Top all-time · #12455
Jason Swett
Personal blog · jasonswett.net · on HN as jasonswettprogrammingcareerbusiness
Jason Swett's personal blog at jasonswett.net covers programming, career and business. Since 2014, 6 different Hacker News readers have linked it 19 times, most often “Why most freelancing advice doesn’t apply to programmers”. The last post was in 2022, but the archive is still widely read.
Too few sampled comments (1) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
Jason Swett's posts are about freelancing. The only HN comment links one of them while recommending freelancing and programming chat communities, without judging the writing.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 1 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- Why most freelancing advice doesn’t apply to programmers3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2017-06-05
- How I got started in training2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2017-07-17
What Hacker News says?
A book about how to get freelance programming clients: http://www.jasonswett.net/book
Comment linking /book
on “Ask HN: What are you working on and why is it awesome? Please include URL”Submitted How to Get a Job Using a Technology You Don't Know as a story · 51 points
HN discussionI'll add something I wish I had realized several years ago: build a SaaS is not the only path to a product business, and for a solo founder, it's (in my opinion) probably not a very good path. I spent 5 years trying to get a micro ISV off the ground which made scheduling software for hair salons. It was a terrible idea for a large number of reasons (described in detail here: https://www.jasonswett.net/im-shutting-do…
Comment linking /november-2016-angular-on-rails-income-report/
on “Ask HN: Is the concept of a one-person software shop still viable?”Submitted Why most freelancing advice doesn’t apply to programmers as a story · 6 points
HN discussionWhen I discovered that there was a third path between job and startup, a whole new world opened up for me. http://www.jasonswett.net/the-whos-who-of-the-micro-isv-worl...
Comment linking /the-whos-who-of-the-micro-isv-world/
on “Stop Looking for a Cofounder”Submitted Advice for programmers wanting to start a product business as a story · 3 points
HN discussionI wrote about it here: https://www.jasonswett.net/how-i-got-started-in-training/
Comment linking /how-i-got-started-in-training/
on “Ask HN: How much are you earning as a freelance app developer?”Submitted My advice to brand new freelance programmers and aspiring freelance programmers as a story · 2 points
HN discussionI think this advice might apply to your situation at least partially: http://www.jasonswett.net/how-to-get-a-job-using-a-technolog...
Comment linking /how-to-get-a-job-using-a-technology-you-dont-know/
on “Ask HN: After 20 years of programming, what do I do now?”Submitted How I got started in training as a story · 2 points
HN discussionWhen I used to freelance I divided my marketing activities into two categories: "hunting" and "farming". Hunting tactics include things like responding to job board ads, reaching out to people you know to see if they can help you find a gig, or going to a conference to try to find a new client. Like real hunting, hunting for clients can be fast, but it’s only successful a fraction of the time, and you don’t always g…
Comment linking /my-advice-to-brand-new-freelance-programmers-and-aspiring-freelance-programmers/
on “Ask HN: Where would you start looking for development clients?”Submitted Why most freelancing advice doesn’t apply to programmers most of the time as a story · 2 points
HN discussionIf you're a solo founder I think the place where the money is is in "boring" B2B products. There's a whole community called the micro-ISV community you might not be aware of that is full of people doing what you seem to want to do. I wrote about the micro-ISV community here: http://www.jasonswett.net/the-whos-who-of-the-micro-isv-worl...
Comment linking /the-whos-who-of-the-micro-isv-world/
on “Ask HN: What to work on?”Submitted Why most freelancing advice doesn’t apply to programmers most of the time as a story · 2 points
HN discussionHere are two that I enjoy participating in. Reactiflux: https://www.reactiflux.com/ Not freelancing specific but there's a lot of pretty knowledgeable people in #jobs-advice, plenty of banter, and sometimes I get a technical question answered too. It's probably the most active chat-style programming community out there. And here's a freelancing specific one: And this one: https://www.jasonswett.net/the-secret-allian…
Comment linking /the-secret-alliance-of-freelance-programmers/
on “Ask HN: What are good freelancing chat communities?”Submitted April 2017 Angular on Rails Income Report as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted What you should do after MicroConf 2016 as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Driver vs. Passenger Client Engagements as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
