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This is a HUGE red flag. If you are not really an extrovert, then please reconsider your choice.
I made the transition a decade ago. I am very outgoing, and even then it was not easy.
I stumbled into it, because I have always had people who enjoyed working with me. Eventually
they were willing to work for me, and some clients approached me with the idea. So I had
clients and resources already lined up. Pretty lucky!
There are 2 parts of the job that are the hardest:
1) Meeting and not doing. I was used to being the guy to get it done. I had to shift to getting it
understood, and handing it over. Or finding the client, and connecting the resource.
2) Constantly meeting people and spending time, and not always getting the job. Some people are just
insane (they want a programmer with 5+ years of experience for less than double minimum wage.
Good luck, but be careful it is not going to be easy for you!
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If you are married, it's best if your significant other has a steady stream of income to carry your family through the inevitable (and sometimes seemingly endless) dry spells. I say this from experience, since my wife owns a piano / musical instrument store, and I'm the steady income. Be prepared for the time between starting and being steadily profitable to be at least several years; some businesses can take up to 10 years to reliably profitable.
If you are single, you'll need more savings than you can imagine.
Just be prepared to drop plan A for plan B. Then plan C. Then plan D. And so on...
'PLAN' is NOT one of those four-letter words.
'When money talks, nobody listens to the customer anymore.'
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First you must calculate if your income will cover your spending like IRS ,office ,salaries,bills etc.If you think you can do it then we have a start.As people said above networking.Unfortunately you must be really social and connect with people if you want them to find you and hire you.You have to use facebook,twitter, phones,website etc to learn about what you do and start finding you.If you have that also, then you are going to do well.Finally ,if people start to find you and you make stuff for them your services must apply to their needs.Price ,service delivered,quality and the most important thing that makes you different from the competition is after sale support.One happy client will lead to another client ,one disappointed client will make you lose clients.
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I noticed that you are located in Philippines, so I do not have a concrete advice for you as such. However, this is what worked for me in the U.S.:
1. Craigslist's free classified. This leads to small time work first, but it builds up soon after.
2. Meet the clients after the first contact. In my case, it has doubled or tripled my chances of getting a project, once the clients put a face to a name.
3. Repeat business. Make your first impression by delivering a quality product, you will get repeat business.
4. Referrals. Don't feel shy to ask your clients to refer you to others.
What did not work for me:
Direct mail. I sent out $1200 worth of postcards to a list I purchased. I did not get a single call.
Good Luck!
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Yes i am from Philippines but i am planning to get clients outside the Philippines because i can bill a lower rate but when converted to our currency its bigger, but i am open to working with local clients here as well.
Thanks for the advise.
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Pete wrote a series of articles about the subject some time ago. Wonderful and valuable read:
Going Solo - First Steps in Building a Successful Company[^]
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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Thanks for the article.
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The way it works is like this:
You convince a bunch of "coder" schmucks to "work for you".
You tell them you will find work for them and pay them $2.50 an hour (or thereabouts).
Once you have 5 or more schmucks, you start bidding on jobs; you tell the client you will do this job for $5.00 or 10.00 per hour, even though it "should be" at least $15+.
Your low-ball bid wins the job, you put one or two of your schmucks on the job, pay them the 2.50 (minus "expenses") and pocket the rest.
That's how you run a successful "agency".
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It's all about networking. I've targeted the local geographic region where I live that has around 800,000 people and built a lot of bridges. People say, "Hey, I know this software developer who builds apps!" I have built free/really cheap apps for some people who know LOTS of people. I consult and come by as easy and approachable. A lot of people are scared of tech talk. I can talk tech all day, but I get a friend who can sale, talk in a way that I can't to the client. Then, we wow them! Once hooked, then we build a relationship.
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Neurotech - Alleviate[^]
Been listening to this song since the album came out a few weeks ago.
It's awesome (the song and the album)
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The following has terminated: this[^].
I'm not sure what kind of mood I'll be in - being tanner and rounder.* Running on four hours sleep, I could slip into crabby mode at any moment - but for this moment,
What you tink? Dat be good!
* Red Stripe is a truly lousy beer.
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Welcome back!
Never mind the , what was the food like?
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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For carnivores, it must have been quite heavenly.
Like most good Caribbean all-inclusive resorts, it includes several on-site restaurants for dinner.
For we stalwart vegetarians, one of these was a particular favorite, "Bayside", which was Asian, over-all. The new chef was Indian, and that makes for some really good stuff. Our first visit thereto, we got Tofu with Black Pepper sauce - expecting "Meh". It was brains-fall-out good. I'd wager even you would pass up some bacon for this if you new how the genius in the kitchen made it oh so savory. Much of the mid-day fare, however, was quality resort buffet, with various cooking stations. All the restaurants had similar, but less successful food. Snack bars basically around the clock. No single malts at the bars this time.
Mrs. Wife seems to think that some visitors from GB paid USD $1000 less than wee did for seven nights (vs. our eight). Something to look into.
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Quote: you would pass up some bacon for this Now you're just being silly!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Forogar wrote: Now you're just being silly! Recall that the taste of bacon his little if anything to do with the (figurative) pigs-butt it came from, except for the fattiness. All the smoking and spicing is added.
Now, imagine that a (admittedly tasteless) medium is jacked up with all sorts of savory goodness. You really do get what you're looking for . . . unless, of course, it's clogged arteries you seek.
You need to consider what you're wanting to taste as a flavor - not its source - and new magic will enter your world.
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Except I'm talking about British bacon (which has an actual lean meat content) rather than the bacon flavoured fat strips the Mercans call "bacon".
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Here's a thought - not a challenge: consider what it is you like about meat, but in terms of separate characteristics. Texture, taste, oil/grease content, etc.
Now - I've been vegetarian since 1971 - and will be the first to tell you that most veggieburgers taste like a serious mistake. Unfortunately, a lot of commercial producers have historically made bland heaps with unsatisfying textures (In Asia, some fake meat products became quite good, but barely know in the west). Pretty much they cooked with a take-it-or-leave it attitude, or, at best, gave in to mediocrity because they thought they had to.
This has all changed - not to say the garbage isn't still sold as food. But, in the USA, the Morningstar Farms line is absolutely amazing (even fake bacon - it doesn't shrink). Other companies (like the ToFurkey line) have expanded to create some sausage-like items that are amazingly like pepperoni. Seitan (wheat gluten) is actually fibrous as well as chewy - an important component of muscle tissue based meat. Seasoned, it would quite amaze you.
Unfortunately, I acknowledge the bad name that has been curried (pun intended) for vegetarian food. Then, too, even a slab of beast can be ruined.
Logically, most of these things (burgers, bacon, buffalo wings) aren't meat, per se, but items traditionally made with meat. If it was healthy and tasty, what's missing?
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Meat is healthy, if eaten in moderate quantity and favouring white meat to red meat. Fish, meat, vegetables, wheat derived products... they're all healthy because the all provide things our bodies need. I tend not to exagerate in any food group (only to be extremely partial to sweets and dairy products).
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver
When I was six, there were no ones and zeroes - only zeroes. And not all of them worked. -- Ravi Bhavnani
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Humans evolved into omnivores - we can basically eat nearly anything. People grow strong and healthy (possibly after generations of re-evolving for local foodstuff) wherever there is adequate nutrition.
My vegetarianism is not health-oriented. It's ethical. No leather shoes for example. It was never an expectation to become healthier. One would need to eat pretty badly to get a really observable health boost from going vegetarian (aside from placebo effect).
Raising meat, however, is very inefficient. A lot of good vegetable protein is required to make much less meat protein (roughly 10:1); Even dairy is 3:1. Like fossil fuel, it's important but it's time is passing (I'm pro-nuke whilst other methods are developed). Oil, even when it was US$3/barrel was too precious as a raw material to burn - it's quite insane to do so.
So - I don't recruit. Just try to teach that Tofu is tasteless - but so, essentially, is flour. You love your cookies, cakes, and pies, breads, tacos, . . . ToFu, too, can be played with endlessly as a medium for yummy stuff. At least when I cook it. Maybe it's the inner chemist
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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W∴ Balboos wrote: If it was healthy and tasty, what's missing?
meat, definately meat!
Now being serious, i understand your position and i believe that there is a lot of good vegetarian food. But one thing that is disturbing me most is that (at least here in germany) the things go to far. Why does a veggi schnitzel have to taste like a real schnitzel? Why? Either i go for real meat or just leave it as it is, spicing it up and giving a nice taste.
Then to go on the bacon, i love the natural taste of good ol schwarzwälder schinkenspeck[^]. It's perfect for a lazy "after dinner", eating a few slices and having a good wine to it (Whisk(e)y also works). Maybe one has also some cheese to it.
For the "cheap" bacon i am with you, it's mostly the spice that gives the flavour. This is also quite correct for most of the meat but there are different types of meat i would never add spices to like a fine steak. Maybe you'll add a bit of salt at the end but you could basically enjoy it medium rare without anything additional to it.
I am a 90% carnivore btw. i don't eat salad
Rules for the FOSW ![ ^]
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I had some good and some awful veggieburgers. I totally agree that the Morningstar Farms burgers are the best I have tried.
I agree that the world should give up on fossil fuels. Nuclear power would be cheap and safe if everyone stopped making it harder than it should be. More people die from dirty air due to burning fossil fuels than ever have from radiation or nuclear explosion - by several magnitudes!
I am an omnivore and probably eat more vegetables than meat, but I still eat meat - because I like it.
Life is short and often miserable for long periods of time with little patches of joy here and there. I grasp what patches of joy I can get, hopefully, and certainly with the intention of doing so, without doing anyone else harm. For me to give up eating meat would not be a big plus for anyone else and would be a huge hit to my morale, and my wife's morale as she enjoys cooking for me and is a typical American carnivore. So... not gonna give it up, sorry.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Forogar wrote: I still eat meat - because I like it. The point I would like to have made is that suppose the veggie-whatever has the flavor and texture you like. And the nutrition. Does it matter that it's not 'real' meat?
Forogar wrote: Life is short . . . For me to give up eating meat would not be a big plus for anyone else . . . Especially if you're being raised for food, this may be quite the plus! The number may be higher, but in the US, alone, roughly 200 chickens are slaughtered . . . per second.
Forogar wrote: So... not gonna give it up, sorry. I don't proselytize for people to give up meat . . .at least not directly. My point is that if you had your flavor/texture/nutrition - did you actually give up anything? When your sink your canines into a juicy chewy savory hunk of food - and drool for more - that should handle it, shouldn't it?
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Meat is murder!
Tasty, tasty murder!
I do feel sorry for the 200 chickens... wait, no I don't really. Roast chicken! Yum!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Aye tall ya a beer is a beer.
Rules for the FOSW ![ ^]
if(this.signature != "")
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HobbyProggy wrote: a beer is a beer Not without a trace of hops 'taint. All you could drink . . . but why?
I consoled myself with brandy, Crown-Royal, and various wines.
Ravings en masse^ |
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"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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