What I Do
I have been self-employed as a freelance software developer and Linux/UNIX systems administrator since October, 2004. I am currently available to take on new projects.
Some time ago, Freelance Switch ran an article titled Questions & Answers: How to Describe What You Do which provided a series of questions for freelancers to help them clarify for clients and potential clients the type of work they do. Here are my answers:
1. What kind of work do you do?
I write software to help clients manage information, including locating information online and extracting useful information from large volumes of raw data. Given the current state of the business world, this very frequently means writing web-based applications, but this does not mean I am a web developer. I primarily create software which sometimes happens to have a web interface, not websites which happen to have functionality behind them.
It can be a subtle (and, arguably, pedantic) distinction, but it means that I am equally comfortable setting up websites or creating software which just sits in the background, doing its thing (e.g., monitoring access logs or auditing user activity) with no human direction required and no user interface at all aside from writing to a log or sending out email notifications to tell you when it finds something amiss.
This distinction also means that web layout and graphic design are not really my specialty. If you're building a website and know what you want it to do and what you want it to look like, I can make that happen, but, if you ask me to decide what it should look like, you're likely to get something that looks fairly spartan (some might even say "boring"). Fortunately, I have worked with a number of good graphic designers in the past and can introduce you to one of them who will be able to produce a visually appealing layout for you even though I don't do that myself.
2. What makes you unique?
For starters, my preference to specialize in back-end processing rather than user interface design seems rather unique.
I've been developing software a long time - as I write this, I've been programming for 30 years total, 15 years professionally - and I have a breadth and depth of experience that few can match. I've worked in several different industries over the course of my career and learned not only how to write software, but also how to assess a situation and identify what software should be written. On top of that, I've worked some years in systems and network administration, giving a solid understanding of the environments in which software runs, as well as how to ensure that it will do so reliably and securely.
I also write software with a distinct eye towards future maintainability and expandability. I know that someone will have to fix or change it within the next year or two and I know that, more often than not, that someone will be me. This isn't anything unique within the realm of traditional software development projects, but it is often sorely lacking in the "results now, don't worry about tomorrow" world of far too many online projects.
3. What kind of clients do you have?
Mostly small-to-medium businesses. Organizations which are big enough to afford custom software development, but not large enough to have the available technical manpower to do such projects in-house.
I also do quite a bit of work with web designers who need an expert partner to help them out with projects that require heavier or more in-depth back-end development.
4. How much do you charge?
I normally prefer to bill hourly for my time, but I am willing to do fixed-bid projects if provided with a sufficiently-detailed specification of the project. Even with a good spec, though, I have found that hourly rates help to avoid potential conflicts over what work is or isn't within the project scope.
Reduced rates are available for projects which are to be released under a Free/Open Source license or for which I will retain ownership of intellectual property rights after project completion.
5. What kind of business relationship will we have?
I primarily work independently and off-site, but will consider other arrangements provided that travel and other expenses are covered, including payment of my normal hourly rate for time spent in transit.
To avoid confusion caused by conflicting information, you will be expected to designate a single point of contact who will provide all direction on your project.
6. How do I pay you?
For hourly-rate projects, I issue invoices weekly. Payment on each invoice is due within 30 days after it is issued.
If we arrange a fixed-price contract, a schedule of project milestones and their associated invoices will be established as part of that agreement. Depending on project size, this will include a deposit of between 25 and 50 percent of the total project cost, to be paid before I begin work on the project.
7. How long have you been in business?
I have been doing freelance software development since October of 2004.
8. Where are you located, and what are your hours?
I am a U.S. citizen currently resident in Lund, Sweden, but I generally work remotely, so you won't have to worry about the expenses involved in getting me from Sweden to your site! On the contrary, the substantial majority of my clients have never met me in person, but instead have dealt with me entirely via email, phone, and/or Skype.
I am a bit of a night owl, but, thanks to the magic of time zones, this puts my most common working hours roughly in sync with standard business hours in the U.S.
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