When I was still working full-time back in the Before Times, every now and then people from my professional network would reach out, asking for my take on some technical subject. I would do what I could, of course, offering advice or recommending a resource. Occasionally, they’d become a client.<p>Among the clients I took on, a pattern developed: early-stage startups with a working MVP that outgrew the outsourced dev team who built it. Typically, these were companies without technical founders. I realized there was a niche market out there that I could help. Even better, the value I could add had nothing to do with code per se; it had to do with disciplines that I, as a young engineer, used to scoff at: client service, change management, Human Resources, etc—subjects I learned to be good at incidentally, after working in tech for 20+ years.<p>I’d love to target this market and help them either build an in-house team or establish the criteria they need for better partners. The pandemic gave me the courage to freelance full-time; I just wish I was better at marketing!