What I Learned About Freelance iOS Development

Being your own boss is the best situation you can be in! However, making the correct decisions when conducting your business can make you a BIG earner or a BIG producer and a slow earner. Here are some of the facts that I have learned over the years.

1. Know your customers!

You will spend a lot of time developing an iOS app. However, developing applications solely for unfunded startups can lose its sheen quicker than a new car. Try to find an established startup with funding before writing any lines of code. If you do not, you will find yourself stuck in a situation such as this.

As you can tell, your LUMP sum is coming at the 80% mark. If your project took 40 days to complete 32 of those days were unpaid. This is rent, cable, and student loans you just missed. No bueno.

This is how you want your pay scale to look.

Try to keep the solid blue line lined up with the dotted black line.


2. Keep Your Payments as Close to This Line as Possible
One rule of thumb, if this is a short "fix-em-up" project, SET CHECKPOINTS according to this line. Know a defined start and finish point, along with checkpoints along the way.

With your client, set up each of these Checkpoints. Set your requirements for completion, and remember that these checkpoints do not need to be equally spaced. Some requirements may take longer than others and if so, require more of the final payment at time of completion. Keeping your line and checkpoints as close to reality will help you tremendously. Try it, it works. Think agile on a number line. 

3. When Possible, Charge Per Feature Not By Hour.

When starting your own freelance development team, remember that you are as credible as your work. Gaining this credibility is exponentially harder than writing the software itself. A credible developer will always make sure that they did just the right amount of development for the amount they estimated it would cost.

Charging per hour may be the quickest way to lose this credibility. 

("It took you X hours to get that put together?! That's not right, there is no way!)

It is easier to charge per feature, no holds bar. Understanding the whole problem prior to jumping into the code makes your estimation efforts far easier than jumping right into the code.

Remember, your client wants this work done in an efficient manner. Conversely, you want your client to keep coming back to you! Don't rake them over the coals. It is becoming so much easier to be able to pump and dump some of these companies, but just think about that angel sitting on your shoulder. Do the right thing, get it done, and get it done right.

4. When Not Possible, Charge Per Hour

This strategy is up to your discretion. If it's a quick fix or a few .nib's to be replaced and relinked, I'd charge $50 an hour. 

If your client is unwilling to charge per feature, then try to reach $100 per hour. This has proven me well in the past and may set your client back $200-$300. 

Just remember, you should only do this if your client is unyielding to the feature strategy. 

Do not take advantage of this. 5 hours to link a Vanilla Table View is absurd. You should hone your skills, young Padawan.

Conclusion.

Getting your business booming means taking some responsibility and some hits to your pay scale. Unless you have proven results with proven applications, your only hope is to offer discounts until you can show that your track record will speak for itself. I have been in the business now for approximately 3 years and am still learning. 

Success will not come overnight, but will need to built upon prior results

Cheers,

Skylar. 

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