💻 Freelancing

Trey Hunner / @treyhunner

How I've made money 💰

Back-end and full-stack web consulting
Front-end web consulting: code and user interface
Corporate training for Python programmers

Unpaid labors of love 💖

I've answered programming questions online
I've helped run free programming workshops in San Diego
I write articles, tweets, and emails on Python
I hold live webcasts every week on Python
I teach at Python & Django conferences

Life at college 🏫

Graduated TPHS in 2006
Went to UCLA for Computer Science & Engineering
Discovered how privileged I was to attend TPHS
Graduated UCLA in 2010

I wish I had learned more about 🔬

Behavioral Economics
Human-Computer Interaction
User Interface Design
Marketing & Sales

Early working life: web dev 💼

Worked at on-campus job from 2008 to 2010
Interned for a friend's startup during winter break 2009
Worked for friend's startup for the next couple years
Found another client after graduating

Focus on delivering value 🏆

Writing code isn't important: solving problems is
Translate everything to business goals
Be kind, but be honest

Networking is important 💬

Working alone has its downsides
Attending meetups: good for networking
Distinguish yourself somehow

Recent working life: training 🎓

Mentored 2 clients' teams using new/unfamiliar tech
Taught Intro to Python course
Taught Python to JavaScript developers at a startup

I got lucky 🍀

- Someone in the learning center at Qualcomm reached out to me through LinkedIn and asked if I had any interest in being in the room (as a mentor) while a bunch of Qualcomm engineers worked through an online Python course - We talked on the phone and I used the techniques discussed in the freelancing books I'd that read to make sure I was focusing on addressing their *actual* needs and not their stated needs - I ended up proposing a training course instead of going along with their idea to have me in the room during an online course - The schedule I proposed gave myself lots of time to put the material together as I went and the money that I asked for was more than I thought they'd agree to - But they agreed to my proposal! - And I did the course and it went great

It wasn't great 💔

We were supposed to have 10 weeks of training, meeting twice per week for 60 minutes each time
People showed up late and eventually most people stopped showing up at all
I ended the course after 7 of the 10 weeks we agreed to

Managing failure builds trust 💗

I credited some of their payment toward another course
I identified and addressed the breakdowns with them
The second course went great
This "failure" resulted in over a dozen more trainings

Absorb risk and building trust 📈

Let your clients know you're on their team
Express your feelings and concerns openly
Narrow your target audience by picking a niche
"Productize" your services by charging a fixed amount
Your Costs < Service Price < Value Delivered

- Before someone knows you, they probably don't trust you - So you often have to build that trust in the initial interactions you have with them - Treating your client like a friend builds trust. Be expressive about your concerns and feelings. - You want to make sure both have the same goal - Only accept jobs where you provide positive ROI - Goal #1: estimate value & cost to client and compare - Positioning: broken sink: handyman or plumber? - Niche - in an industry: Software solutions for retail - in a skill: Angular.js consultant - in a cross-section: Python training for JavaScript devs - productize - put a price tag on your service that isn't hour-based - you can charge more if you absorb more risk... as long as you're charging much less than the value you're delivering

Keep it real ✨

Empathize & show you care
Be genuine & show it
Manage expectations

Ask me about anything!

Working with clients
Finding high value problems
What makes clients trust you
Charging money for your work
"Networking"

Trey Hunner / @treyhunner
Python & Django Team Trainer
http://truthful.technology
http://pythonmorsels.com