Freelance WordPress Developer Bill Erickson Part 5: Highlights

We’ve been talking to freelance WordPress developer Bill Erickson. He’s shared how he got started, his freelance best practices, how he handles billing and contracts, and giving back and growing his business. We shared his freelance insights in this 4-part interview series: Part 1: Getting Started Part 2: Best Practices Part 3: Contracts Part 4: Giving Back Bill has shared a lot of great insights and we wanted to recap some of the best thoughts.

Kevin D. Hendricks
We’ve been talking to freelance WordPress developer Bill Erickson. He’s shared how he got started, his freelance best practices, how he handles billing and contracts, and giving back and growing his business. We shared his freelance insights in this 4-part interview series: Bill has shared a lot of great insights and we wanted to recap some of the best thoughts. Here are some of the highlights:

The Opportunity for Freelancers

“Every good developer is booked for months and there’s way more work than there are quality developers.” (read more in Part 1)

How to Get Started as a Freelancer

“Experienced developers who have built a name are always looking for people who haven’t build a name yet so we can refer to them. I don’t want to hire, I’d rather send work to you so you can create your own business.” (read more in Part 4)

How Can Freelancers Avoid the Feast & Famine Cycle?

“They need to mange their pipeline, schedule effectively and learn to say no.” (read more in Part 2)

Successful Marketing

“I could take down my website right now and still have work coming in—that’s how important word of mouth is.” (read more in Part 1)

How to Avoid Scope Creep

“It’s important to identify areas that are clear and identify areas where you can’t have a clear scope and change your quote accordingly.” (read more in Part 2)

How to Do Billing

“Payment is always based on a deliverable on my schedule, rather than a client’s deliverable such as approval.” (read more in Part 3)

Contracts You Can Work With

“I see the purpose of a contract as setting expectations—it says what I do and what you do. … If you make the contract overly complicated, the client won’t read it and there could be misunderstandings.” (read more in Part 3)

The Importance of Tracking Data

“You need to be making data driven decisions, rather than going off your gut. Because often your gut is wrong.” (read more in Part 2)

It’s OK to Say No

“I say no to 80 percent of what people ask me to do.” (read more in Part 2)

How to Make More Money:

“By building your name and brand you can charge a premium for higher quality.” (read more in Part 4)

How to Stay Successful

“As far as success from a personal perspective, if you keep doing the same thing you’re going to slowly get left behind. The market keeps moving and you need to move with it.” (read more in Part 1)

iThemes Q&A with Freelancer Bill Erickson Free Webinar – Wednesday, May 14 @ 11am CDT

In this webinar, join freelancer Bill Erickson for a Q&A about how he started and grew his successful WordPress business. REGISTER NOW

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