Alex Dashkin brings to Codeable more than 12 years of experience as a freelance WordPress developer, and he couldn’t wait to fill me on his overall impressions of his first year on the team.
In short, it’s been “life changing.” He shared with me how Codeable has found a way to alter the freelance market by changing “competition to cooperation” among developers, creating a global community of experts that often feels like family.
If you’re not familiar already, Codeable is an outsourcing platform catering exclusively to WordPress development projects. Their mission is simple: to connect the world’s best freelance WordPress developers with clients and deliver quality without question.
Joining the creme-de-la-creme of WordPress developers on Codeable is no easy task.
In fact, only 2% of WordPress developers who apply to Codeable are accepted to the platform.
Alex made the cut.
Alex is a full-stack developer who says his favorite projects are ones that require heavy coding – that’s custom plugins with complex logic, third party integration, etc.
His expertise is in all things WordPress, so it’s no wonder Alex has earned perfect, five-star ratings from his clients over his entire first year with Codeable. That’s more than 85 projects, and counting…
Alex speaks for most Codeable-certified WordPress developers when he says that on other freelancing platforms he’s worked for in the past, he’s definitely had to fight for his fair share of work. But on Codeable, not only is the project pool endless, their developers are colleagues, not competitors.
According to Alex, this “genius” move is what ensures clients they will always be put first, no matter which developer in the Codeable family they choose to work with.
So if you’re still searching for a tremendously talented WordPress developer to join your team, and you want someone who will treat you like family, hire Alex. He’s who you’ve been looking for all along.
But hey, don’t just take my word for it – Hear from Alex in our interview below, or you can read reviews from his clients and browse his portfolio here.
1. For anyone who isn’t already familiar with Codeable, could you describe Codeable to them?
Well, there are two sides – clients and experts.
From the client’s perspective, Codeable is essentially an alternative for such platforms as Upwork or Fiverr. The main purpose of it is to find a developer to get some work done. But, there are differences:
On Codeable;
- It’s about WordPress only.
- It’s more expensive.
- It saves a lot of time evaluating developers and choosing the right one.
- Your task is guaranteed to be solved with the highest possible quality.
Basically, it eliminates the main problem of such platforms – the number of applying devs, evaluating and choosing the right one with guaranteed quality.
The developers on Codeable experience;
- Less competition and no bidding allows you to focus on the tasks and clients, not on the battle.
- Quality of the clients is much higher.
- Higher rates.
- The Community. Freelancers got used to being alone, but that’s in the past with Codeable – you are in a family and you are growing together.
2. How has Codeable impacted your career as a freelance WordPress developer? Is working for Codeable any different than your previous jobs as a developer and if so, how?
Dramatically. It’s totally different. I was working on Upwork before. The main problem was that I had to compete with thousands of devs, and the only way to compete was the price. Though I was able to find a few good clients I still work with, they cost me a lot. (And if you have ever worked on Upwork, you may know how annoying is their time-tracker with screenshots.)
On Codeable I can focus on the client’s needs and I’m among friends, not enemies. It was a genius idea to convert competition to cooperation – it essentially does the trick itself. You only need to change your mindset after such places as Upwork.
3. Do you have a favorite memory, or favorite client, from Codeable? If so, could you tell us more about what set that experience apart from all the rest.
My favorite memory is my application process. That time I didn’t realize how important this would be to me. I must admit I didn’t put all the necessary efforts to get in, but it seems God was on my side. I think I was a hair away from being rejected, but now I thank destiny and all Codeabler’s for finally letting me in.
Another great thing is the community. I’ve met a lot of super-cool people from all around the world (not personally yet, but I’m working on fixing this), which give me a different perspective and inspiration to move forward. I’ve also found a few awesome clients that I’m happy to work with now.
4. What are your favorite types of projects to work on via Codeable? If you could pick your perfect project, what (or who) would it be?
I’m originally from the PHP World, so I’m more a back-end person and my design skills are way far from perfect. So I prefer some heavy coding, such as custom plugins with complex logic, 3rd party services integration etc.
5. For anyone who is considering joining Codeable, what advice would you have to share with them to convince them to join?
If I still haven’t convinced you, then here’s my kill shot. As of now, Codeable is a dream job for all Codeablers I know including myself. That is what I’ve been looking for all my life.
6. For anyone who is considering posting their next WordPress project to Codeable, what advice would you have to share with them to convince them to do that?
If you don’t think all WordPress tasks are straightforward and shouldn’t cost more than $30 – then just don’t hesitate to post a project. It’s free and no-obligatory. You can rest assured your job will be done the perfect way, but be ready for higher rates than on other platforms.
7. Some people think we’re robots, but developers are human too… When you’re not writing code for your clients, what do you like to do with your free time?
Sometimes I think that I’m a robot and someone have to remind me that I’m not. I personally have a beautiful wife and two wonderful kids. When I don’t work, we love to spend time together, walk, ride, hike etc.
8. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about your time on Codeable so far?
I’m still new to Codeable and I keep learning. I’m planning to go to WordCamp Europe in June 2021 where we plan to have a big team meeting with Codeablers. I’m excited to meet all my Codeable friends in person there.
And finally, I wanted to say huge thanks to Nathan to let us tell it all here in his blog. Isn’t it a proof of all I’m talking about? 🙂
Thanks for reading and welcome to our family!