Hi, I’m final year IT undergrad and a mobile app developer and I do freelance projects. Me and my friends have a idea of Starting a startup. But we have some problems regarding that, such as how to do pricing, how to deal with customers who needs our services for dirt cheap, (lots of clients who need to get a websites, request it to be under 30k, so)
and how to find high value and high margin projects such as overseas projects.
I’m really glad if anyone who has those experiences and expertise can guide us throughout this path, Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.
First of all dont start at this early. ( Trust me I was there at this point even before my degree. I was so confident, I knew even to build a complete system even before starting the degree. But then I did my research, decided to goto a job. After 6yrs of experience it is this year, I started my company. )
If you are satisfied with what you have learned then try to join for an internship on a startup company.
I recommend startup companies, because you get to work on different kind of projects most of the times there. Experience of working on a startup company really helps when you need to start your own startup.
Focus on learning the whole process, full stack, project management and everything possible.
Then after 1-2 years while doing your current job, accept few of these clients who need to get their projects done cheaply. ( Dont select what is the easiest or most paid. Select the clients which seems not greedy, has most connections and has plans to put effort for marketing and other stuff too. ).
[Very Important] First take the project requirement clearly and define a document explaining everything indetail, clearly mentioning the deliverables. Then mention anyother requirement changes will be subjected to extra charge.
Then when they agree to all, first tell them the real value of the project, but you are doing this for their budget because you will use this project in your portfolio and his recommendation is highly appreciated and you need to have a long term partnership with him.
Then focus on completing the project exceeding the expectations of the client. Maintain good communication, regular updates and everything.
While doing these prepare your social media and promote these project under your startup name. Share your clients feedbacks too. And build a great portfolio website for yourself.
You do this for sometime and if all works good, you will be referred by your clients and you will get more new projects. Then you can increase the prices and when you have enough projects you can stop your current job and move to your startup from there.
Remember:
- Build a 6months safety net at least before quiting your job
- Dont try to do everything by yourself, slowly hire developers or partner with your friends.
- Try to make a long term partnership with your clients always. its very very important.
- Within my job and doing freelancing, I worked with more than 2000+ clients and the experience I gained is sooo much.
