Ex-founder here who decided to shut down their startup.

I'm now open to gigs as a Product Engineer.

I've worked across healthcare, AI, e-commerce, D2C and SaaS, building products from concept to production.

My stack includes Go, TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Node.js, Flutter, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Docker, and AWS. I've worked across backend systems, web and mobile apps, AI integrations, and deployment infrastructure.

If you're a founder who needs someone to turn an idea into a working product, or a team that needs an engineer who can work across the stack and ship, let's talk.

Upwork reviews; https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~011ec7098195ca3c81

DMs are open.

I started doing this like 3 months ago. The first 2 months I was able to at least make 2400. This month I made only 600. I have been calling like 30-50+ calls a day. At least 100 facebook posts a day. I'm definitely doing a high volume of outreach and this month was absolutely demoralizing. Like I feel like I've been beaten up. I feel sore on the inside. It feels like I lost a boxing match literally. I'm US-based if that matters at all, 31M, married. I'm trying so hard and I really need a new strategy. The 2400 was enough with my wife working but 600 is abysmal. I really need help if anyone can help or give advice.

I've been specifically targeting local service businesses like roofers, remodelers, painters, etc. All around the US. The first two months I was actually able to do cold outreach and get clients and this month has been much more difficult

Hey everyone,

I'm building an AI-powered proposal/quoting tool specifically for freelancers and solo consultants. The idea is simple: instead of spending 45+ minutes writing a proposal from scratch, you answer a few questions and AI generates a professional, ready-to-send proposal in minutes.

A bit about me: I have only little technical background and no funding. I'm bootstrapping this from $0 using no-code tools like Bolt.new to build the product.

I'd love some honest input from people who've been through this:

Where did you find your first customers when you had no audience and no reputation?

Did you cold DM? Post in communities? Offer it free first?

For those of you who build for freelancers specifically — is this a real pain point you've seen?

I've done some research and proposal writing keeps coming up as a major time killer. Am I solving the right problem?

Any tips for a complete beginner launching a SaaS with zero budget?

What would you do differently if you were starting today?

Appreciate any honest feedback 🙏

Im looking to use my skills from 5 years professional frontend development to do some freelancing to get some extra income.

I am UK based and have tried contacting nearby businesses with proposals for work but nothing seems to stick.

Anyone got any suggestions what I could do to find jobs/projects for work?

I have a portfolio and a LinkedIn with all my career experience so that should help where needed.

I put up an ad for freelancing as I do have the skills in software development. One of my potential clients reached out and told me he has already developed an application and showed me a demo, and wanted me to implement an email generation feature (something I can do), etc.

However, my kind of development, I'm more used to developing apps from the ground-up, and have very little experience with the integration parts of it. The times I've done integration work, is was when I was working under a senior developer. But I got laid off from my job as a junior developer (never got the chance to move up to an intermediate developer), so if I want to pursue freelance work, I now have to figure out the integration work.

The thought of this gave me cold feet that I just pulled the ad out together. But depending on the answers I get here, I might just get back into freelancing.

So have you had any experience working with what the client gave you? How do you go about it in terms of planning and then implementation? I have a lot of experience with going straight into implementation, and not much on the planning part. I'm knowledgeable of use cases and the Agile methodology in theory, but I don't have a lot of practice with them.

I want to learn how to build planning before implementation into a habit. I think it's easier to do when I'm starting from scratch, but idk how to approach when taking someone else's work and adding onto that. Any advice?

This might be a weird question, but I'll put it in this context.

I was chatting with github copilot for freelancing as I want to prepare to take on freelance gigs. The topic was pricing by phases.

It suggested I charge for the discover (where I haven't even developed the app yet). I asked if it's sure and it pretty much doubled down.

Now perhaps idk any better so I want to get some input from actual freelance developers.

Should you charge for discovery or no?

On one hand, you could argue that the writing is on the wall.

Of course, developers will still be needed. But the complexity of the apps/systems/plaftorms being built tend to require a team.

The projects that could be done by one person seem to be largely automated.

So what's the future though? Do you think there will be the same kind of demand or even bigger? Or do you think the end of the road is near?

I have discovered that when I work from home, it's easy for me to get distracted.

I am able to work for longer hours when I take a laptop to the library. Then, using the Pomodoro technique I can usually code a lot, lot. Much more than when I am at home.

What about you?

Everyone seems to be saying that social media is a good source of cilents. Have you tried it? What has been your experience?

You often hear that reaching out to clients is a great way to build up your business. It seems that some developers have made 6 and 7 figures doing this. But how do you go about it?

In my experience, I have found it easiest to attract clients by being part of communities where potential clients hang out. These could be communities centered around a specific niche or market.

But, I haven't done as much cold outreach as a developer as I should - although it has worked in other markets.

What's your experience?

How do you prefer to attract clients?

Do you use word of mouth, etc.?

Now, a lot of freelance developers ask about how to get clients.

Most of us search on Upwork and similar job boards. There are other avenues, but I won't get into that here. Instead, let's talk about the most important thing you have to do.

What's the most important thing you have to do?

You can't just have a portfolio.

You can't just have a resume.

You can't just have credentials.

You must have a product. You could have a free product or a paid one. But it must solve a problem for your customers. Ideally, it should be something they can work with right away.

Why do you need your own product?

Because, we are past the gold-rush era of the Internet. Those days are gone. Clients have evolved so it's not feasible any more to just promote your services. You must buld and protect a niche market for yourself.

Your product is the key to owning that market.

I'll write more about this. In the meantime, ask your questions!

What's your current focus, in your business?

So I do not like the Upwork eco-system much. The dynamic is to close to a corporate structure. Maybe it's because their official focus os on enterprise clients.

In effect, it's essentially a place to get a job with a big company. For me, that defeats the purpose of being a freelancer.

However, with effort, you can still meet some interesting clients through the platform. You will need to dedicate a lot of time though. In the long run, that time and effort seems better suited to find clients elsewhere. The fees alone are a problem bothers for the clients and the service provider.

What is your experience?

These days it seems that it's better to focus on new opportunities, rather than holding on to the old systems. There is a very big change going on. But I think a lot of people want a higher standard of living. I think that will create a lot of various opportunities for developers.

What do you think?

Over the years, I have dabbled in many things.

Way back, I did some consulting work. One day, I decided to raise my rates. I told a client to pay me $200 for an hour of consultation.

Till that date, I had never been paid more than $30 - $50 per hour. So I was scared. I braced myself for the rejection.

Yet, the client said, "OK."

Within less than 15 minutes, he had sent $200 to my PayPal account.

That's one of my favorite moments as a freelancer.

Share yours!

If you are a freelance developer today, there is one thing you must do. This is one of the most crucial elements of your work. Even if you are just starting out, you must do this.

What am I talking about?

You must develop your own product. It could be a free product or one that you sell. But ultimately, it's that product that will save your business.

I will share more about this later. For now ponder on it.

Have you already started building a product? Why or why not?

Some clients will hurt you.

They may do it quickly. Or it will take time. But, inevitable, they will show their true colors.

At this stage, I have learned to let it go. I don't even chase payments when it's clear the client is acting dodgy. If they want to owe me - that's fine. Life will reward me in other ways.

Plus, I can't spend energy on people who drain me.

So I get rid of these people.

What about you?

I have to admit - I don't spend nearly enough time on finding new clients. What about you?

Are you thinking of a new routine to attract business? What's your situation?