The Freelancers' Show

Panel David J. Soler (twitter blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:04 - David J. Soler Introduction Relationship Marketing & Sales Podcast davidjsoler.com 01:54 - Building Relationships and Getting Referrals Trust, Likability, Credibility + Value (TLC+V) Handwritten, Personal Notes 13:39 - Trust Integrity Reputation Consistency 23:52 - Unconventional Marketing ‘Wow’ Factor Before, During, and After Items of Value 30:11 - Referrals 32:10 - Meet Your Clients 34:31 - Appreciation and Encouragement 36:37 - Relationships Over Business Picks Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money by Rabbi Daniel Lappin (Curtis) Ladda Buttons (Curtis) Freelancing Rules of Thumb (Eric) Apple Developer: for WWDC Videos (Jeff) Mac Pro (Jeff) httpie (Reuven) Reversing PDF Documents (Reuven) Explore It!: Reduce Ri

Panel Jevin Maltais (github Quickjack Solutions) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles M...

Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 42:46 - Social Media Panel Activity Levels SaneBox 03:12 - Primary Social Networks Twitter Facebook LinkedIn 04:07 - LinkedIn Recommendations Job Leads Resume @ProBlogger: The Ultimate Guide to Making Money with the Amazon Affiliate Program 10:25 - Twitter Censorship Visibility 16:54 - Facebook Games Facebook Ads Rob Walling: The 5 Minute Guide To Cheap Startup Advertising 22:10 - Social Media Management Apps Tweetbot HootSuite Buffer Instapaper If This Then That (IFTTT) Pinboard 24:57 - Automated Tweeting 27:47 - The benefits and pitfalls of using Twitter Is that Owned Content Worth Anything? - Curtis McHale Building and maintaining relationships 31:45 - Google+ Google+ Communities SEO Benefits Google Authorship 35:15 - Forum Sites Reddit /r/freelance Freela

Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:37 - Reuven Lerner Introduction 01:10 - Curtis McHale Introduction WordPress The Coderpath Podcast 01:57 - Consulting, Tools & Apps fvrb (Curtis’ Ruby Brigade) Billings Pro Ronin Trello Evernote Dropbox Evernote Hello Evernote Skitch Napkin Mailbox IFTTT (If This Then That) 10:21 - Ronin FreshBooks Harvest Harvest Online Invoicing & Time Tracking: Curtis McHale Multiple Currencies Marketcircle: Daylite Complete Review of Daylite 4: Curtis McHale 13:16 - Customer Relationship Management The Trello/Evernote Combo Highrise Salesforce Curtis’ Trello Gist Podio 15:50 - Trello 17:18 - Booking Out Work 18:38 - Consulting in WordPress 21:33 - Getting Leads & Establishing Connections 23:15 - Application Development with WordPress Tom McFarlin 25:51 - Advantages of

Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:53 - Consulting/Giving time away for free 04:59 - Giving away content to generate leads 09:16 - Tier content and pricing ...

Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:44 - Packing 03:15 - Traveling for clients vs conferences 06:38 - Packing cont’d & flying Rick Steves Packing Cube - 3 Set 08:05 - Lodging Staying w/ friends Airbnb Hotels 14:01 - Traveling w/ electronics New Trent iCarrier 12000mAh Dual USB Ports External Battery Pack TP-LINK TL-WR702N Wireless N150 Travel Router StrongVPN 19:51 - Getting through the airport & flying Alaska Airlines Mobile App TripIt Instapaper Dream Essentials Sweet Dreams Contoured Sleep Mask with Earplugs and Carry Pouch 27:15 - Staying off the beaten path 29:38 - Taking care of yourself while traveling 32:43 - Getting around Car rentals Public transportation 37:05 - Finding deals & saving $$$ KAYAK Bing Travel Fare Predictor Travelzoo 40:40 - Traveling within driving distance Picks StrongVPN (Eric) Funding your startup with a "one on / three off" setup (

Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:58 - Project Management 02:46 - Project Management Software Pivotal Tracker Redmine Asana 05:26 - Communication and Clarification Discovery and Estimation 09:59 - Agile Methodology Workflow 15:28 - Billing Project Management Time Harvest 18:57 - Managing Internal Projects To-Do Lists Outsourcing Board of Advisors 25:46 - Managing Future Projects and Ideas Getting Things Done by David Allen 28:47 - Book Writing Workflows Picks National Geographic Found (Ashe) Will You Sponsor Me? - Elise Worthy (Ashe) MediaElement.js (Chuck) Hover (Chuck) Next Week Travel Transcript ASHE: Life's a little weird sometimes... [Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net] CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 60 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel we have, Ashe Dryden. ASHE: Hello! CHUCK: And I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. W

Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:13 - Coping with Burnout Taking up hobbies Outside job stressors Exercise 07:21 - Overcommitting 09:59 - Expectations Having children Setting boundaries PPC Principle = Production vs Production Capacity (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey) 16:32 - Work/Life Balance Your personal definition of relaxation 20:26 - Depression 22:27 - Coping Mechanisms Partner support Talking through it 29:43 - Preventing Burnout Don’t push your limits Regrets of the Dying Frustration Driven Development by Evan D. Light Picks Slate Magazine | Boston bombing breaking news: Don't watch cable. Shut of Twitter. You'd be better off cleaning your gutters. (Eric) Happier (Evan) Happy: The Movie (Evan) Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E. P. Seligman (E

Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:13 - Is there value in testing and refactoring? Client Value vs Developer Value Unit Tests Acceptance Tests 09:22 - Saving time and money Better Code Maintainability 13:45 - When not doing tests hurts 14:39 - Refactoring “Changing Shit”/Restructuring 19:48 - Approaching restructuring “Leave it better than you found it” Use metrics Coding “taste” and style 30:36 - Software exists to provide value 32:33 - Documentation 34:45 - Getting clients to see the value in tests Characterization Tests 41:04 - Deployment 42:57 - Client Dictatorship Using specific libraries or tools or databases The Trust Factor 054 – Red Flags with Potential or Current Clients with Ashe Dryden Draconian technology Picks Software Engineers Spend Lots of Time Not Building Software (Eric) Status Board (Eric) Backbone.js (Chuck) Toy Story: Smash It! (Chuck) Next Week Overcoming Burnout Transcript [Hosti

Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:39 - Experience working with fixed bids 04:08 - Risks Value 06:45 - Collecting Payment Working in phases and milestones 08:56 - Are fixed bid projects fair? 16:57 - Nailing down specifics 19:51 - Dealing with scope creep Contract clauses/additional contracts 26:15 - Getting clients to agree with your fixed bid or hourly preference 28:29 - Estimates Prioritizing Point estimation 37:11 - Transitioning from fixed bid to hourly work 38:42 - Figuring out what to bid Project management Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth by Alan Weiss Option pricing 44:41 - Ask clients why they prefer fixed bid pricing Picks Healthy Programmer by Joe Kutner (Ashe) DuoLingo (Ashe) #RubyThanks (Ashe) Becoming a Better Programmer Indie GoGo campaign (Ashe) Douglas Rushkoff: Wall Street Journal adaptati

Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:20 - Finding Projects 04:50 - Being up front with clients about what you do and don’t know 06:14 - People who don’t know as much as they think they do Dunning-Kruger effect 08:21 - “Fake it til you make it” Honesty 11:23 - Offering a technology before you know it can be done Referring someone else instead Contract Specifics 15:59 - Lowering your rate to take a project to break into a new market Value Discounts/Comping Time 22:37 - Getting stuck and taking time to figure things out Time Tracking Reaching out for help in exchange for ____ (temporary mentorship) Velocity Subcontracting 28:35 - Taking a project because you want to learn a specific skill 30:02 - Refactoring Convincing a client that it’s good to refactor Showing good code vs bad good Is it code that you’re proud of? Cl

Panel Jenn Swanson (twitter Communication Diva eBook) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:32 - Jenn Swanson Introduction C...

Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:48 - Ashe Dryden Introduction Indie Developer and Conference Organizer from Madison, Wisconsin 02:39 - Contracts Signing yours vs theirs Having a contract The Ruby Freelancers Show 049 - Contracts with Attorney Jared Richards 09:08 - Working with Down Payments and Deposits 10:35 - Clients asking you to reduce your hourly rate or paying you in something other than money 13:26 - Discovery (DaaS - Discovery as a Service) 19:35 - Referral-based Work 20:58 - Business Hours & Availability Poor Project Management Needy Clients Setting clients up to work in a way that works well for you 26:28 - Clients treating consultants and contractors as employees Points of contact 31:49 - Clients not knowing what they want 33:58 - Signing unreasonable non-compete agreements 37:57 - Timeline

Panel Farnoosh Brock (twitter facebook Prolific Living Prolific Living Podcast The Healthy Juicer’s Bible) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:37 - Farnoosh Brock Introduction Prolific Living New Media Expo 01:41 - Marketing 04:00 - Marketing Coaching Services Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port Target Audience 06:05 - Giving away products vs time and services The Ruby Freelancers Show: 006 - Setting Your Rate 08:32 - Pricing The Prolific Living Podcast Episode 83: 4 Bold Steps to Communicating Your Prices without Apology Price higher than you feel comfortable Handling price criticism 12:54 - Levels of Access Freebies 16:48 - Value Working backwards pricing idea 19:39 - Advertising Mailing Lists (some at different levels of marketing aggressiveness)

Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 00:57 - Wanna be a regular Ruby Freelancer Panelist? Tweet interest to @rubyfreelancers02:12 - Big Company Layoffs ...

Panel E. Scott Sweeney, CPA (Scott@CPASweeney.com 801-756-3394) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:02 - Scott Sweeney Introduction The Ruby Freelancers Show 01...

Panel Steve Kloyda (twitter facebook linkedin youtube The Prospecting Expert) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:03 - Steve Kloyda Introduction The Prospecting Expert The Prospecting Minute 02:38 - Being a good prospector Never stop prospecting Passion 04:42 - Prospecting and Selling To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink 08:10 - Marketing and Sales Cliff Ravenscraft 12:05 - Prospecting Tools Email Text Messaging Video Social Media The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk 19:25 - Audience Connect Educate Engage 24:54 - The Wizard of Oz Purpose Who Game Plan Solution Next Step 34:03 - The Best Next Step 38:31 - Referrals Fear of rejection Psychology Centers of Influence 46:51 - Keeping the sales process simple Ask for the business Objections  Picks Indie Game: The Movie (Eric) Anker Battery Pack (Chuck) Para

Panel Jared Richards (twitter jrichards@btjd.com 801-438-2040) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:21 - Attorney Jared Richards Introduction Bennett-Tueller Johnson & Deere of Salt Lake City, UT @UTStartupLawyer 03:37 - Things you should have in a contract Who owns what Work for hire/licensing 10:40 - Prospective Liability and Disclaimers of Liability 13:07 - Risk Management Tools Warranty and protection against data loss Limitations on liability 16:25 - Copyright & Patent Infringement 19:57 - Getting paid for your work Cash up front On-going retainers Escrows Credit card authorization forms Interest penalties Collection costs 29:18 - Acceptance and Rejection Procedures 36:25 - Is a Statement of Work necessary? 40:20 - Subcontracting 42:25 - Client turnaround and response time provisions 43:24 - Purchasing of services/expenses 46:21 - Using client contracts instead of y

Panel Jonathan Shank (twitter Your First Virtual Assistant) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:03 - Jonathan Shank Introduction Your First Virtual Assistant 02:13 - Odesk Witmart 03:45 - Types of jobs you can outsource Translation Research Transcription 08:35 - Picking the right people 11:18 - Figuring out what to outsource 13:39 - Hiring domestic vs overseas workers 16:52 - Sampling groups vs hiring regulars 21:05 - Improving delegation skills 23:27 - Mistakes people make when getting started outsourcing Be Specific 26:11 - Letting strangers into your business Training 31:19 - Fiverr Crowdsourcing 99 Designs 34:29 - U.S.-based VA firms 36:38 - Outsourcing technical things Picks Bidsketch: Freelance Marketing 101: Creating a “Magnetic” Freelance Business (Eric) Presto 04213 Electronic Timer (Chuck) David J. Soler (Chuck) Work the System (Jonathan) Next Week Contracts with Attorney Jared Richards Transc

Panel Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 03:45 - Long-Term Contracts 07:14 - Marketing while under contract 10:01 - Working on other projects while working full-time 16:10 - Energy 17:01 - Money Emergency funds 21:41 - Lone developer vs team projects 28:05 - Full-time contract pros and cons Renewing Flexibility Meetings Routine 40:50 - Finding full-time contracts Picks ruby-orgs (Jim) dtao / safe_yaml (Jim) Freebook Sifter (Eric) Discomfort Zone: How to Master the Universe (Eric) Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver of the 10th Doctor (Chuck) Contactually (Chuck) Dropbox App (Chuck) Next Week Outsourcing and Odesk with Jonathan Shank Transcript CHUCK: I'll get ideas from my ideas. There's an idea.  [Are you a busy Ruby developer who wants to take their freelance business to the next level? Interested in working smarter not harder? Then check out the upcoming book “Next Level Freelancing - Develope