Comments on: How much does it cost to be a freelance web developer?

By: Richard, Peacock Carter

Richard, Peacock Carter — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:45:32 +0000

@Dan – it’s not just you buying domains, we buy a lot on a regular basis, too.

As you do, we spend a lot on food – especially if we’re staying late, we’ll go out for a meal and then stay up working on projects.

FOWA is expensive, especially since they’re charging ~$25000 to sponsors, but it’s still something I’ve been meaning to go to.

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:53:54 +0000

@Phil: Thanks for the advice, much appreciated! I will do just that, and hopefully in a few years I’ll be giving the same great advice to someone else. Thanks Phil!

By: phil

phil — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:53:32 +0000

@Darren: The best thing you can do is to take that job and freelance on the side. When going freelance, you have to consider a lot of things – where will you find the work, what will you do if you don’t get much work one month?

Get your own website, start promoting yourself and put yourself in a position where you can go freelance if you still want to.

By: Suresh

Suresh — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:10:19 +0000

Nice and useful Post

By: Darren

Darren — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:53:41 +0000

Hi, firstly a great post!

I’m a web designer just starting out from Uni, and I’m about to hook up with a £12k p/a job at a local small-town web design firm. I’ve often thought about going Freelance (for the convenience, freedom, etc), but I’m quite concerned about not being able to make enough money to survive? At the moment I live with my parents, but being 21 I’m eager to get the hell out as soon as possible. What advice would you have to someone in my position? I think I’m good enoug to make the push to freelance but have these nagging reservations. Cheers!

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:49:18 +0000

Another fine post there Phil.

It’s true that a lot of people can make assumptions that because you have a computer and you can do the work, that’s literally all you need.

You alluded to the electricity and heating, etc which can add up but there could be accountancy fees (when self-assessment becomes a headache) and there’s domains (maybe that’s me buying too many?).

There’s also non-financial costs such as fitness (if you’re working from home and don’t often leave to meet clients) and the encroachment on personal time, if you’re not strict enough with yourself.

By: Alice

Alice — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:06:25 +0000

Excellent post, Phil! I mean it. Not many people think about ALL the costs, when starting a business. As for tips on cheaper solutions, you might wanna have a look at Wrike for project management. We charge per user, not per project. You might find this more affordable, just as Greg from About.com did.

By: John

John — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:56:42 +0000

Freelancers should factor in at least $20 / month for a web-based project management tool. It may see like a lot of money, but the trade-off in increased productivity is well worth it. A good one to check out is Intervals, which does time tracking, task management, and project management; a complete suite for someone starting out as a freelancer.