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Guide to Making Money with Your Code

Programming skills have always been valued in all kinds of business sectors. IT companies are always in dire need of skilled programmers, while businesses that cannot afford to outsource their projects get custom software built for themselves as well. Let us take the example of a software or EP (enterprise resource planning) system that helps a company manage the attendance and payroll of employees.

Unless it is a very large corporation, businesses that operate with 50 or 100 individuals do not generally take the help of local IT giants or MNCs for IT infrastructure and software. This is where freelance developers and consultants come in. Full-stack developers can bag projects like this on their own and fulfil the software requirements of a company.

There are many middle-level companies as well that need online portals for employees to log in and carry out their tasks. For instance, companies running BPO services or providing their services from the office.

Let us suppose that a company needs a portal from which employees can log in with their credentials and provide technical services to the client. For these projects, companies approach freelance developers and agencies.

Many companies need websites that do not necessarily need to be involved in the business directly. Rather than approaching an agency, companies can get this kind of project deployed by a freelancer.

If you are wondering why full-stack developers are in demand, it is because the demand for freelancers for developing e-commerce platforms has skyrocketed since the pandemic.

Start using Fiverr/Upwork:

Fiverr and Upwork are among the best places to start for a freelancer. This is especially true as there are an ample number of projects coming in daily that you can pitch your best price for. Through these mediums, you are also not limited to any geographical boundary, and you can build projects for clients across the globe.

The right way to do this is to bid realistically and charge a bit less compared to foreign developers. This will help sell your services faster. You should also ensure that your services are of very high quality as the reviews from your past projects and client referrals will help you get more clients later.

Pros: Global audience and flexibility.

Cons: Takes time to become a verified freelancer with good reviews.

Build your website and portfolio:

Another innovative way to make money through coding is by building your website and portfolio. By having a website, you can get some additional web presence for more exposure. Also, clients will be more likely to contact you once they see your own deployed site.
To secure more leads, ensure that you create forms that will help clients put down their requirements. Rather than being shy, you should also provide your contact information and email address. Many developers only rely on generating leads and outbound sales rather than hoping for inbound calls and emails.

Research keywords related to web development and the services you offer for SEO purposes.

It would be best to invest in SEO of your website to help your services pop up in more search results

Pros: No commission to other platforms.

Cons: Takes some time to show up on Google results.

Apply for Government tenders:

The Government releases tenders for new projects every few weeks. You should try bagging projects for building portals of Government bodies or authorities. There are also many personalized software and tools that government agencies need.

To secure government projects, you must stay vigilant and apply for these tenders as soon as they are released.

Pros: Large-scale projects.

Cons: The payment and application process might be a bit slow.

Join an MNC:

For most developers, there is nothing better than joining an MNC like Microsoft, Google, IBM, or Amazon. These companies pay extremely well and provide their coders with many lucrative benefits. To secure such a role, you should prepare well for your technical interviews.
It also helps if you can showcase deployed projects and past internship/s in your portfolio.

Pros: Long-term job security.

Cons: Repetitive and takes up all your time.

Join a Web Development Agency:

If you do not wish to apply for MNCs, you may consider a reputed local web development agency. Web development agencies attract clients who specifically want websites and web services. Thus, if you wish to work with only websites, these agencies are the right fit for you.

It is recommended you learn technology stacks such as the MEAN stack from a full-stack developer course. Gaining full-stack developer skills will ensure that you can handle all kinds of web projects. You can even set up your agency if you wish.

Pros: Best choice for web developers.

Cons: Might not pay as much as MNCs.

Join a Software Development Agency:

Like web development agencies, you can also choose to join an agency that builds software for small and medium-level organizations. If you wish to work with ERP software, office suites, and personalized software, you can join a company that specializes in these.

Similarly, if the company specializes in web applications and business portals, you can also get it done if you are a full-stack JavaScript developer or python programmer. You can use a full-stack development program to help you prepare for these roles.

Pros: Staying in your domain.

Cons: Less job security compared to an MNC and targets.

Conceptualize a product and sell it:

If you are someone who does not wish to join a company and instead is confident in a concept that you came up with, you can go ahead with selling it. You can also choose to sell the finished product instead of just the concept or system design. Many solo developers create innovative products that they sell to interested parties.

When building a concept product, choose the right kind of product that will either solve problems or help many individuals in a specific domain.

Pros: Freedom for creativity.

Cons: Takes time to get investors to acknowledge the product.

Get involved with a startup:

Getting involved with startups and helping them bring their ideas to life is another alternative to joining an MNC or existing agency. Many startups promise a great future ahead, and career prospects are bright once you have worked for a startup.

You must be careful in choosing the startup. You can also be one of the core founders by helping the other founders materialize their ideas. You will also have the option of improving their initial idea.

Pros: Freedom and value as one of the initial employees. There is also a lot of respect and a promising future once the startup scales up.

Cons: You might need to be flexible with time and work long hours.

Sell code directly on platforms:

You can also sell your raw code directly through websites such as Sellcodes and PieceX. This won’t require interacting with too many people or thinking about the visual aspects of your concept products.

You might even choose to sell strings of innovative solutions for certain problems.

However, you must be careful about sharing all of your code on these platforms as it might lead to plagiarized code and resources.

Pros: Unlimited options.

Cons: Code might get stolen in certain situations to get modified and used.

Create an active developer profile on Github:

Finally, you can create a happening developer profile on Github and upload your projects or past work on the repository. Having a presence on Git assures your potential clients of your skills and capabilities.

To become popular on Github, you must also interact with other developers and help others solve their problems. You can also join Stack Overflow to gain some more popularity and goodwill.

Pros: Huge exposure.

Cons: You need some time to build your presence.

If you wish to brighten your prospects by coding, it is always recommended that you aim at becoming a full-stack developer. What is a full-stack developer? These developers can work with a stack of technologies such as the MEAN stack.

Stacks like MEAN and MERN consist of technologies such as MongoDB, React (for MERN), Angular, Express, and Node. A full-stack development certification can help in learning these key technologies.

If you are looking for a career in full-stack development, check out Hero Vired’s Certificate Program in Full Stack Development which includes workshops, industry projects (with MERN stack), and hands-on learning sessions.