, so I use an accountant to do billing and a lawyer so I can focus on what I do best.

LL: I learned the hard way about billing because I was part-time freelance while working so it wasn't so important.

PK: I'm low tech. It's pretty simple, I don't have employees.

SD: Do you guys work with other people?

DP: I haven't been doing it long enough to know how complicated it can be. The lawyer might review a contract and he flags things. It doesn't cost that much really.

SD: Even if you are very small, if you don't get paid by somebody, it is totally worth it to have a lawyer you go to regularly.

PK: As long as you are working on the project, you have some leverage on
I've been pretty good at avoiding the flakey client. If something feel's not right, then you shouldn't go there.

DP: In a hard situation, it's good to have a contract, like between friends, it's right there in black and white in case you have some misunderstanding.

SD: Where do you get your contracts? Draft your own?

LL: Yes, but then I got some input from somebody else.

PK: If somebody asks for a contract, I'll give them something simple, really simple. Often clients will have their own contract and you just have to watch out for some stuff. But even if you sign a bad contract, so long as you get the work done and you get paid, then you've dodged a bullet and that's fine.

DP: If you are looking at contracts that come from the client, it's useful to have a lawyer look at it because I've learned a lot.

SD: We kind of started at the end, getting paid...

PK: Yeah but it's important, if a client is hesitating on paying you, that's a red flag.

SD: Yesterday, Philip said you should also pay people who work for you, treat them like you want to be treated, it keeps things professional and you get better work.

DP: Everything is negotiable, if you point out something you have a problem with in a contract, often they will take it out.

SD: How do you get better clients, not just more clients, but better clients.

LL: I have lot of success going to business exchanges, or conferences in other areas where there are businesses that need websites and applications. Also go into forums, check out the job posts, post something. I also have a blog and use AdSense.

DP: One of the biggest mistakes I've seen people make is closing the door when you land a big client; you have to always have another line or more in the water, so that you have something to do when you finish the big project.

PK: You don't want to be 100% booked so you have time to look for work. It's easy to get overbooked, the hard thing is to keep consistent. But I'm thinking about how to get better clients and it's hard to answer. Saying no is important; wait for the better project. Always being out there and telling people what you have to offer.

DP: Almost all my clients are agencies or marketing departments, but they are the worst clients. The best clients are Financial Institutions and the like, where you are working directly with them and not through somebody else.

PK: You should analyze what was for you a great project and then go after that type of project.

LL: Don't always say yes, just like a goldfish, you can just eat and eat and blow up and die. I'd rather do a good job with fewer projects and then get good referrals. Avoid inheriting projects from other people, those projects are often in trouble. If they've fired their developer then that's a red flag, they probably have unrealistic expectations. [blogger's note: Don't make the mistake of thinking the previous developer wasn't any good, or that you are different, you aren't going to have the same problems the person before you did. 9 times out of 10, you are.]

PK: You can be quiet or encouraging without fully committing to the project and then if red flags go up, drop out later.

LL: If your projects are all good, then you can refer some out.

PK: I disagree, referrals can really backfire. If it doesn't work out, it ultimately reflects on you. What I do is to take the info about the client's project, give it to a few people and let them contact the client themselves, that way you are out of it.

SD: How do you develop a network? I think you have to be ambitious... so few people do that, contact the people who can help you... so long as you are cool about it.

LL: People mail me their CVs. One guy called me because he wasn't sure about going freelance and I told him if he had the gumption to call me, he was good at putting himself out there and would probably succeed. The biggest thing is having a positive attitude.

question: What about staffing agencies and using them?

DP: The best situation is 3 tiers: end client, agency, then you.

PK: I have no good things to stay about tech agencies, they are only looking for new clients, not new employees.

question: Isn't the pay rate very low though the agencies?

PK: Yeah, once I set my rate, if the agency adds to that, then it makes me totally uncompetitive.

question: How do you organize your work?

DP: I avoid any full-time contract, and on-site (especially if they won't pay for your commute, your lunch, etc.)

LL: I sometimes take onsite work but I make them pay for travel. Once or twice a week is ok, so long as they understand this is exceptional service.

question: What about out-sourcing?

DP and PK: Sometimes but depends on whether you're a good manager.

question: How do you know if you are the kind of person who can succeed at freelancing?

DP: One of my teachers once said to me it's whether you can handle waking up in the middele of the night worrying. It's stressful so success depends on your tolerance level.

SD: Yes, some people like the working, employee routine, others find that soul-destroying.

question: What do you do when a client suddenly expands the scope of work?

DP: Good contracts are essential.

PK: Staying hourly is a good idea, though practically I am going more towards fixed bids, but for that you have to have a very, very good understanding with your client about scope.

question: How do you do your billing, do you estimate number of hours?

LL: You can give it roughly and revise it as we progress at milestones.

PK: The client gets what they pay for, but you can look at some past projects and you will know how many hours were involved, more than you think because you'll know after the project is done exactly how much work it was... all the hours before and after included.

question: Do you get money up front?

PK: I don't... some people offer it, which is fine, but the best is if you bill periodically and if they don't pay then you have as leverage that you can stop work, not that you will, but it's there if you need it.

question: How do you handle project management?

... The thing to watch for is that you don't skip stages, build the time you spend managing the project, communicating with the client into your estimate.

question:Are you incorporated?

PK: LLC is important because it protects your assets.

LL: I am going to incorporate, for protection, for also to be eligible for some foreign contracts.

DP: Incorporation can be essential if you are going to get insurance... liability.

SD: You should limit errors and ommissions in your contracts rather than try to get insurance which is very expensive. [blogger's note: typically a contract might say that in the event of errors or ommissions of any type, your liability is limited to X dollars, not more than the fee or some portion of it.]

question: Ownership of libraries? How do you hang on to parts of the project?

LL: if the client wants me to use some of my previous work, then I am clear with them that it is my property.

PK: I always give the source files.

DP: If the client wants the source code, I'll stipulate in the contract exactly what part of it they can have.

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