For many WordPress developers, making the transition from working a “real job” to becoming a full-time freelancer is one of the loftiest goals they could set for 2018.
And while it might not be an easy goal to achieve, it makes perfect sense why this type of transition is growing more and more attractive by the day as we find ourselves shifting closer to a gig-based economy.
As developers, “full-time freelancing” is a phrase often associated with our dreams and aspirations, it’s true. But, for us WordPress developers working via Codeable, it’s quite literally in our job description.
Yes, making the transition from working a nine-to-five job, to becoming a full-time freelancer is much easier said than done, but I’ve successfully done it myself and I’m here to help you do the same.
Now, maybe you’re wondering what aided me most in successfully making this transition for myself?
The answer to that question is simple: I joined a premium outsourcing platform called Codeable.
Codeable is a platform that’s made full-time freelancing a viable vocation for many WordPress developers around the world. For anyone who’s not yet familiar with Codeable I’d love to tell you more about them.
First things first, they represent a tremendously exclusive club comprised of the world’s most talented WordPress developers. To better quantify “most talented”, Codeable will only accept the top 2% of WordPress developers who’ve applied to participate on their platform.
So, how exactly did Codeable become the most prestigious outsourcing platform available to freelance WordPress developers?
In this article, we’ll learn more about why Codeable is the Holy Grail of WordPress outsourcing platforms, and why (as a WordPress developer) you should want to join their team.
Lastly, before we dive into this topic, and in the interest of being completely transparent with you, I want to make it clear that this piece was not commissioned by Codeable. I do not receive any affiliate income from new developers who join their platform, nor have I been incentivized in any other way to create this content.
Today, I write this piece from a unique perspective as one of Codeable’s most productive WordPress developers. I’ve personally completed the 4th most projects of all time via Codeable (pictured below), and over the last 2.5 years I’ve completed more tasks than any other developer on their platform.
Anyways, my intent here is not to boast, but rather to share with you what’s worked so well for me along my journey from full-time employee to full-time freelancer.
So, without further adieu, let’s get started learning more about how Codeable came to be the most prestigious outsourcing platform available to freelance WordPress developers.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#1 — Codeable has created a network of the world’s best WordPress developers and made us colleagues, not competitors.
When it comes to on-boarding new experts, Codeable has always made very calculated decisions in order to maintain the perfect balance between incoming tasks and active developers.
This strategy is unique to Codeable and it helps to further reduce any competition from their platform as it ensures there’s enough work to keep each developer however busy they’d like to be.
But today, there are many other outsourcing networks who simply hire everyone who applies.
However, their “hire-everyone” strategy doesn’t work out very well because once a new project gets posted it’s almost immediately flooded with an overwhelming number of responses.
Imagine a kettle of starving vultures who’ve finally spotted some fresh meat for the first time in weeks.
Yeah… It’s a little bit like that, and that’s certainly not how a freelancing marketplace should operate.
The “hire-everyone” strategy fosters situations that aren’t effective for clients or developers.
For clients, it can be tremendously difficult to figure out where to begin. And for developers, when so many others have applied to work on the same project your chances of getting hired are slim-to-none.
However, on Codeable there’s a maximum of 5 developers allowed to estimate on any, task which means even in the worst case scenario you’ve still got a 20% shot at getting hired for the job.
Over the years, Codeable has maintained an amazing company culture where their developers actually get along with one another. They’ve created a family, and sense of belonging for us developers.
We’re colleagues, not competitors.
We’re a network that truly cares about one another and we help each other out whenever we can.
When any of us run into a snag on a project we’ll pop onto Codeable’s Slack channel and pose our question to the group. Often times, one of our colleagues will chime in with that EUREKA idea within minutes.
If you’ve participated in any other freelancing marketplaces then you’re likely quite intimately familiar with just how bad things can be over there… Now, imagine a place where all of that bullshit is gone and you actually love your life as a freelance WordPress developer.
Well, lucky for you, the place you just imagined exists, and joining Codeable is just a click away.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#2 — Codeable has eliminated bid wars… The “race-to-the-bottom” pricing model does not exist within their platform.
Want to flip the entire freelancing world on its head? Well, Codeable definitely did, and one way they’ve succeeded at this was by eliminating the “race to the bottom” pricing structure that seemingly every other freelancing marketplace still revolves around today.
Honestly, it amazes me that no one else has caught onto this brilliant idea.
But, then again, they all seem to believe in quantity over quality whereas Codeable sees things quite the opposite with their steadfast commitment to quality above all else.
Anyways, estimating projects is often a pain point for freelancers, mainly because on other freelancing marketplaces (aside from Codeable) the clients are able to see each developers estimates individually.
This ends up putting the developers in a head-to-head competition to see who’s willing to solve the problem for the lowest price.
Codeable’s system is very different, here clients see an average of all the experts estimates rather than seeing them individually. On Codeable, their clients see just one price no matter how many developers have applied to work on their project. This shifts the decision making process from “which developer has offered me the lowest price” to “which developer would I prefer to work with on my project”.
Codeable ensures their experts are not only expert WordPress developers, but experts at communicating with clients and estimating on projects as well.
I can tell you first hand that the estimates from the developers on Codeable are often directly aligned with one another off the bat. However, if ever there’s a time where we’re not sure why one of our colleagues estimated so low (or so high) we can have a quick private conversation to better understand one another.
Sometimes another developer has a more efficient solution than we do, other times we find ourselves with the most efficient solution. But, since we’re colleagues and not competitors (see item #1 above) we use these situations to learn from one another rather than to compete against one another.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#3 — Codeable provides their developers with a steady stream of well-qualified inbound leads. All day, every day.
Does this sound too good to be true? Probably… But, I can assure you it’s not.
Learning how to earn more as a freelancer revolves primarily around these three things;
Codeable’s platform provides their developers with a huge number for “how many” with a very low number ($0.00) for “how much”… So now, all that leaves you to figure out is #3 — how quickly can you convert these free inbound leads into paying customers?
The point I’m trying to make here is that often times greener freelancers sink a ton of time into finding their own leads because they don’t think it’s costing them anything… But, just because you’re not paying anything (in dollars) for the leads, doesn’t mean it’s free.
Tracking those leads down still cost you something, your time.
Codeable can (almost entirely) eliminate all of these non-billable hours that you’d otherwise have been forced to spend either searching for leads, or selling your services. Having a steady stream of well-qualified, inbound leads, like the one Codeable provides, is a huge asset for any freelancer.
While it’s true that Codeable does withhold a small percentage of the gross revenue generated by each project, having experienced these “fees” first-hand, I can certainly say they’ve been worth every penny.
Personally, I think having an unlimited supply of quality leads, plus someone to handle all of the billing for them is worth something, so I’ll gladly continue paying the project fees.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#4 — Codeable handles all the billing.
I don’t know about you, but my least favorite part of being a freelancer is any the time spent running my own billing department. If you’re anything like me then you’re in luck. Fortunately for us, Codeable has remedied this uncomfortable situation, allowing developers to hang up their accounts-receivable hats once and for all.
Codeable has done this by implementing an escrow system that protects both clients and developers.
Initially, clients fully fund their projects and those funds are placed into escrow. Once the client has funded the project, their developer can see that the deposit has been made. Now, the developer knows the client is serious about getting their work done and it’s time to get started.
Once the developer has completed the work to and the client is in agreement that the work is indeed 100% complete, they can then sign off on their project by clicking the “mark as complete” button which releases their deposit from Codeable’s escrow account directly into the developers account.
This is a great strategy that gives both parties the feeling of security.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#5 — On average, Codeable attracts higher-quality, better-paying clients than other outsourcing networks.
You get what you pay for, it’s an old saying, and while it might not be a hard and fast rule I think we can certainly agree that there’s some truth to those words, right?
I mean, how seriously would you consider going to a discount dentist, or a discount doctor?
Probably not very seriously… Well, when it comes to outsourcing your WordPress development projects there’s no exception here either. Naturally, the best outsourcing clients want to work with the most talented developers. Codeable’s platform helps bridge the gap between these two groups on a daily basis.
The clients that Codeable attracts already understand the value of the work that goes into completing their projects properly the first time around. Their clients expect they’ll be provided a premium service, for which they’re willing to pay a premium fee to receive.
On average, these clients also have proper budgets for the projects they need completed.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#6 — Codeable has a dedicated support team, of humans, available 24/7 to help their developers.
This one’s short and sweet…. When joining any new outsourcing platform it’s important you look for one that supports its affiliates. In the rare, yet possible, case that there’s a disagreement between the customer and developer it’s important to know to which degree the platform you’re working through will participate.
It’s extremely important that you have a team behind you, or at least a plan in place, should you ever find yourself in need of additional support during a project.
Today there are literally hundreds of outsourcing platforms you can join.
You must understand that these platforms are not created equally.
As with all things in life each of these networks have unique pros and cons. I’d encourage you to spend some time researching each of these platforms thoroughly before participating in any of them.
If you’re interested in learning more about how vetting various outsourcing platforms then I’d encourage you to read step 4 from my latest WordCamp session, Six Figure Freelancing.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
#7 — Codeable actively promotes their developers to clients whose projects are directly aligned with their skillsets.
This aspect of Codeable is one of my favorites, not only are they always working hard to feed us leads but they’ll also try to help connect their developers with the projects they’re most qualified for.
The Codeable staff knows each developers strengths individually and they actively work to promote projects and pair them with the perfect developer.
But please, don’t just take my word for it, listen to what some other WordPress developers have had to say about their own experiences in joining Codeable as well.
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
[separator icon=”thumbs-o-up”]
Also, in case you’d like to get to know these developers better, you can browse their individual profiles on Codeable by following the links below;
- Justin Frydman — Vancouver, BC
- Hannah King — Bristol, UK
- Alexanndre Levan — Vancouver, BC
If you think you’ve got what it takes to join Codeable’s team of expert WordPress developers then I’d certainly encourage you to apply by clicking here. Otherwise, if you’d like to ask me any additional questions about Codeable before applying then please click the button below to send me an email today.
[actionbox color=”primary” title=”DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR ME?” description=”” btn_label=”Email Nathan Today” btn_link=”mailto:me@nathanello.com?subject=Ask%20Me%20Anything&body=Ask%20Me%20Your%20Freelancing%20Questions” btn_color=”white” btn_size=”big” btn_icon=”thumbs-o-up” btn_external=”1″]