Working as a freelancer is a great alternative to starting your own business.  Our next guest shares his experiences servicing clients as a freelance Web Developer.  

Please introduce yourself to our readers

I’m Marc Isaacson, and I’m self-employed as a freelance Web Developer. I use Drupal as a framework to build custom web applications for clients.

You once started your own business – what was it?

In a previous life, I was an AS/400 RPG application programmer. I was self-employed as a consultant from 1997 – 2001.

What made you decide to go out on your own vs work for someone else?

I did start out working for other companies when I graduated college. I decided to go out on my own once I built up my skill set and recognized the opportunities that being self-employed presented.

Did you take any outside funding?

The only funding I had was whatever I had in savings.

Did you have any partners?

I was a one-person enterprise.

What was your vision/goal for the company? 

My main goal was to be able to support myself; I didn’t have any grand vision beyond that. The job market was good, and I was able to keep myself employed at my desired hourly rate.

What was your company culture like? Did it ever change?

As a sole proprietor, my company culture reflected my personal life philosophy and approach. I was transparent and no-nonsense, always striving to ensure my customers were completely satisfied.

Why are you not with that business anymore?

I got tired of the work I was doing. I felt that I had seen 80% of the types of problems I would ever solve and wanted to pursue other interests.

Would you do it again?

Absolutely I would do it again!

What are you doing now?

Once again, I find myself self-employed as a web developer, after having spent some time as a high school math teacher and a handy man. I’m now in the process of transitioning to teaching people how to do web development using the Udemy online training platform.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting their own business?

You need to be prepared to get out and do face-to-face networking. It’s going to take time to build a customer base. Project enthusiasm and positive energy.

What is your favorite song?

At the moment, my brain is overridden with “Let it Go” as a result of my three-year-old son singing it constantly!