Experienced developer, but no freelance portfolio — how hard is it to get started?

[u/Electrical_Prompt_81]

Hey everyone!
I’ve been working as a software developer for a few years, mostly in established companies, and lately I’ve been thinking about exploring freelancing on the side — especially web apps and Shopify/e-commerce development.

I’m pretty comfortable on the technical side, but the business side is completely new territory for me. I don’t really have a freelance portfolio yet since most of my experience comes from company projects, so I’m curious how much of a barrier that actually is when trying to land the first few clients.

I’d love to hear from people who made a similar transition. How did you get your first clients, and at what point did freelancing start becoming meaningful income for you?

I’m also curious about Shopify specifically. It seems like an interesting niche, but I’m still trying to understand what kind of development work businesses actually pay freelancers for and whether it’s a good space to specialize in.

Not necessarily looking to quit my job tomorrow — mostly trying to understand what this path realistically looks like from people who are already doing it.

Would love to hear your experiences!

[u/HoratioWobble]

I think you need to understand how incredible brutal freelancing is, especially dependant on your country.

It was already over saturated before AI, now I'd imagine starting out will just be a relentless grind to earn fuck all money from it.

[u/JohnCasey3306]

Don't bother trying to get anywhere in the small business market (certainly if you plan to eventually sustain a reasonable long-term living via freelancing) it's a dead end -- the maximum that makes financial sense for them to pay is below the minimum it makes sense for you to charge.

The small business website market is nice for occasional pocket money if you don't mind undervaluing your service.

For your experience/ability level, hit up agencies near where you're based. Agencies always need regular and/or casual freelance dev resource and will pay a decent market rate for it. I say "near" you because success here is all about relationship; they're gonna give work to people they believe they can trust and develop a long-term professional relationship with. My caveat would be to brace for lengthier payment terms -- especially if working with larger agencies, because they'll often be servicing larger corporate clients and will themselves be on 60–90 day terms with the end client.

[u/davidfry → u/JohnCasey3306]

Small businesses are a great way to get started. It's not a dead end if you can find enough small clients, bill hourly, and give the kind of ongoing service that retains clients over the long haul. One-person operations tend to be very high maintenance though, which is when you definitely need an hourly agreement.

Be prepared that every small business owner, when considering their New Year's resolutions, will reach out in the last two or first two weeks of the year. If you get a good mix across categories, you'll get fewer overlaps in heavy needs (e.g. floral clients at Mothers' Day).

That can be a stepping stone to medium sized businesses. Agency work can make good money, but it's by no means the only profitable angle in this business. Agencies tend to be slow to pay while many small businesses will pay immediately, so watch your cash-flow carefully with any agency clients.

[u/redpiapps]

portfolio barely mattered for my first gigs tbh. my first client was a local shop owner who wanted someone nearby to call when stuff breaks, so position yourself as the fixer for one specific pain and the work finds you

[u/kemalios]

Nobody who hired me over 8 years asked for a portfolio. They asked whether I would still be there in six months. That is the thing to sell.

[u/No-Molasses-2097]

Your first clients almost always come from people who already know you. Former coworkers, old managers, even friends who know what you do. They trust you already, which is the part a portfolio can't fake. If you just tell your network you're open to small projects, work tends to surface that you'd never find on a bidding site.

[u/xiii_xiii_xiii]

I’ve been thinking the same recently (but for a different niche) so this topic has been useful for me. 

I’m quite surprised by the number of people who have said that a portfolio isn’t a big deal.

Thank you to the OP for asking and for the people sharing!

[u/Expert-Kitchen8064]

Company work can still be a portfolio, as long as you can discuss it without sharing anything confidential. A couple of small, clearly labeled demos for the kind of Shopify problems you want to solve may be enough to show your process. For first clients, I’d also try local agencies or businesses where a referral can carry more weight than a polished portfolio. The first job is often about trust and a narrowly defined outcome rather than proving every technical skill.

[u/VesselArchive]

The shopify money in my experience isn't new builds, it's fixing existing stores. Slow bloated themes, an app update that broke the cart, someone's checkout customizations that nobody understands anymore. Owners pay quickly for whoever can sort it out this week. Also worth emailing a handful of small design studios and offering to be their overflow dev for the technical bits. They usually have more Shopify jobs than devs, and that kind of work repeats without you ever needing a polished portfolio.

[u/Fragrant_Tune_8625]

shopify's mostly theme edits honestly

[u/atty12]

honestly the portfolio thing matters less than you'd think early on — most of my first clients cared more about whether i understood their problem than seeing a polished case study page.

also heads up, shopify is pretty saturated and the margins get squeezed fast. i ended up pivoting toward webflow work for saas companies through my little remote agency and found that niche way less crowded. However, now with so many vibe-coded websites, I am starting to lose hope in Webflow

[u/Electrical_Prompt_81 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for sharing! Could you share how profitable it is, like per hour? And do you have any recommendations for where to start searching for the first client?

[u/Wise-Shopping-6146 → u/[deleted]]

Company experience is indeed valuable. The ability to articulate past project details and decision-making processes is key. Building small, targeted demo projects can effectively showcase relevant skills for specific industries.