The Self-Employed

If you're a freelance web worker, then you may have run into this scenario before:

Prospective Client: I think I'd like to work with you! What's your hourly rate?
You: Great! My hourly rate is $X.
Prospective Client: Oh, that's a bit more than we can afford. Would you consider doing the project for a flat fee?
You: ...

Have you seen this new site Interhoods? It uses Dribbble and GitHub profiles and mashes them up with a map to give you an idea of who the web designers and developers are in your neighborhood, and city. Right now they only offer the service for people in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. I think they should add Austin next. Read more about How to Get to Know the Austin Web / Tech Creative Community

Today I completed the release of the next version of HourPatch, which now includes the ability to create invoices. To go with it, I revamped the promo materials on the HourPatch website.

The tag line now is "Proactive Time Tracking", which I think nicely sums up what HourPatch is about: planning out your project schedules ahead of time, which simplifies time tracking and invoicing while also getting your self-employed life a little more in order. Here are the main points of what HourPatch is about: Read more about HourPatch: Now with Invoicing

It's still May, but temperature-wise, summer is just about here in Austin. It's hot, and I now find myself trying to figure out where I should spend my laptop hours. Read more about Summer is Here: Where Do I Work?

I've been freelancing full-time for 3 years now (although I started freelancing about 6 years ago), and after all this time, I've finally found a method for planning my project schedule and keeping my commitments in check.

Yesterday I visited the Secretary of State building here in Austin, to file (in duplicate) my form for creating an LLC. The visit took about, oh, 2 minutes. I should be getting mail back from them in a week or so. I can't wait! Read more about A Visit to the Texas Secretary of State

I've been running into a recurring problem lately: when I have a lot of work on my plate, and a prospective client comes along, I have a hard time knowing if I have the capacity to take on the new project, and when, and by what deadline I could complete it. Surely this is a common problem among freelancers.

Usually, I just assume that I can do it (better to have too much work than too little), but that's definitely made my life chaotic at times, having too many projects to juggle at once, and having weeks at a time where I had to spend way too much time in front of the computer.

I've looked around for a solution that looks good to me, but I haven't found it yet. So instead, I'm going to solve the problem myself, by making a new tool. Development starts today (design started last week).