Ask HN: I have some questions as a new iOS Freelancer

[lorenzopicoli]

Hey HN,

I've been working in a small startup as an iOS freelancer for almost 2 years (bug fixing, features implementation, etc). I landed this contact by publishing two apps to the App Store (one got a fairly good amount of downloads) and doing some small gigs.

Anyway, I have some free time now because this small startup doesn't have much work for some time. My first reaction was to go after some projects to work on. I stumbled upon UpWork and Guru and, as everyone else seems to be saying, it's pretty hard to compete with some programmers applying to work for $15/h for example. I'm trying to maintain my price as $35/h (I receive $30/h after UpWork's fee) as I think it's fair for my service, but I not having much success with that. Is my price too high? Is my cover letter wrong? I've never applied to this kind of thing before and I'm having a hard time writing a good letter... do clients on websites like UpWork even read all cover letters? Some projects has over 100 proposals.

I have tried to move to websites like Crew and Toptal (I don't think I have enough experience to toptal yet). Can anyone help me?

Thank you!

[loumf]

Do you live somewhere where $30/hr is a good wage? In the US, a decent iOS freelancer should be getting at least $100/hr -- you can't do that by competing on these platforms.

The standard advice for getting better rates (you'll see all over HN -- and I can tell you that it's what I do personally)

1. Charge by the week, not by the hour.

2. Sell the business result, not the app's features.

3. Your cover letter should reference how your portfolio projects delivered (profit, cost saving, risk reduction) to the client.

4. You need to convey that you are the low risk choice -- money to you definitely turns into an app for them.

[lorenzopicoli]

Thank you, your reply is extremely helpful. I have some questions:

Can you expand on item 2? Also, I'm having trouble finding places where I can find the kind of clients that are looking for quality over fast and cheap solutions, UpWork is not that place and I don't have enough quality contacts (I don't have conferences to go near where I live).

[loumf]

Look here: http://doubleyourfreelancing.com/

There is lots of similar advice there.

Finding the clients for iOS development will be hard. It would be easier to just apply for remote or full-time contract positions (try careers.StackOverflow.com)

[stray]

Your price is too high for the clients you don't want -- maybe low for the ones you do want.

It's a Market for Lemons.

And competing in the race for the bottom will cause you to get lost in the noise. Some small number of clients will prefer higher rates and take the gamble -- and upon a happy conclusion of a project, will seek you out in the future.

hth

[lorenzopicoli]

Hmm, it might make sense, but, correct me if I'm wrong, there's almost no room for more expensive freelancers on UpWork. At least I don't see where they (we) would fit.

[stray]

Looks like they fit on this page: https://www.upwork.com/o/profiles/browse/?q=ios&rate=60

[zerr]

What keeps you on odesk/upwork or similar race-to-the-bottom sites?

Eliminate the middle man, contact directly to prospective clients. There are a lot of opportunities for mobile devs.

[lorenzopicoli]

I don't have enough quality contacts to find these clients. And this kind of work is not common where I live so I don't have conferences to go... Do you have any suggestions?

[zerr]

I live in a similar place. Going remote is the solution, but again without a middle-man... Look for gigs on HN hiring/freelancer threads; weworkremotely.com; wfh.io; etc...

Even on upwork or similar sites, especially when the client is new to site, in case they provided contact info - contact them directly. Yes, and needless to mention - double (better triple) your rate.

[lorenzopicoli]

mhmm, I never considered direct contact, I thought it might be too intrusive. The websites you provided seems nice, I'll definitely check them out

[zerr]

Yep, and no need to mention the [race-to-the-bottom] site. Just check their website, contact info, maybe jobs/careers section, and contact anyway. And again, consider doubling/tripling your rate.

For short-term quick jobs - daily (better weekly) charging is preferable.

For long-term-like-regular-job - I prefer hourly billing, because I usually work part-time and with a hourly setup I have a freedom.