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I am considering becoming a freelance software developer later this year. However, I am not sure when would be the best time to start. The earliest I can start would be in June, but I am worried that there might be less work during the summer.

What is your experience?

In case it makes a difference, it would be mostly Front-End development work, and I live in Germany.

EDIT: I am currently in full-time employment. However, I'm not sure looking for clients before leaving my job is realistic, as I have a 3 months notice period. I had a couple of chats with recruiters about freelancing jobs, but the notice period was always a deal killer.

Also, I don't have a "solid portfolio", but I have 3 showcases.

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  • Do you give something up when you start?
    – unor
    Commented Feb 22, 2017 at 20:35
  • Try to get a few gigs before quiting your day job, smaller assignments. Or are you looking for long term single client assignments?
    – user3244085
    Commented Feb 27, 2017 at 5:27

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As we say over here, "get all your ducks in a row" before you give notice. You said your portfolio only consists of 3 showcases. Perhaps is it only 3 paid examples of your work but you can build more examples showing off your skills, put it on your own site, it does not need to be a live site or have been a paid job. A portfolio is an example of your skills paid or not. You can also build templates to sell at places like themeforest but they may want exclusive rights, read the fine print, but there are other places. Show me your work, I may be interested, I need front end work for a variety of wordpress sites. I hope I'm allowed to say that?

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  • Thanks for your feedback. Those showcases are not paid work, more hobby projects. Only one of them I am comfortable sharing (see my updated profile), but I'm working on the other two. Feel free to contact me if you are happy with what you see.
    – Fig
    Commented Mar 7, 2017 at 19:42
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I think your best bet, assuming you're currently working full time, would be to find and take on a client or two before you dive in head first. There's a lot more to freelancing than just putting a couple files worth of code together.

It wouldn't make any sense to quit your day job in order to freelance without already having a solid portfolio and/or several consistent clients.

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  • I have updated the question about why I think this is not an option. I have a 3 months notice period, and I am under the impression that I can't tell clients to wait for this long.
    – Fig
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 10:18
  • Is there some stipulation in your current employment that says you can't freelance on nights and weekends? If so, I'm sure there's something you could be doing in those three months, (reaching out to clients, building up some kind of social media presence, etc).
    – Purple Haze Design Group
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 17:27
  • No there isn't. And I am planning to do that in those three months. However, I wonder if I should give my notice now (and so then try to find a job for June) or in 3 months, for a job starting in September.
    – Fig
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 23:04

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