Entrepreneur Musings

My primary motivation for working is the desire to...

2011-12-21T07:19:36.396+05:30

My primary motivation for working is the desire to be the best on my work. That spurns me and fuels my motivation.

It's a great way to gauge if you're liable...

2011-11-22T14:03:17.124+05:30

It's a great way to gauge if you're liable for refunds, moving the tax payments to the next term.

Hi, For you I have a demo to show you while you fi...

2011-09-21T23:33:33.224+05:30

Hi,
For you I have a demo to show you while you finding like odesk team apllication. I have assembled this desktop client. It php and mysql based.

I have listed much freelancer site but no site has the time tracker. Thats why I was trying to make it now it ready as beta version.

download the desktop client and install to your windows version.

http://dev.mdimranhossain.com/team/packed.rar
uerid:tan
pass:tan

You can see here the sample workdiary:

http://dev.mdimranhossain.com/show.php

if any problem email me.

Thanks
kashem ali
mail:kasheml45@gmail.com
skype:kashem.ali

Hi Bimal, I have since moved ahead. From being a ...

2011-09-02T10:07:57.248+05:30

Hi Bimal,

I have since moved ahead. From being a freelancer to hiring freelancers to work under me to starting a company and hiring full time employees.

I think it all boils down to discipline and taking ownership. If someone needs constant guidance and not good at being self managed, they will suck as freelancers, no matter hoe technically competent they are.

One thing I value in my employees is their ability to get things done, with minimal supervision. Even now, I allow such employees to telecommute. While working in the same office has its benefits, for someone who can run with minimal supervision, freelancing or telecommuting will work out.

I agree we have to move forward in terms of our views of freelancers and freelancing in general. Having said that, even now, I am interested in connecting with other freelancers to build a network of professionals to off load my over capacity work.

Sometime back, I have recruited two software engin...

2011-09-02T09:20:51.796+05:30

Sometime back, I have recruited two software engineers who used to be freelancers. Both turned out to be incredibly talented but struggled to meet deadlines and work according to a set process. That I believe is what causes organizations to be careful in hiring freelancers - possible lack of decipline. While I know this is a gross generalisation, there is a lot to be done in this society to polish up the image of freelancers.

Sri Lanka still has some starnge banlking laws. So...

2011-09-02T07:28:52.356+05:30

Sri Lanka still has some starnge banlking laws. Some of these restrictions are not specific to Sampath banks but is imposed by Central Bank. Having said that I also moved from Sampath to HSBC which gives me more freedom as an predominantly an online customer. Word of warning though, HSBC overall banking service is far worse than Sampath. Many times I have come across situations where their right hand didn't know what their left hand was doing. I was told Commercial Bank is good but still didn't get a chance to check out their online banking.

Good luck.

That is good news. Dependence on a single client (...

2011-05-22T14:55:51.503+05:30

That is good news. Dependence on a single client (or even a few clients) is a big risk in business. Would suggest you look into the possibility of doing some sub-contract work for another IT company - anything, web design, coding, data entry, just to give you a diversity of income flows.

It would be best if it can be managed with the existing staff, for example by doing a few extra hours in the evenings or on holidays etc.

In the meantime can you find another client ?

2011-05-20T10:10:45.694+05:30

In the meantime can you find another client ?

Cashflow management is critical. A business fails ...

2011-05-20T10:08:40.938+05:30

Cashflow management is critical. A business fails when it runs out of cash, so keep a close watch on it.

You need to do two things quickly: have a long chat with the client and assess his finances. He is obviously not doing too well, he has not been paying you, you need to assess if his business is viable in the longer term.

If not you need to cut your losses - the longer you continue to operate the greater the amount of bills that pile up. If the client ends up not knowing, you will keep digging a bigger hole for yourself because ultimately the bills you pile up will need to be paid.

A banker or accountant may be able to help you to assess your situation.

I would advise you to talk to someone like that without delay, the consequences of not arresting a declining situation in time are dire.

Good luck, how did this turn out? I really like yo...

2011-01-26T17:19:09.007+05:30

Good luck, how did this turn out?
I really like your blog here, and want to read everything on it when I get a chance!

Especially all your information on freelancing vs corporate and stability etc.

Thank you for the best wishes.

2010-12-09T12:34:14.691+05:30

Thank you for the best wishes.

Nice reading about your success and progress! Good...

2010-12-09T11:59:08.913+05:30

Nice reading about your success and progress! Good luck with the future!

Congrats and wishes for all the best out comes. I ...

2010-12-09T07:46:58.203+05:30

Congrats and wishes for all the best out comes. I have been reading your posts but this is the first time I commented

Maybe best to stick to merit. Diversity will come ...

2010-11-26T22:02:12.075+05:30

Maybe best to stick to merit. Diversity will come in time, eventually.

And try not to hire the hot babes purely on their looks:)

Really fascinating!. Please update about the succe...

2010-11-25T09:31:07.307+05:30

Really fascinating!. Please update about the success stories of the company in the future.:)

A common problem is that if you turn away a custom...

2010-10-23T06:07:51.909+05:30

A common problem is that if you turn away a customer once they won't come back to you again.

Wish u and team all the best! :)

2010-07-19T10:02:25.551+05:30

Wish u and team all the best! :)

For the revenue you earn in dollars I think you ge...

2010-07-12T22:23:52.076+05:30

For the revenue you earn in dollars I think you get tax concessions.

Do you have to pay taxes as an offshoring business...

2010-07-12T17:25:57.124+05:30

Do you have to pay taxes as an offshoring business?

There was a time when I also wanted to do what I d...

2010-07-12T02:36:38.994+05:30

There was a time when I also wanted to do what I did, but held myself back because I had a cosy job and a didn't really have a reason to take the risk. I was very comfortable with what I was doing, with the people I was working with, etc.

But then in my last day job, I worked for the shittiest man on earth, which really made me walk out. And at that point in time, I was so fed up of working for others, I just wanted to give freelancing a try. It hasn't been a bed of roses, but I try to look at everything with a positive frame of mind.

There is only one advice I can give you. Just do it! I walked into the wilderness, without any savings or a safety net, with a young family in tow.

You know machan, I never quite had the guts to do ...

2010-07-11T21:45:12.072+05:30

You know machan, I never quite had the guts to do what you do; Move into freelancing completely and then start off a base here. Best of luck man!

Mainly ASP.NET MVC/nHibernate projects. I need gra...

2010-05-13T14:56:08.191+05:30

Mainly ASP.NET MVC/nHibernate projects. I need graphics/html/css/jQuery skills.

what kinds of projects are you talking about?

2010-05-13T13:42:54.093+05:30

what kinds of projects are you talking about?

nice blog. simple layout. most of us have similar ...

2010-05-03T09:24:16.907+05:30

nice blog. simple layout. most of us have similar experiences like u had. keep up ur writing work.

if u have enough time step in to my blog also.

http://lankanthoughts.blogpsot.com

The only thing I can add is to tell you to see if ...

2010-03-26T09:26:02.867+05:30

The only thing I can add is to tell you to see if your app can be done by modifying an existing open source application.

My favoured approach to developing new applications is to
1) diagram the functionality,
2) see which open source app comes closest
3) modify that

I have worked with several orgs who were going to build from scratch and were taking forever - we helped them find FOSS apps to modify and the dev time dropped drastically.