Wouldn't it be nice?
Doing your own thing, just because you want to?
Many developers feel an urge to break free and chart their own course.
Developer entrepreneurship appeals in different ways to different people, though. The good news is there’s a wide spectrum of entrepreneurial paths for developers, each with varying risks and rewards.
Freelancing
Freelancing allows developers to work independently on projects for various clients. It provides flexibility in work location, schedule, and the type of projects you take on. Freelancers get to cherry pick interesting work, avoid workplace politics, and be their own boss.
But with great freedom comes great responsibility. The main risk of freelancing is unpredictable income flow and the frequent need to continually find new clients in order to keep working. Freelancers also shoulder the burden of contracts, invoicing, taxes, insurance and other back-office business operations - many developers don't realize how much work this entails.
Freelancing fits developers who crave flexibility and working on a variety of projects over the stability of full-time employment. It works best for those proficient at sales and marketing themselves, or who already have a solid network. Having top-notch technical skills is not enough - you’ll need hustle to get yourself out there.
Don’t jump into freelancing until you have at least 6 months of living expenses set aside. Starting slow with side projects in addition to a full-time job can be a good way to test the waters and build a client pipeline before making the full leap.
Consulting
Consultants provide technology implementation and advisory services for clients over fixed periods ranging from a few weeks to a year or more. Consultants offer specialized expertise around specific technologies, industries, or business use cases.
Consulting provides more reliable income flow compared to freelancing, and you get to focus in-depth on particular client projects. However, say goodbye to flexibility - consulting usually involves heavy travel to be on site with clients. The short-term nature of engagements also means you’re constantly cycling on and off projects.
Consulting suits developers who thrive at quickly understanding new clients’ needs and integrating smoothly into new environments every few months. Strong communication and people skills are vital when you’re immersed in unfamiliar client contexts continuously. Technical generalists do better than specialists who only want to work in their niche.
Look for consulting firms that align to your industry or technology interests. Consulting salaries can be very lucrative, but you’ll earn every penny.
Products and SaaS
Many developers dream of building their own products or software-as-a-service businesses. This path allows full creative control to build something entirely from your own vision and retain ownership of your work.
However, don’t underestimate that developing profitable products requires just as much business savvy as coding skills. You need a solid concept validated by market research. Be prepared for long development periods with no revenue, and unknown timelines to achieve product-market fit. Many solo developer products fail to gain significant traction.
Products and SaaS ventures match developers who have a passion for creating something new, taking an idea from concept to reality. You need persistence and a thirst for operating the business as it scales. Coding is just one piece.
Consider seeking a co-founder to complement your skills, or joining an early stage startup instead of tackling this path alone.
Startups
Startup founders build high-growth companies around innovative product ideas or approaches to solve needs in the market. While extremely risky, startups offer huge upside for developers who want to make maximum impact and influence.
However, beyond coding, the pressures of fundraising, business development, leading teams, wearing many hats and constant uncertainty are extremely challenging. You’ll need to navigate complex equity decisions and regulatory issues. Most startups fail - persistence, resilience and leadership are vital.
Startups suit relentless, big thinking developers who are drawn to complexity and high-growth scale challenges. A thick skin helps weather the constant, inevitable blows. Founder conflicts are also common - choose partners wisely.
Connecting with a startup accelerator can provide guidance on validating ideas, securing funding, and accelerating growth. Don’t go it alone unless absolutely needed.
Hybrid Approaches
Rather than choosing a single path, many developers blend models over the course of their career. For example, starting with freelancing or consulting on the side of full-time employment can test the waters. Others mix freelance work with building a product venture.
There are creative ways to structure your time to get the benefits of multiple models. Experiment to find the right proportional mix that provides security yet still scratches your entrepreneurial itch. Just be aware of any exclusivity or non-compete constraints from full-time employers around side ventures.
In the end, there’s no one right model of developer entrepreneurship. By understanding your motivations, risk tolerance and abilities, you can find the optimal balance of rewards and fulfillment. Every developer’s needs evolve. Don’t be afraid to iterate and adjust your path - adapt as you learn.
The freedom of working for yourself can be thrilling. But each model involves tradeoffs.
Chart your course thoughtfully, and enjoy the ride!
Top comments (3)
Thank you so much for this article! Three years at a corporation and I'm so done with that life and striking out on my own right now!!
Nice overview! What has your experience been like?
For me, the priority is always learning.
In that light, freelancing is an amazing and relatively low-stakes way to try new things at the edges of, or perhaps tangent to, my skillset. I get to explore different angles to subjects and maybe apply knowledge honed in one area to a completely new area. The fact that it's done via an agreement with someone for a specific outcome increases the pressure and creates an ideal learning environment for me.
Consulting is a nice way to see how past experiences can scale out or flex to different sized businesses and situations. Here, it's much less about exploration and more about clarity and combination. A business might presented with a problem that looks like a tough technical challenge, but really its more about the approach. The business might have a goal to climb some mountain and they're walking straight toward it, but in their path there's a sheer cliff face. They've might have walked all the way to and have been stuck trying to figure out how to climb up, but there's a path behind the trees just over there with a gentle slope and walking sticks for everyone.
Products & SaaS enables truly end-to-end exploration. Not just for the tech stack, but to marketing, sales, customer research, and business operations. Sure, you might get to explore your first Stripe integration handling credit cards and that might be sufficient the first time you do this, but then you realize that the idea of, "if you build it, they will come," is an utter fallacy. You'll get to a point where you actually know what your partners and colleagues in other departments struggle with. You not just sympathize with them, but empathize.
Seeing how building a business out of a Product/SaaS involved many, many more skillsets than one person could reasonably bring to bear at at any one time it becomes necessary to build a team to give each responsibility the attention it deserves. Provided the business has either raised or has the revenue base to support it, magically, that Product/SaaS morphs into a startup.
I've enjoyed learning how to operate across this spectrum. Each area takes different kinds of thinking to address different kinds of problems. The huge, huge win to my perception has been that as new ideas, combinations, and techniques are integrated and internalized the ability to handle new information and dynamic situations across all areas has improved.