Welcome to the HackerYou Freelancing Guide, a place where all resources for our freelancers live. Here, you'll find documents, advice, discussions on topics important to freelance web developers who are part of the HackerYou community.
This resource will be updated on a regular basis. New resources can be sent to Eva at eva[at]hackeryou.com.
Huge thanks to our ever-growing freelancer community for sharing all of these resources.
###First Steps
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Register as a Sole Proprietor: this will only set you back about $60.
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Register for an HST number: this is optional! Read the guidelines and decide if this is for you. If you're making more than $30k annually, you'll have to charge HST.
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Everything I wish I knew running a sole proprietorship business: a great post from instructor Wes Bos on first steps you should take. Read the comments too!
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Learn to expense. You can reduce your taxable income by claiming expenses. This includes but isn't limited to office supplies, online subscriptions, continuing education, conference and more!
###Bookkeeping
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Wave: a free bookkeeping service.
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Freshbooks: free trial, approx. $20 per month
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Xero: approx. $30 per month
###Contract Resources
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Contract Killer by Andy Clark: a great template to build a contract on for web developers & designers.
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Fork of Contract Killer by Anna Debenham: an expanded fork of the above contract.
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The Pause Clause by NGen Works: something you can add to your contract.
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Hellosign: an online tool for electronically signing documents.
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Bonsai: a contract-building tool that integrates invoicing and e-signing.
###Finding Clients
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Use your own personal network.
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Work with other creatives.
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Go to meetups and conferences.
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Mentor at Ladies Learning Code workshops.
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Tap into the HackerYou Freelancer Slack and Basecamp channels.
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Recruitment agencies like Creative Niche and Vitamin Talent.
###Pricing & Scoping Projects
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Convert Nearly All Your Proposals: a podcast from Web Agency Podcast
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[The Art of Crafting Accurate Estimates] (http://alistapart.com/column/creating-accurate-estimates) from the folks at A List Apart, a great resource
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From Inquiry to Project Start: How to set up a process & impress clients: a long but helpful article from The Freedom to Freelance Project.
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Pricing Models: a great resource from HackerYou grad Lucas Lemonnier on hourly pricing vs. daily pricing vs. project pricing vs. value pricing.
###Client Onboarding
Before you spend too much time on the project, figure out the following:
- Find out the budget and timeline.
- Figure out the scope.
- Do they currently have a website? How was it built?
- What is the prospective client's objective with the new site?
- How will the client measure success?
- Do they need design alongside development?
- 100+ questions to ask when developing a site
If you're developing a WordPress site, you should also consider the following:
- It's not about pages, it's about custom templates and features.
- Will they be using this theme for a long time, or potentially changing it in six months?
###Proposals & Quotes
- When writing a proposal, tailor the amount of technical jargon you use.
- Consider quoting a price range instead of a fixed amount. Another option would be quoting different versions of the project -- one with just the basics, one with some enhancements and a third option with all the bells and whistles.
- It's standard to require a 50% deposit before starting work.
- Write up a contract and be sure to be clear about what is and is not included in the deliverables.
- Get EVERYTHING in writing.
###Accessibility
Similar to brand or style guides, accessibility guides are becoming more popular and commonplace for larger companies. They're a great resource!
###🔥Tips
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Take the amount of time you think a project will take and double OR triple it.
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Don't agree to start work on a site until the client has their content together.
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As soon as you start a project, get the communication OUT of your inbox and into a project management tool like Trello, Basecamp or Jumpchart.
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Use version control like Github or Bitbucket.
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Make extra money with an affiliate program like Bluehost or WPEngine.