How to develop from a freelancer to a serious company?

Question

Startups

Hello everyone)
I started freelancing in 2003. For some projects, there is a need for constant support - but there was no interesting coding - I began to take employees, an office. So the number of people has grown to 7 people.
But at the same time, I continue to write code myself (I develop along with technologies, introduce new things to the team, while I’m not looking for projects - they have been going on word of mouth for many years). Everything is under control. All project management - without any methodology or anything.
That is, at the exit - a swamp. Head constantly square, work simultaneously with 20+ projects.
Project after project, the number of people is not growing - because with what we have - the current team copes, but more
I won't pull myself. Well, not much is earned on the projects themselves, reports are issued to clients irregularly.
I think there are programmers on the toaster who coped with a similar situation and developed further -
into some real company from a similar team. Where did they start? Stopped coding? Have you found a competent specialist? Have you started your startup?
I tried to do my project 10 times - I invested a lot of money - but at some stage, working projects are taken all the time and my project does not go.
Thanks to all)

Answer 1

We had about the same thing, I just started in 2005. In 2008, I no longer wrote code and completely took up management.
Firstly, nothing will work until you choose between code and management, as Alexander Danilov already correctly noted . Plus, if you choose the code, you will never have your own business, it will be the business of your hired manager, who will simply take him away one fine day along with the whole team.
Secondly, in order to get your projects and products simultaneously with outsourcing, you need to allocate a part of the team and, together with those who will manage it, put it in another office. Be sure to watch the video from the founder of invisiblecrm on this topic, they had exactly the same outsourcing that they did not want to let go, plus a product that they were just starting to do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie1aw5N055U
Now our team has been reduced from 10 people for outsourcing to 5 people for products. For 3 years now, we have completely moved away from custom development. The path to profitability took about 8 months, it took some reserve funds for the transition, and after "testing the topic for strength" a complete rejection of maneuvering between the two options. There was a risk, but it was worth it. And yes, it’s easiest to roll back to custom development, but don’t rush - you will always have time to get there.

Answer 2

It's all up to you
Try to hire a manager and let him build the processes
Or raise your qualification to PMA
Processes are the key word for any enterprise. They must rule everything. So that you can disappear for any period of time and the company does not die
Forget about the word startup.
A startup is the same business as yours, only in a startup the founder knows what a smoothie is
, which in no way gives a boost in competitiveness

for all big businessmen, everything is simple and self-evident in words ....

you should communicate with such people on a personal level, listen, try to think in their paradigm.
For those who have walked the path, it always seems easy. You shouldn't be embarrassed

Answer 3

A simple freelancer does everything himself. In a large company, everyone has their own area of ​​responsibility.
PS Divide and conquer - the basic principle of business.

Answer 4

It didn’t work out for me myself (I had to constantly finish it for hired workers). But in the company where I worked, it was something like this. A major project is taken, the first most responsible time is led by a person like you. Doesn't code. But he constantly collects all developers and discusses in detail what, how and when will be done. Starting from a certain point, he gradually reduces his presence, shifting authority to the most responsible and experienced developer (up to communication with the customer), and he switches to another project.
Perhaps the size of the projects can solve your problem. That is, not 20 small ones, but 3 huge ones. Then you won't have to go into too much at all, starting from a certain stage.

Answer 5

After several years of work "for the customer", I also realized that this is a swamp. All attempts to automate everything as much as possible, to delegate, went to waste with the next non-standard order, where again and again I had to sit down and code .. I found the strength to switch to my own ideas and projects. It has become much easier: customers dictate their terms less. There is a product - there is a price. There is also support, but it goes in a strict framework, where you can’t just demand that “such a cool functionality” be added.

Answer 6

to some real company from a similar team

Still, it is not clear whether you want to switch to a large / larger outsourcing, or to products (again, for people or for companies). Still, these are fundamentally different approaches for both development and management.
Did the same team develop their projects, or a separate hired unit?
For outsourcing, you can try to take on long-term projects for which there are no resources at the moment, it is better to study your clients, stop working only by word of mouth, hire sales, etc.
To switch to products, you will have to invest, since not all of them take off. Alternatively, you can act as an investor, and further develop the outsourcing yourself.
If you want to test your ideas, you need to hire completely separate people, form a product team with a different process.

Answer 7

I went down this path twice, and 15 years ago I accidentally got an economics education, so I feel I have the right to advise.
Can you answer the question for yourself, what is a "serious company"? Describe the criteria in writing. Then read Rework. Then, when you get comfortable with freelancing, find out how many serious companies there are. Jokes aside.
At what stage will you consider yourself a serious company? When will you not work, but lead? I'll break it: leadership is harder and harder work than doing something low-level yourself.
In general, they wrote above correctly - ideas and processes rule. Do you have an idea that is valuable enough to turn into a process that will allow you to compete with confidence? Can you quantify your capabilities? And look at the risks separately. Just google "risks in business".

Answer 8

In general, I would be careful to hire a manager. The fact is that while you are coding, the situation will get out of control.
Actually, a hired manager is more for delegating authority. When you can but don't want to.
Maybe you should nominate someone from your loyal team to be in charge? Then you yourself will be poking around in the code, and the case will be organized by a qualified person, and they will not fool your head. And go to the architects yourself, yes, and the most important sections of the code, if there is no one stronger.
Or you need some kind of assistant, a girl, to answer calls and remind you of important things while you are in the code. That is, you are in the code - and someone in the real world is watching. Structuring the development, of course, will not help - such an assistant should be far from programming, that's the point - but at least there will be constant communication with clients - and not a husband, he is on the Internet.
UPD. By the way, about the assistant girl. After all, it is an extremely unpleasant thing when you sit in the code, practically in a different world - and here is an important call. First, the subscriber can catch irritation. After all, sometimes you want to kill. And secondly, you need to delve into the real world, and then delve into it again - into the interrupted code. Expensive, hard - switch the context twice.
Another thing is if a girl is sitting on the phone in a separate room. The chief, for example, leaves to program for three hours - and she answers, is busy, wait, please, he will call back right away, please explain on what issue, I will immediately pass it on. And the list writes who needs to be called, who called, what he wanted. I broke my head, pokodil, went out to rest. Why would people not call back - unwind.
UPD2. By the way, and with reports business will be adjusted. And send it to whoever needs it. And he will remind employees - delicately, when they emerge from the code. And follow the deadlines.
After all, it’s also hard for them to keep track of time - when they are also in code, and not in the real world.
And there will be someone to serve a cup of coffee on time.

Answer 9

You need to make a choice: who are you - a coder or a manager? To make this choice, you need to try yourself as a manager. But judging by your question, the manager of you is not very successful yet.
Look up information about project management or take courses on the subject (such as these ). Then gradually introduce new knowledge into your business step by step. In the process, you will understand whether you want to be a manager or not. If time is running out, hire a consultant to help you organize all the processes. If you have neither the time nor the desire to become a manager, then hire such a manager.
The first option (when you yourself become a manager) is long, but the most economical. The second (when you are consulted, and you implement it yourself) is more optimal both in terms of time and cost. And the third (when you hire a manager) will be the most expensive, but in terms of time it can be the fastest. Here you need to decide for yourself what is more important for you - cost or timing.

Answer 10

I do not have such experience and an interesting history, but I would consider hiring an experienced manager (art director / head of department / project manager), for whom maintaining 20 projects is the norm, who will clear the swamp and ultimately increase profits .
And he himself would be engaged in the development of the company and would code the most interesting projects for his own pleasure.

Answer 11

You yourself asked the question and immediately answered it: in order to become a serious company, you need to start working on serious projects.

Answer 12

Work and labor - they will grind everything :) I think the meaning is clear ...

Answer 13

Banal list.
1. move away from direct coding. You can still steer the architecture but not code. You can't get code quality from your employees - a reason to think.
2. analyze all processes and, if possible, automate everything that is possible. Spolsky test to help you.
As mentioned earlier - processes rule. Without them, you are an artisan with apprentices.