Clients and Projects, Where And How To Find Them

If the title of this article catches your attention, you are not alone. I’ve had countless visitors who dropped an email or two asking for my sources of clients and projects. Perhaps they wanted to venture into freelance programming and curious about how I stayed after all these times. Indeed, anyone whoever wanted to become a freelance programmer should consider the question of finding clients very seriously.

Though it did not worry me a bit where to find my clients in the beginning of my venture, I honestly did a considerable amount of time thinking about it during the rough times.

Is there a good source of legitimate projects that can be done remotely? Is it better to choose clients based abroad than locally in the Philippines?

There are literally thousands of websites scattered throughout the Web offering jobs and outsourcing opportunities that could match all the skill-set you can possibly think of. Your excellent search skills can be a useful asset if you have the time to try and see what’s out there. In fact, I should suggest that you do that. But if you are already bugged down and wanted to narrow down your search with due consideration on the experience of real people, the following sources might prove to be a handy reference.

1. Craigslist

Never under-estimate the simplicity of this website. It is fast, powerful and loaded with free information on just about anything. Try this first if you are looking for Web Projects, remote Linux administration jobs, Web Design, or anything that can be done from home or in your office.

Start at the local section. The reason is that the clients who are looking to tap the local talents probably have experienced in the past hiring from or outsourcing to the Philippines. They might prefer to work with Filipino freelancers due to their work attitude. Or perhaps, the Philippines is a perfect place to outsource due to time difference between here and abroad.

Visit Craigslist.org now.

2. Best Jobs Philippines

If you love local projects and clients, subscribing to the Best Jobs Philippines mailing list can open up a number of opportunities for you. I can’t begin to tell you how good my experience has been with their service. I’ve had several projects both abroad and in the Philippines closed through their website. One of the things I like about this website is that it is not overcrowded. That means your inquiries and applications will have greater chances of being responded to than any the other similar local websites that I know of. Today, I continue to be a subscriber. After all it is free and you can opt out anytime.

Visit Best Jobs Philippines now.

3. oDesk.com

I have not personally signed up with the company, but it sounds impressive. I know a couple of software developers and web designers from the Philippines who have been using them for a couple of years already. oDesk has an added advantage of having that so called seriousness factor. In other words, if you want to be taken seriously and want to deal with serious clients (or you can make that serious clients ONLY), your chances are great when you check with oDesk.

Visit oDesk.com now.

To Bid Or Not To Bid

You might have looked at some Project Bidding websites and noticed a lot of ridiculously low offers made by the bidders. The good news is that spirit of Capitalism (a.k.a open market) is very well alive in these kind virtual communities. The bad news is, it is difficult to stand out among the crowd that is already highly populated – especially more so if you are just starting out.

I personally try to avoid joining project bidding websites. Instead, I prefer to submit my quotation and proposal privately to the buying client than having it open to the public. But, I do know some software professionals and freelance programmers who are doing just like that and are happy with the results. I think it all boils down to one’s preferences. Give yourself a chance to experiment and see which one works best for you and your team.