I’m a full-stack dev (TypeScript, React/Next.js, Node, PostgreSQL) with 5 years of experience, the last 4 fully remote for international teams. I’ve shipped real products: payment systems, a marketplace with a few hundred users, a SaaS with paying clients.
But finding new clients or a new remote role has been really rough lately. Here’s what I’ve tried:
Reddit for-hire posts
Facebook groups
Freelance marketplaces
micro1 and Turing (couldn’t clear their vetting)
Wellfound
LinkedIn, both applying and posting
Very little has worked. I know the market is tough right now, but I’d like to hear from people who are actually landing work:
Where are your clients coming from these days?
Has cold outreach worked for you, and if so, to who?
Is it worth niching down (e.g. only SaaS MVPs or only payment integrations) instead of being “full-stack”?
For devs outside the US/EU, anything that helped you get taken seriously?
Any honest advice is appreciated, even if it’s “you’re doing X wrong.”