My second year of freelancing
Tags: career, productivity
Published: 2019-05-24 11:51:12

---
title: My second year of freelancing
published: true
description: About two year ago, I started with a freelance career. Here is what I have been doing, what did I learn and which problems I stumbled upon.
canonical_url: "https://www.silvestar.codes/articles/my-second-year-of-freelancing/"
tags: 
    - career
    - productivity
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/nhz9xpvgnl2r2w5iny9s.jpg
series: Yearly Reviews
---

_This post was originally published on [silvestar.codes](https://www.silvestar.codes/articles/my-second-year-of-freelancing/)._

Last year on this day, I wrote the first yearly review of my freelance career. Now it is time to review my second year of freelancing.

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## Clients

During the last year, I have been working on a dozen projects with eight different clients. Half of the clients came from [the Toptal network], and the other half engaged me via [my website].

Every project was delivered with success and on time. Every client [had positive feedback] for my work and some of them returned to me with new projects. I have been collaborating with clients from Spain, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the United States.

## Client's Projects

I am really pleased how [my portfolio] looks this year. Every single project was challenging and fulfilling in its own way.

Last year I was building static pages and styleguides for:

- [Calvert], and
- International, IT software & services client, and
- Saudi VPS servers and cloud hosting company.

I have been building and maintaining websites that are powered by static page generators like Jekyll and Hugo on:

- [Domino Data Lab],
- [Domino Data Lab Rev],
- [Machine Learning Libraries], and
- [Westwing].

I have been working on developing, maintaining, and optimizing WordPress themes for:

- [Trase Yearbook 2018],
- [TheGrio], and
- [Domino Data Lab Pop-up].

I could say that building static sites, pages, and styleguides are the main requirements for my services.

![I do CSS and HTML for a living sticker.](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/s9fr3hsnj6ruuwi859zc.jpg)

I would even go that far and say that my primary skills are HTML and CSS, just like my favorite sticker says.

## Side projects

I have been working on my own projects, too. I have published [SPRO], a package for creating a perfect Gulp development environment. It is a spin-off for my previous package [Starter Project] with some really cool terminal extensions.

I have published two not-so-successful courses on Skillshare. The first course is [about using SPRO package], and the second course is [about making a website with Hugo] static page generator.

During the last year, I have put a lot of effort into my website. I have rebranded and redesigned the site. I have optimized it to be even more performant, and dev.to community helped a lot. All I had to do is [ask for a little bit of help]. Also, I have migrated my website to a new domain, *[silvestar.codes]*. I must say that I am thrilled with the final outcome. 😊

Away from the computer, I like to do stuff around my house. My favorite is carpentry.

![Playhouse in my backyard.](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/zdp0frcwe6ga7lnjv9vr.jpg)

This year I have built a playhouse for my daughter. It is something that I enjoy doing. Getting away from code and getting my hand dirty from time to time makes me appreciate my everyday job even more.

## Remote working

If you are a remote worker, you should know how challenging it could be. Working from home is full of distractions. When you have a kid, that distractions are multiplied by 100. That is why I rented an office last year. I am working [from my office] for a year now, and I think it was an excellent idea. Separating home and work environment helped me a lot to focus on the job more clearly. Plus, my family and friends respect my work time now that I am not hanging out at home all day long.

> Most clients respect my schedule as long as we have at least one hour of overlap where we could have a daily standup or a meeting.

The other significant advantage when working from the office is that I have a schedule. I am most productive in the morning, so I tend to work in the morning. When negotiating with my clients, I try to communicate this as early as possible. Most clients respect my schedule as long as we have at least one hour of overlap where we could have a daily standup or a meeting.

I got a decent amount of availability requests from my clients directly. That made me start keeping tracks of clients in a simple spreadsheet. I keep track of negotiating status, project type, start date, expected delivery date, and rates, as my prices are not constant for every client and project. That way, I could avoid double-booking myself.

## Problems

Unlike the year before, I had no trouble finding engagements, but I did have a problem with overbooking. For about a month, I was working on multiple projects. It was very exhausting, and I had a difficult time to manage my time. Fortunately, I was able to resolve these issues and meet all deadlines.

> My free time and sanity mean too much to me.

It was a good lesson for me, and I don't think it would happen again. My free time and sanity mean too much to me. And I don't believe any project, no matter how inviting it could be, could be more important than my family or health.

## Conclusion

I feel like my career is going in the right direction. I could say that I have enjoyed working on each and every project. I was lucky to collaborate with the most incredible professionals. And I look forward to meeting other amazing people on my journey.

If you like this article, share it with your friends. 👋

If you want to become Toptal professional, use [this link] to join! 🔗

[the Toptal network]: https://www.toptal.com/resume/silvestar-bistrovic#trust-nothing-but-brilliant-freelancers
[my website]: https://www.silvestar.codes
[had positive feedback]: https://www.silvestar.codes/#Testimonials
[my portfolio]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/
[Trase Yearbook 2018]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/yearbook-trase/
[TheGrio]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/thegrio/
[Domino Data Lab Pop-up]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/dominodatalab-pop-up/
[Domino Data Lab]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/dominodatalab/
[Domino Data Lab Rev]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/dominodatalab-rev/
[Machine Learning Libraries]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/machine-learning-libraries/
[Westwing]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/westwing/
[Calvert]: https://www.silvestar.codes/portfolio/calvert/
[SPRO]: https://starter.silvestarbistrovic.from.hr/
[Starter Project]: https://starter.silvestarbistrovic.from.hr/starter-project/
[about using SPRO package]: https://skl.sh/2EcUlRt
[about making a website with Hugo]: https://skl.sh/2ILioJ8
[ask for a little bit of help]: https://dev.to/starbist/lets-make-my-website-even-better-37a5
[silvestar.codes]: https://www.silvestar.codes/
[from my office]: https://www.silvestar.codes/uses/
[this link]: https://www.toptal.com/#trust-nothing-but-brilliant-freelancers