100 Days of Rails Consulting
9 May 2007Today marks 100 days since I started doing freelance Ruby on Rails development, consulting, and training here in sunny Seattle, WA on a full-time basis. I must say, it’s been a blast.
Previous to the full-time consulting work, I was employed at a startup doing Rails for my day job. I worked on some cool stuff, worked with some cool people, and had a great time. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and when the funding stopped, so did my paycheck. Fortunately for me, I had been doing some freelancing on the side, so when the kick in the pants came, I was able to move quickly into freelancing full-time.
I have learned quite a bit in the past 100 days… about running a business, working with clients, and managing stress. A year ago I never would have thought I would enjoy this, but I’ve discovered that I really do. I’m still working on some cool stuff, with some cool people, and every day is an adventure.
So, if you need a web application built, or if you need some guidance on building one, or if you’d like some one-on-one Rails training, drop me a line. If you’re thinking of diving in to freelancing full time and have a question you’d like to ask, send it my way and I’ll do my best to impart lessons learned the hard way. :)
I’ve got a similar post halfway done, having just passed my 380th day in Ruby freelancing. The whole “running a business, working with clients, and managing stress” thing has been the most interesting and unexpected learning experience.
When you have the time, consider writing more on that aspect of it… the non-consulting side of independent consulting.
It was late January 2005 when I started digging into Rails enough to be dangerous… and I made the decision to go exclusively Rails in the begging of February… so I guess that puts me around the 800th day by now. :-)
I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts… keep them coming!
Congrats! Thanks for the advice and answers, too. For anyone reading—Ben really can answer your freelance / independent questions.
Also, I may or may not have worked on an application Ben did some work on. It may or may not have been top notch code and tests. That is all.
Almost 390 days here. Good work.
Congrats!
While I haven’t been freelancing the past several months, I have been working from home which was a big leap for me after working for a number of startups and consultancies in the past. But I must say, there’s a lot to say for working from home and how much it contributes to having a lifestyle that is more in tune with how you approach work and working, life and living, food and eating, code and coding….
Have you been enjoying that extra freedom?
I love that my eyes open naturally around 6 in the morning. By 6:15 I’m Rails coding. By 6:45 I’ve got coffee made and I’m drinking it. By 11 my first iteration of the day is done and it’s off to lunch. Or maybe I’ll have brunch at Violet’s down the street at 9 with the laptop. Then it’s back to work for awhile, maybe watching Star Trek: Enterprise, People’s Court, or Beverly Hills 90210 while I do some bugfixes. Check in with the boss. Around 10pm when the server has finally cooled down upload any needed changes… Rinse and repeat.
There are worse ways to live.
Taylor,
I’ve been loving the freedom to work on my own schedule, though it’s still typically 8 to 4, and I still go in to an office away from home (almost) every day. :)
For me, it is less than 1 month, but my strong background will help me to catch up …
Congrats