2025 review of the year
2025 was a mixed bag in comparison with 2024 from a freelance perspective. I had a noticeable drop off in enquiries, but my income was stable. I moved to being…
Have you tried using AI / LLM coding tools?
Freelance question via Mastodon: have you tried using an LLM coding tool to see how good/bad the code it generates is? I have tried using AI / LLM coding tools…
Why I make my resources available for free
I produce a variety of resources which I make available for free, such as my freelance questions + answers, blog posts and open source software. This is for a number…
How long should your initial consultation be?
Unsurprisingly, most prospective clients want at least a brief chat before deciding whether to hire me, and likewise I want to know a bit more before working for them -…
What are your niches and how did you find them?
I have four niches or specialisms: Sector: IT for financial services Programming language: PHP Type of work: Bespoke/legacy applications Working arrangement: Retainer-based These make up the majority of my business,…
Why and how do you set client financial exposure limits?
A financial exposure limit is the maximum amount of work I allow to be outstanding for a single client at any one time, which I've currently set at £1500. I…
10 years of freelancing full time
On 30th June 2015, I officially left my job as Software Support Officer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester, and started freelancing full time the…
How do you find clients as a freelancer?
Probably the most frequently asked question I get asked from other freelancers - especially those just starting out - is: how do you find clients? There are two aspects to…
What mix of work types does your freelance business involve?
My work is a mixture of: Per-project value based pricing (up 30% of my time, and probably a similar percentage of turnover - this has gone up significantly since I…
How do you retain your independence as a freelancer?
I work for lots of different clients, so perhaps it's a bit easier than if you’re working for one (e.g. as a contractor), but the things I’ve done to make…