[consulting] Freelancing, Finances and Finding Work

[Sam Alexander]

To respond to the thread about quitting the day job to freelance, I could
also add that I have been freelancing for 10 years and aside from the issues
mentioned, there are two which, for me at least, are prime. One is getting
work and the other is getting paid.

Getting paid is usually not an issue, but I have had several clients over
the years who failed to pay. Not only complete deadbeats who never paid
anything but I twice had long-term gigs where I was basically telecommuting
part time for someone (a small firm) and after a year, or 3 years in one
case, of steady pay, the last month's paycheck never came. While this is not
a major issue (in the long run), it *is* an issue.

The other is finding work. I am a good programmer and I know Drupal well,
but I am a lousy salesman. People who can read my resume and appreciate my
talents are happy to pay me a very good hourly rate. But for others who
don't have an understanding of programming, I think they wonder why on earth
should they give me such a rate when some other bozo is only asking for $30
an hour and he also claims to know how to program.
On the same note, I wanted to ask people if anyone has any advice on how to
get new work. This is for sure my weakest point. This year has actually
been, thus far, very good for me--a few small gigs here and there and two
fairly large gigs which pay on time and are interesting work for me--and all
at a good rate. But those two gigs are slowing down and ending soon and I am
looking for more work, but, as usual, not entirely sure how to find it.

Thanks,
Sammy
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