Obtaining Ruby gigs

[johan pretorius]

I've been lurking on the group for a while now, the time has come to
participate ...

What strategy would you recommend for somebody that wants to break
into the Ruby (on Rails) market?

I have extensive software development experience (mostly C/C++ and
Oracle, also PHP and mySQL), but have only recently started to use
Ruby (and Rails).

thanks in advance,

Johan

(web sites under development)

[Andrew Stewart]

On 28 Aug 2007, at 10:23, johan pretorius wrote:

> I've been lurking on the group for a while now, the time has come to
> participate ...
>
> What strategy would you recommend for somebody that wants to break
> into the Ruby (on Rails) market?
>
> I have extensive software development experience (mostly C/C++ and
> Oracle, also PHP and mySQL), but have only recently started to use
> Ruby (and Rails).

I'm assuming your forte is coding rather than web/graphic design. If
so, then you could look for some small web design firms in your area
and suggest working together.

Then they can subcontract the technical side of things to you and you
don't have to worry about pixels being the right shade of blue.
Everybody plays to their strengths. And you both get to take on
bigger projects than you would do otherwise.

And at least initially they effectively act as a sales team for you.
They'll have work coming in already that they can hand off to you (or
at least the technical side) without you having to obtain it
yourself. Ideally the work will flow both ways before too long.

Regards,
Andy Stewart

-------
http://airbladesoftware.com

[johan pretorius]

Andrew,

Thanks for the reply.

> I'm assuming your forte is coding rather than web/graphic design.

Correct, although I do some web design as well.

> Everybody plays to their strengths. And you both get to take on
> bigger projects than you would do otherwise.
>
> And at least initially they effectively act as a sales team for you.

Sounds good to me - I'm currently updating my own web sites, and will
then be in a better position to contact some smaller web design firms.

--

rgrds,

Johan

[Aaron Blohowiak]

Johan,

Write an app for fun that you put into production first. Then, maybe
contribute to some open-source projects. This makes the steps listed
by Andrew go a little easier.

-Aaron

[James Moore]

On 8/28/07, johan pretorius <johan.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Sounds good to me - I'm currently updating my own web sites, and will
> then be in a better position to contact some smaller web design firms.

I wouldn't wait too long - small web design shops in my experience are
starving for technical talent. Right now (at least in Seattle and San
Diego) software development unemployment is zero; everyone who wants a
job has one, and it's very difficult for smaller companies to find
competent technical people.

--
James Moore | ja...@restphone.com
Ruby and Ruby on Rails consulting
blog.restphone.com

[gustin]

In my opinion you don't 'break into a market' by focusing on one
specific technology.

If you offer software solutions to businesses then focus on the value
you add to a business, not the specific technology at hand.

A small % of clients will care, but ultimately most business owners
are looking for a professional dev shop to provide a solution that
will work effectively for the most bang for the buck.

Joe Widget Inc. does not care about the latest/hippiest technology.
Now if you correlate your value with technology like "We use Ruby on
Rails because it allows us to respond to your needs quickly and cost
effectively" then that may be good.

If you don't have clients developing in other languages, you probably
won't in Rails.
We are using Rails exclusively unless a client has other needs, but
would have the same amount of business without.

The original post is thinking like a technologist and not a business
owner -- IMHO....

~)o
gustin

On Aug 28, 10:39 am, "James Moore" <jamesthepi...@gmail.com> wrote:

[johan pretorius]

Gustin,

Thanks for the feedback, I've taken note.

> The original post is thinking like a technologist and not a business
> owner -- IMHO....

Fair enough, I'm working on the my other hats ;-)

Just keep in mind that I'm not a business owner at the moment,
although I've been contracting for almost 12 years now (of which 10
were on the same project). The latter was effectively a permanent
position with all the benefits and disadvantages of contracting.

Hence the desire to move into a more exciting technology area ...

--

rgrds,

Johan

[Robert Fischer]

gustin wrote:
> In my opinion you don't 'break into a market' by focusing on one
> specific technology.
>
> If you offer software solutions to businesses then focus on the value
> you add to a business, not the specific technology at hand.
>

> If you don't have clients developing in other languages, you probably
> won't in Rails.
> We are using Rails exclusively unless a client has other needs, but
> would have the same amount of business without.

This is certainly a good marketing angle, but it's a bit of putting the
cart before the horse -- how would you go about "getting in" on the
market? Of course, the best way to work is through referrals, but how
do you get that chance to prove yourself the first time or two in order
to line up those referrals?

~~ Robert.

[John Moody]

I broke in by subcontracting for a while (to pay the bills), then
when I landed a few contracts of my own, stopped subbing. If
everyone on this list is as busy as I am, I'm sure there are lots of
sub opportunities out there - and that's a great way to land a really
good reference!

- John

[Aaron Blohowiak]

And an *excellent* way to build your portfolio.

Subbing for marketing/interactive agencies is a great way to do this
since their projects often budget a lot for quality visual design
which helps your portfolio get a better first impression.

[Eric Davis]

Robert Fischer wrote:
> This is certainly a good marketing angle, but it's a bit of putting the
> cart before the horse -- how would you go about "getting in" on the
> market? Of course, the best way to work is through referrals, but how
> do you get that chance to prove yourself the first time or two in order
> to line up those referrals?

I just started a few months ago but I have found most of my starting
work from:

* Friends and family
* Previous employers
* Being "active" online (e.g. mailing lists, forums, blogs)

Subcontracting is my next major step.

On the topic of creating a fun web app, right now Rails Rumble is
running a contest to create a Rails application in 48 hours. This is a
great opportunity to start a application and you could get a lot of
exposure with it.

[1]: http://railsrumble.com

--
Eric Davis
Little Stream Software
http://www.LittleStreamSoftware.com

[Michael Breen]

I do a good amount of subcontracting right now and like anything else it has it's pros and cons. Just a bit of advice about subcontracting: If you plan on using a project you've worked on as a subcontractor as part of your portfolio make sure that you get permission first.