Hiring a programmer for my small business?

[dtobias]

I have a small business and we have been outsourcing our programming for years. We are growing and thinking about hiring a programmer fulltime in house (in Burlingame,CA.) Everything is written in .Net.

Our business runs solely on our website so its a core aspect of our business.

Where I could use some insight is: 1- Can we afford to hire someone here in the bay area and would they want to work at a small albeit growing business (are we priced out of the market?)

2- Will we only be able to get a dev that does not have much experience?

3- What have your experiences been with switching from outsourced dev. to in house? Was it worth it?

4- How to go about finding this dev. since its highly competitive? Where to look and post?

Thanks so much for any insight you can share.

[sharemywin]

Do you see the company growing? Maybe you can offset somekind of equity options that kicks in after a year or something to offset the lower pay. Also, I've been programming .net for years and I haven't found a problem thats not well documented in the net somewhere. An inexperienced programmer isn't a bad option. Also, you have'n mentioned a salary range so it's hard to answer if your priced out or not.

[dtobias]

The company is growing and I believe it will keep growing. I'm totally open to someone less experienced if its a good fit. As to salary I am trying to figure out the realistic range as I know its so competitive right now. Any info on the going range would help. Thanks!

[jmilinovich]

I would start my search on odesk.com or other similar freelancing websites. You should always opt to find someone local and that might be the best way to at least start moving things in the right direction.

[boffo9]

I work in house and want to freelance from home. My commute is terrible.

[dtobias]

Maybe that is in option - to be more flexible ie. let this person work from home. As it is so competitive to find someone this would make it a bit more enticing to someone. Thanks!