[gregjor]

If you need to get paid you aren’t “working for yourself” or controlling the project. Whomever pays for your work decides most of the parameters. That’s called freelancing or consulting.

You don’t “become” a freelancer or independent developer. That’s not an identity. You find customers who will pay you to deliver solutions to business problems. If you have a good reputation and track record and relationships with your customers they may trust you to make decisions about the project direction, tools and languages, schedule, etc.

Building a freelance practice takes considerable time and effort. I have some articles about that based on my experience (over 15 years freelancing) on my site typicalprogrammer.com.

[bruce511]

I am you. Or more accurately I am what you want to be.

I started in a small business as employee #1 (with the founder as #0). We wrote bespoke software for customers. When that well proved unreliable as income we built products and took them to market (much more reliable risk of actually getting a salary this month.)

Over a long career I've had the freedom to elite what I want, release when I want, with any cadence I want and so on.

Of course I also learned what my customers like, what they don't like, and what they like, but I don't like. Inevitably (because I like to eat) my work patterns match what they like.

I font have 1 boss now. I have 1000. With 1000 voices all at the same time. Some are louder. Some are more useful. (The most useful are seldom loud).

Ultimately I do provide enough value for them to graciously pay me. But make no mistake - it was very hard (non programming) work to get here. The key insight was marketing. I have spent probably half my career actively marketing - and for a long time that included a lot of travel. I have visited my potential customers in small groups I cities across the globe. Multiple times. I've run training courses, attended industry conferences, processed orders, and so in.

Independent means doing -all- the jobs, not just programming. If you want to make a living this way (and i do) just be aware that there's still a million things to do. Programming might be the fun part, but you need enough discipline and desire to do the rest as well.

[happytoexplain]

The first half of this advice seems like possibly-unnecessary semantic pedantism.

[gregjor]

I think you mean pedantry.

Read it however you like. I intend to give a realistic opinion based on my own experience and that of other freelancers I know. I've read or heard starry-eyed dreams of "just writing code the way I want to do it" as if that would somehow generate an income. Writing whatever code you want in your own way defines a hobbyist. Developing an idea into a product defines an entrepreneur. Coding what someone else wants for money defines a freelancer.

I don't know what the OP imagines or wants. "Independent software developer" can describe any of the definitions I gave above. It can also describe "unemployed grinding out niche open source project." As a freelancer I have considerable independence, compared to employees, but I don't get to set all of the parameters because I have to deliver something my customers will pay for, on a schedule they agree to. The more history and trust I have with my customer the more input I have into the overall process and parameters.

[codingdave]

> I think you mean pedantry.

Yes, that is absolutely the correct word. On so many levels.

[bruce511]

It may seem that way, but its not.

If you only have 1 boss, he gets 100% of the control over you.

If you have 100 customers, they each get 1% control. But they all pay 1% [1] of your income. So you get to make 100 people happy not just 1. Its a very real issue in this sort of space.

[1] in truth they're not equal. 10% probably make up the bulk of the income. They shout with a quieter voice. When they whisper you jump. The ones who pay the least will also complain the most. About "trivial things". Listening to them improves the product enormously.

[sshine]

> I think I'm going to end up working for myself, one way or another.

It marks the difference between working for a single employer, multiple customers, or yourself.

If someone pays you, you're working for them.

So working for yourself means you don't have to listen to anyone but yourself when delivering.

This is possibly more utopian than what the author wants, and pointing out the difference is not pedantic.

[000ooo000]

It is 100% garden-variety pedantry. Everyone knows the meaning of "work for myself" and no-one is confused about to whom one has obligations. This entire thread is just "well ackshually whoever pays you is really your boss when you think about it!!"

[Capricorn2481]

> Everyone knows the meaning of "work for myself"

Do they? I would disagree that everyone knows what that means. "Work for myself" often just means "nobody can boss me and I can work whenever I want" which is not the reality if someone pays you. Some of the most stressful and least flexible jobs are one-person businesses working for client.

[sshine]

You know, just because something is obvious to you, it’s not obvious to everyone.

You don’t have to respond to everything that is obvious saying that it is.

[malux85]

Dont do a consultancy, thats selling your time for money, and it scales poorly.

Invent a product, tutorial, or SOMETHING that takes advantage of softwares mega-advantage over other industries: It's basically free to copy, and it's basically free to distribute globally. Neither of those magical properties get used if you're a consultant selling time for money (although will be used by your client, you are capuring near zero value of that)

Selling your time is a mugs game, build a product.

[gregjor]

I hope you perceive the problem with the advice “invent something.” That’s the hard part.

This advice reminds me of an old Monty Python sketch, a TV show about how to be rich. “First you need to make a lot of money!” Then the “being rich” part falls into place.

Selling skills is not a “mug’s game.” Not every path to earning a good income with some freedom has to scale. I do solo freelancing, make a good living, live and travel wherever I want, choose the projects I work on. Mug? Or should I be selling another crap ebook or tutorial video online?

[ericjmorey]

If you sell it as time for money, that's the deal you'll get . If you sell it as value for money, the deal will be different.