Imagine you just spent a hundred hours working on a prototype for a buyer. Now imagine that you were dumb enough to send them the source code before you got paid. Even worse, the prototype is good enough for the buyer, and you sent them the binary! Those are classic mistakes made by trusting (read: new) programmers. You can’t afford to give away your work when the buyer can turn around and send that source code off to someone else to be finished for less than they would pay you. The buyer might even say that your code is “not up to their standards” and that they would never use it, but you have absolutely no reason to trust the buyer unless you have established a long-term relationship with him or her. Even so, it’s still good business to protect your work.

Continue reading...

Recently, I was working with another freelancing service, and I’d just signed up. Therefore, I had no credentials and a rather pathetic profile, so I had to depend on my cover letter to do the talking for me as well as some negotiation skills with the buyer.

Normally, when people think about negotiation, they think about dropping their price to make up for their lack of credentials. That’s just not my style. I see myself as a business providing a valuable, high quality service that customers need, and if they want to purchase that service, they pay the price for it. The reason this system works is because I don’t set insane rates. High, yes. Insane? No.

Continue reading...

First off, I’d like to thank Josh Breinlinger for commenting on the first part of this series with handy information as well as boosting my cool status by a full ten points! I hope you continue reading and commenting.

Now, on to business. What are some good ways to protect yourself when doing fixed-price jobs? How does it apply to oDesk, GAF, and Elance? Why does Nelson hate GAF and Elance after a couple hours of using each? We’ll be discussing all that and not a whole lot more in the second installment of Tips for Fixed-Price Jobs!

Continue reading...

When looking at doing a fixed-price job, there’s a lot of things to consider when using oDesk. First off, you’re not guaranteed to get paid for your work like you are with hourly pay. That’s a bummer. However, if you pick good jobs from good buyers, then you’re very likely to get paid so they don’t get slammed with a zero rating and a nasty buyer review.

So what are some good practices and tips for you to get fixed-price jobs, do the jobs, and get paid for it? I’m going to be discussing these points and a few more in a series called (drum-roll, please) Tips for Fixed-Price Jobs!

Continue reading...