Hey there! I'm Elliot Bonneville, a contracting web developer living in Rhode Island and working remotely. I love coding, and I don’t plan on ever stopping.
At one point, though, I wasn’t so sure of that. After four years without any significant raises, I needed to make more money.
I knew that something had to change. I tried launching a startup, running a digital marketing business, and even technical writing.
It wasn’t long before I found out that all of those other jobs made me miserable, and all I wanted to do was code (sound familiar?). I hated spending every day drowning in meetings and dragging JIRA tickets around, cold calling lawyers, or trying to teach people over Zoom.
So I went back to programming.
But when I learned my wife and I were expecting, I realized I had to figure out a way to make more money while continuing to do what I loved. I knew it was possible, because other people did it – but what I didn’t know was how.
It took a lot of frustration, anxiety, and coming within 24 hours of missing our rent payment, but after some truly desperate times...
I doubled my rate.
And then I doubled it again. And then I raised it some more, just for good measure.
It turns out, getting more money for the work you love to do isn’t all that hard – you just have to know how. But...
The devil’s in the details.
If I told you all you had to do in order to double your rate was:
Change jobs frequently (without being seen as a job hopper)
Be willing to walk away from offers
Have a specialty
Know your true worth
Be confident on the phone
Negotiate aggressively
...would you believe me? Well, it’s all pretty reasonable stuff. But just from that list, can you actually go raise your rates? I couldn’t. A lot of people talk about these things online, but what they were saying wasn’t enough.
And that’s why I wrote this artisanal hand-typed book. It’s the guide I wish somebody had handed me six years ago. I share everything I learned along the way, like how to talk to recruiters, whether it’s better to bill as a corporation or as an individual, and how to negotiate aggressively and with confidence.
Fair warning, the advice in this book isn’t for everybody. The person I was six years ago may not be the person you are today.
This book is for you if you...
Have at least two or three years of programming experience
Love software development, but see work as a means to an end
Would like to stay at an individual contributor level
Are actively looking for ways to make more money
Are willing to go outside of your comfort zone and learn hard new things
It's not for you if you...
Are a brand new software developer or haven't found your first role yet
Value what you're doing and/or who you're doing it with more than the money
Are comfortable with your current income or are not motivated by money
Aren’t willing to consider contracting as an alternative to full-time employment
Okay. Still with me?
Here’s the deal: every developer has two jobs: writing code, and finding people to pay them to write code. Most developers know about the first job, but far fewer developers realize they should be working the second one too.
What does that second job look like? Well, as the old sales adage goes: good marketing and a bad product beat a great product with bad marketing.
Learn to market and sell yourself, and you will make more money.
Please note that is this a beta release, and as such is not representative of the final product. I'll be doing high-level restructuring and additions / deletions in response to feedback as it comes in, so expect typos and grammatical errors in this unpolished version.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Why I wrote this book and who I am
Who this book is for and who this book is not for
What this book is about
Chapter 1: I 5x’d My Rate In Three Years
My story in brief
$30/hr: inbound via Stack Overflow
$30/hr to $35/hr: referral
$95/hr: inbound via Stack Overflow
$60/hr: social networking
$110/hr: I post my resume online
$120/hr: recruiter
$140/hr: recruiter
Chapter 2: Quit Your Job
All raises are relative to your starting salary
After a certain point, your company can’t afford you any more
For every company that will pay you 200%, there also exists a company that will pay you 400%
It’s very difficult to be paid your true value
Don’t be a job hopper, be a contractor
Chapter 3: Talk With Recruiters
Recruiters are an important resource
Recruiters look for the highest return-on-investment candidates
Only talk to high-level recruiters
Confidence is a proxy for value
Become confident on the phone
Read sales books and learn sales
Chapter 4: Learn To Negotiate
Recruiters agencies profit when you lower your rate
Charging more makes you worth more
Be prepared to bargain
Compromise on other things besides rate
Play multiple offers against each other
Offers are limited-time-only
Don’t ghost recruiters
Chapter 5: Optimize Your Online Presence To Generate Leads
Optimize your resume
Instant resume disqualifiers
Optimize your LinkedIn profile
Have a lot of connections
Set your location to a major tech hub
Make your profile page stand out
Get recommendations from people you’ve worked with in the past
Resources for further reading on LinkedIn optimization
Chapter 6: Don’t Work With Startups or Household Names
Don’t work with startups
Taking equity is becoming a micro venture capitalist
Empirically, equity is not as valuable as it seems
Startup benefits are the cheese in the mousetrap
Don’t work with household names
The Goldilocks Zone is big companies that aren’t FAANGs
Talent begets talent; therefore, go where talent is not
Smaller companies are more able to negotiate
Live in a low cost-of-living area, work in a high cost-of-living area
Chapter 7: Start Your Own Contracting Company
Billing corp-to-corp results in higher earnings
Set up your business correctly
Read low-risk contracts yourself
Contracts are negotiable
Payment terms
Termination clause
Non-solicitation clause
Non-compete clause
Non-disclosure agreement
Never give notice before you sign the paperwork
Chapter 8: Build Your Network
Do astonishingly good work
Build relationships with colleagues and bosses
Stay front-of-mind with contacts as time goes by
Your network has a half-life
Look for mentors
Chapter 9: Improve Your Mindset – Yes, You Can Charge More
Employers want business value, not engineers
Many limits are self-imposed
Be wary of plateauing and local maxima
Confidence and skill do not increase together
Chapter 10: Don’t Be A Commodity
Find a niche
Dig yourself moats
Build credibility
Conclusion
Ask yourself if you really believe you can raise your rates
Decide on your career story
Update your resume and your LinkedIn
Start talking with recruiters as soon as possible
Negotiate well
Do astonishingly good work
Network and build credibility
Let me know
Refund Policy
I have a no-questions-asked refund policy. If you decide this book wasn't what you were expecting or you're not 100% satisfied with what you find, just shoot me an email and I'll send you a full refund.
Can't Afford It?
If you can't afford this book or you're out of a job because of COVID or related problems, just shoot me an email and we'll work something out.
