|
I posted this in a dead thread so I am going to cross post. It's actually more relevant here. A co-worker and I (Web Designer and Web Developer) are considering starting freelance work together and eventually starting a partnership and operating under a business title. It's become clear that our employer acts more or less as a business agent, and that we can handle the production pipeline from start to finish. Our B2B billable rates are nearly 3 times our actual hourly earnings, so there seems to be a fair bit of growth potential in our earnings. We are also both involved in client meetings and communication in our current capacity Background: We both have multiple years of experience. I am manager of a small interactive department. He is graphic designer with what I find to be a really solid grasp on web concepts specifically. In our current work capacity we are the respective primary producers of content in each area. Multiple websites and assets created through our current employer are award winning. Our non-compete is really worded strongly in our favor. We work for a small business, and as such they are not interested in blocking us from doing outside work. The only requirement is that we cannot work with past or existing clients as an outside contractor for 2 years after termination. I'd like to lay out our initial plan and open up some dialog on pros and cons of the plan. As individual freelancers we have a company policy allowing us to use our work in personal portfolios. We obviously can't operate as a joint venture and show off our work through our current employer, but the capacity is there to reference work specifically as individuals. We'd like to begin by revamping our personal portfolio sites to include our latest work. From there we would like to find smaller projects as individuals, and hire each-other as subcontractors. After 6-8 sites have been completed, we would like to create our joint entity, using those latest projects as our business portfolio. The legal/moral line I am having trouble with conceptually is how honest I should be about whom I plan to subcontract to, and what our work relationship is. Our initial portfolios will be roughly the same regardless. I feel it adds credibility, but it seems off limits. Any thoughts or suggestions? Our next step is finding gigs and beginning marketing. Our local relevance in a city of 4 million will be non-existent. With that in mind I anticipate a lot of knocking on doors and phone calls to small businesses. We plan to offer competitive rates for our initial projects. It seems web is a unique kind of opportunity to cold-call businesses. Without much research we can easily compile lists of businesses in need of new websites, or at least re-designs. That said, I've also wondered about possibly setting up referral relationships with other individual freelancers. I know people that can do design work, but aren't focused in web. I would hope that by offering commissions we might be able to get some passive work from others that aren't up to certain tasks they are requested to do at times. Has anyone else wandered down this path before? root of all eval fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Mar 3, 2013 |
#
¿
Mar 3, 2013 17:32
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 22:26 |
|
|
I appreciate the advice! I too am in the Just Do It mentality, but my possible partner is dragging his feet a bit. That brings me to another point of consideration I have been having: Whether to start a partnership or simply subcontract. The more I think about it, binding myself to one designer has some benefits for long term marketability, but a lot of possible negative side effects in the short & long term. It may be cleaner to just secure my own projects and subcontract to whomever fits my needs at that time. It would most likely be him the majority of the time, but the concept of small business ownership being split so ambiguously between two people is a bit sketchy the more I think about it. From the sound of it I would be the one securing the most work, and my skills have a higher market value realistically. I am strong willed and outspoken at times and perceived injustice in our compensation/ownership split could be a big personal hurdle for me. Knowing you are a dick is the first step in not being a dick I guess. I think I will just focus on trying to secure actual jobs instead of trying so hard to mold around a long-term partnership goal. I've been itching to jump in but his insistence on making killer portfolio sites has already dragged us down a bit. Funny how easy it is to make someone else a website, and how hard it is to make your own! I already have 5-6 possible projects I could start trying to push along. Would you personally recommend the linked Earn1k course? I haven't heard of it until now.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2013 04:25
|
|
|
Fisticuffs posted:I graduated with a humanities degree three years ago, with every intention of going on to law school. I hesitated due to general unrest in the field. Though I think I would enjoy legal work, I'm not looking to roll the dice on that sort of debt load just to have a shot at a super saturated field. I can't speak for the industry at large, but I do know one of the benefits of technology positions is that they can be secured without a degree in many cases if there is proof of ability. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Web Design and have no problem with developer/programming work based on my personal portfolio. Instead of shelling out 20k+ on a new degree just focus on skill building and create a portfolio website showcasing your skills. Just don't BS clients/employers on your true talents and you should be fine to get something entry level somewhere. If you knew a base level of HTML/CSS you could make at least $15 an hour, and it just goes up from there. What tech fields specifically do you have an interest in? Front-end development is probably the easiest entry level position to hire into, and there are tons of branches to explore from there. If you enjoy design and coding both, there are some really great opportunities in front-end development beyond entry level as well.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2013 06:46
|
|
|
Fisticuffs posted:Are there jobs available where I could make north of 50k per year without a degree related to computer science? Some people can't seem to rationalize that 50k is big bucks to folks like us. Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too if ~50k is an acceptable income level, though maybe not right away. I make 45+ bonuses at a graphic design/marketing house with no overtime demands in an amazingly fun environment. It's possible to sort of wedge yourself into smaller businesses as a multi-tool. Knowing computer science to a lot of these smaller creative places makes you a demi-god and somewhat irreplaceable. If you can find other hats to wear it helps, since small firms may not have full time development needs. That's why I was pushing toward front-end developer. There is a certain culture present in creative production houses that appeals to me more than any programming heavy corporate role. I'll probably never break 55k here, but I am more stress-free than I ever thought possible. There is also a huge variety of jobs I take care of, so I never get into a rut or get burned out on long-term projects. Until I have kids, this is where I belong. The set-back professionally is that I have no one to learn from, and no promotion capabilities. I can leverage my skills and dependability to get raises, but my actual income potential for the business is limited to about 60k at this point. The sheer variety of projects I am asked to spearhead keeps me sharp, but I don't really have a good mentor for organizational/process skill improvements.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2013 00:16
|
|
|
How big is the company? I work for a small business and our review process is deliberate and designed to spur growth. The owners are really pretty transparent about goals/needs and raise possibilities are clearly defined for those that ask. Instead of trying to backtrack and figure out your perceived worth, you may consider simply asking how you could be more cost effective for the company. Small businesses in my experience welcome this sort of initiative and you can probably set up a goal based raise structure if you can identify some new demands and meet them within a certain time frame. I wouldn't try this with a bigger business, but I couldn't glean what size business your context was.
|
|
#
¿
May 27, 2013 23:29
|
|
|
A little background: Before even graduating college I got a job as a web dev in a small time mom & pop marketing firm. I've their head of interactive production for 4+ years now. It's been a good run and I've learned quite a bit about project management and server upkeep in addition to development. Last year I made a transition into working part time remote. I was certain this would give me loads of time to do fun things, volunteer, work on open source projects; but it hasn't done any of that. Really I haven't done any of that. Being in the position I was I was still needed every day, so my schedule turned into this 9-10am, 2-6pm thing which was nice, but didn't leave me much time in between to do substantial things. It really started grinding on me because I am basically giving them full time availability, but at a dramatic cut in pay vs 40 hours. Fast forward, about 3 months ago, they absorbed another small marketing firm. This has been great for projects and clients, but the culture has shifted. The new people and clients are stuffy, cold, larger businesses and instead of getting them to adapt the ownership has been guiding us toward their culture. All that being said, I started looking at my 3 year plan and being a project manager just wasn't where I wanted to be. I feel like I've already lost some programming skills and really fallen out of sync with the industry as far as frameworks and processes go. I started applying to new jobs and have a final interview next week. I already passed a pre-screen by phone and a programming test. It's for a mid-level developer position and I couldn't be more excited. It's going to be really refreshing to learn from people again and be part of a larger team of developers. Not sure how I am going to break it to the current bosses if I get the position, but hopefully the transition is smooth. This feels good though. At first I thought part time work would be appealing, and sort of FI. In reality it just made me complacent. Getting my work ethic and income back into gear is going to be a rough ride but so good for me and my wife in the long term. 28 is pretty early to commit to subsistence.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2015 18:49
|
|
|
BossRighteous posted:I started applying to new jobs and have a final interview next week. I already passed a pre-screen by phone and a programming test. It's for a mid-level developer position and I couldn't be more excited. It's going to be really refreshing to learn from people again and be part of a larger team of developers. Just crushed the on-site interview. No offer on the table at the moment but the last quarter was spent talking about what they can offer me, so I figure that's a good sign. The last question was how much notice I'd need to give. How awesomely exciting/terrifying!!!! I hate not being able to discuss it with people. Right now only my parents/wife and a couple of close friends know, but the anticipation is killing me!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 17, 2015 19:05
|
|
|
Lblitzer posted:No real direction, this company is extremely unorganized, I'm not one to "go get it", this position doesn't really exist in the area and everybody else is busy with their own project management or engineering that I've never been shown how to actually do my job, I've mostly been winging it but I'm better at listening to directions than making them I feel you. Lblitzer posted:One issue is that I almost feel a sense of obligation to this job. I've known the owner for a long time and they've invested a bunch of money into getting me a laptop and the classes so I feel like I should be giving it more of a shot. You have a greater obligation to yourself to improve your own life and career. Go hunt you down some food! Lblitzer posted:I've got an opportunity for an IT help desk position to finally break into the industry. The pay is a little bit more but it's a temp to hire position (so I'm not sure how that works for health insurance) Temp to hire makes me nervous personally. Do you have an emergency fund if the crap hits the fan? I think it's really important to outline a term limit for the temp status. Some places have no problem stringing along temps until they get sick of it and move on. Setting some date that you either are working for them salaried or you are leaving is best for everyone. Other people may have more practical input on that.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2015 17:08
|
|
|
Having worked both salaried and as a placement temp, I can nevereverever! recommend leaving a salaried job for a temp service. Ever!!! I thought the temp thing was like a 1099/probationary period deal. Staffing places are miserable, scheming, and designed to make you unattractive for permanent hire. Their business model is to provide a backdoor to companies with high turnover to turn and burn low-mid skilled workers and avoid payroll taxes and benefits. In my experience at least. Ever!!!!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2015 20:17
|
|
|
BossRighteous posted:Just crushed the on-site interview. No offer on the table at the moment but the last quarter was spent talking about what they can offer me, so I figure that's a good sign. The last question was how much notice I'd need to give. How awesomely exciting/terrifying!!!! Got an offer at full ask! But now to complicate things I am in talks with another firm too! I might have 2 job offers to choose from in the next 24 hours  And my biggest project of the year is coming to a close tomorrow, and I am behind schedule...I'm freaking out man! It's too much! No matter what happens I have a new job lined up, ready to take it, and my pay is going to be double last years take home 
root of all eval fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Mar 24, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2015 19:41
|
|
|
TouchyMcFeely posted:Just interviewed for a new position on the other side of the country. It would be a promotion into a position that I've wanted to transition to for a few years now. Fingers crossed!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2015 22:29
|
|
|
a shameful boehner posted:What I think would be a good way forward is to approach them with a proposal of an immediate pay raise to justify the additional responsibility and workload, then after the probationary period if I'm doing well, to give me the rest of what we ultimately decide upon. Thoughts? Beyond thinking that a compensation change would be appropriate, is the position change something you are interested in? Personally I'd 100% of the time take a new internal skills opportunity at the same pay if it sounded like the resulting job had more potential for growth in the future (experience, positionally, financially). Realistically they can force you into it regardless, so why not play ball? If the position sounds shittier, but you are hoping for a raise out of it, don't do it. If the position sounds better, take it, rock it, and use your actually contributions and benchmarks as a raise claim.
|
|
#
¿
May 6, 2015 21:13
|
|
|
a shameful boehner posted:The position definitely sounds better in terms of experience and positionally within the company, but my company has a long history of "promoting" people by giving them insane workloads with a promise of a future pay raise until they eventually burn out. While I'm smart enough to not let myself get suckered into a bigger workload than I think I could succeed with, I'm still concerned that if I take the job without a pay raise I might not ever get one. My last increase was January, 2014. At face value it sounds like you don't trust the company long term so you might want to think about whether the new position would open more doors elsewhere, or even if you should look elsewhere for your current role today. Regardless of position change we've established you probably wont advance monetarily. That said you can remain either stagnant or you can make a move. If in 1 years time you still don't have a raise: would you rather have the added skills and better transitional opportunity, or the less stressful year and more resentment toward your company/salary? A bad year of paid training isn't the worst position to be in and may put you in a much better spot to leverage an offer internally or elsewhere. To be honest I just went from 4 years in a stagnant position to taking a new job elsewhere that scared the poo poo out of me just in the last month. It was such a good move I cant even believe I waited this long. Scary is good if you are up to the task and committed to making it work. I've already picked up on a ton of skills that made the move worth trying if they fired me tomorrow, but, hey, it's actually working out really well because I don't feel trapped and I want to succeed.
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2015 06:28
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 22:26 |
|
|
Coin posted:I quit teaching about a year ago. Currently I'm doing insurance processing work (I liked my last position, but this one seems like it's not going to work out in the long run) and working on an associate's in computer science. (It seems like lots of jobs like people who know SQL, and I might even turn out to be an okay Java or .NET programmer) If you are learning about computer science as well, have you looked into technical writing? Seems like a good hybrid discipline and is certainly something not a lot of people are great at.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 7, 2016 02:45
|
|