What can you expect from a career as a freelance web developer in a couple of months or a year, even two? This article is not purposed to discourage anyone in any way. The goal is to inform and prepare beginners for the unforgiving parts of freelancing. Before everything else, I love being self-employed. I love the hours, freedom and flexibility. It would not be fair for me to sell you on the positive parts of being a freelance web developer without sharing some of the bad. The truth is, there is a dark side, a very unpleasant side at that. Temporary, but not for the faint-hearted. You are going to encounter hardships in your first year or two. If you are lucky, the storm may pass after a couple of months.

The main textbook reason that everyone seems to have succumbed to is that you have no credibility as a beginner. The reality settles in when you realize that no one is willing to take a chance on a newbie. Who is going to trust you to build their site? You cannot charge a lot of money and expect a lot of customers to knock on your door because you do not have that reputation or proof yet. So what do you do? You lower your prices, right?, This is by far the hardest thing you will have to do. You might get a few clients coming your way, but it is not going to be a happy experience. The first ones are always the worst, at least in my experience. The kind who gives you hell on earth. The kind who are not serious with their projects. The kind who makes you feel like it is a race to the bottom.

One of my earliest clients was from Upwork. I landed the gig by sending in a proposal about creating a blog submission form for his site. We did the first project without a lot of issues. A few changes here and there and we were okay. It was just a submission form, did not get to charge a lot for that. He pushed some clients my way. I talked about what I could provide for them because they wanted some e-commerce stuff. They told me they were struggling with web presence because the developer they had previously hired messed them up. They had started a site on GoDaddy using the drag and drop builder but could not finish it. They did not have what they needed, and they thought maybe was the one.

I was happy because, in my mind, I was going to make them my long term clients. They said they wanted to work with me. They had interviewed other guys, but they liked my vibe. So I did what any newbie freelancer would do? I said, yes. We had not talked to any numbers just yet, and they wanted me to start immediately. They said they were going to update me. I was feeling awesome because this was my first real referral client. They kept asking me to start without any pay. That is when I started seeing some red-flags. As a web developer, the protocol is usually to receive 50% of the pay upfront as a commitment fee. Then the rest comes after completion.

Later that week, they texted me on the platform saying they have found a person who could do the site for a lower budget. Another red-flag. I was so shocked and caught in disbelief. They were trying to low ball me! The sad part is that they wanted me to share some mock-ups first before they signed off on it. I spent all this time telling them about my process and what I can do them, and somehow they found someone who can do it for less? I did not give them the mock-ups they wanted because I knew that that was my leverage, and I did not want to feel used. I told them very nicely to go with the other guy if he can do it for less. Keep-in-mind I was desperate because this was like $1000. I might have even done it for $700. yes, I was that desperate. They said that they were going to provide more work for me after this if I share the mock-ups and agree to do it for $700. They promised to push some agency website my way, and they had another e-commerce project coming. The temptation was so real I nearly did it.

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