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Discussion on: I'm here to encourage you, ask me anything!

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darksmile92 profile image
Robin Kretzschmar • Edited

Hey Andreas this is great!
For me it would be interesting to know your point of view on getting clients.
I though a lot about going fully self employed but one thing that bothers me is the fact that I don't quite figured out how to get clients. Surely there are platforms like Upwork or Fiverr but I always thought having a network is the better option. But I don't see myself promoting me or my work to attract new clients whatever it costs or force myself onto them.
So are there any tips you can give on how to get new clients and build a stable network without selling myself too hard?

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devmount profile image
Andreas

Hi Robin,

thanks for your question. As I already answered to Vaibhav's comment: I try to make it as easy as possible for people to find me.

there are platforms like Upwork or Fiverr but I always thought having a network is the better option

I totally agree with you! And I think You don't have "to sell yourself" to build a network, just let people know who you are and what you do. The beginning is the hardest part, but once you have a few active contacts, word will get around that there is a developer available. But this will take some time. I registered my business end of 2014. I finished my studies and started full-time freelancing in 2018. If that's possible with your current job/income I think it's a good idea to reduce your working hours a bit and start working freelance on the side.

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kimsean profile image
thedevkim

This is what I'm currently doing. As for 2020 I try to make connections now with other developers, I am not selling myself that "hey i can do this" I just want to connect with other developer.

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darksmile92 profile image
Robin Kretzschmar

Thanks for your answer, I also read your answer to Vaibhav's comment.

This is a valuable tip to start on the side and enhance it over time when more projects will come. I'll start with the networking part and see where it gets me :)

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devmount profile image
Andreas

I really wish you best of luck for that! Oh and let me know if you search for projects here in Berlin - I can introduce you to some people 😎

And one additional point for the "promoting yourself" topic: Sometimes just using tools you developed for yourself is enough to get a new client. Let me tell you a little story:
I'm a musician and christian, so I often perform songs in our local church for various events. I always was annoyed by paper song sheets, so I developed SongDrive, a tool where I could easily build setlists, transpose songs and even use a bluetooth foot switch to turn to the next song while still playing my guitar. One day after another event where I played, a guy came to me and told me, that he really liked the song presentation and asked me, which software this was. I told him I developed it myself. It turned out, that he was a software developer too who was currently searching for a software tester for a project of a big company. Long story short: This company is now one of my best paying clients and brought me many new contacts, just because someone saw me using my own tool 😇

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darksmile92 profile image
Robin Kretzschmar

Thank you very much!
I'm currently living in Mannheim but I travel to Berlin from time to time so maybe there is an opportunity for a project, who knows :)

This sounds really great! A couple of my side projects came in a similar way. Simply friends asking for a quick and dirty script or small app for something and then someone else saw it and came to me to talk about a project of his.

Your insight is valuable to me so I'll definitely try to place my work in the right channels and make people around me aware of that.

Would you be open for a chat sometime when the first clients come just to exchange some knowledge and talk about legal stuff (how to manage invoices etc)?

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devmount profile image
Andreas

You're very welcome!

Would you be open for a chat sometime

Would be my pleasure 😊