CodeControl's Freelancer Handbook V2 ⚡️

CodeControl - Freelance Handbook v2 1
FREELANCER
HANDBOOK
v2 - June 2020

CONTENTS
About this handbook 5
Introduction to CodeControl 6
1
What is the Future of Work and where is it going? 7
Here’s the thing... 8
What is the Future of Work? 9
What does the Future of Work really mean for tech freelancers? 11
How are industries reacting? 12
The State of Remote Work 14
2 16
A closer look at the freelancer experience. 16
Why is freelancing great? 17
Combatting freelancer loneliness 19
In their own words 19
Why modern companies want freelancers 22
3
Building a business for yourself in Germany and the EU 24
How to avoid Scheinselbstständigkeit 26
The ROE (Rest of Europe) 27
How do I get my ﬁrst gigs? 28
Getting out of the comfort zone 30
Setting up expectations 30
Walking them through your work 30

4 33
Finances 33
Upfront and hourly rates 35
How do I get paid? 38
Creating a portfolio 39
Saving money 41
Finance tools 42
Featured 📌Top 9 Tax Tips for Freelancers in Germany 44
5
Stronger together 47
Finding your peers 48
Build your community reputation through knowledge sharing 50
Using CodeControl 51
The Community 51
Our Culture 52
Slack 53
6
Keep Learning 55
Resources 56
Reading and Listening 58
The End
(not really) 61

About this handbook
Over the last six years, CodeControl has welcomed
hundreds of talents from across Europe to our community
of top vetted freelancers. At the same time, we’ve also seen
the tech industry more fully embrace the Future of Work,
irreversibly changing the way forward-thinking companies
hire talents for projects and how talents choose fulfilling
work.
As the world of work changes and freelancing becomes more widespread, more
and more people are choosing to go their own way by ditching the confines of
office work and becoming their own boss. The opportunities in freelancing are
immense, but the challenges can be equally as daunting. It’s by no means easy to
get started. But at CodeControl, we firmly believe that freelancing is the future,
and we’re here to give you a leg up.
Within this inaugural edition of our Freelancer Handbook we’ve compiled our own
learnings together with expert research and knowledge crowdsourced from within
our community of 700 top freelance talents across Europe, representing more than
50 nationalities.
Our aim is to guide you through the process of transitioning to freelance work with
an overview of the many benefits that exist, a frank analysis of the challenges, and
most importantly, some actionable solutions for ensuring a smooth start.
Do you see anything missing or have any additional advice you’d like to share? Feel
free to reach out to community@codecontrol.io and we’d be happy to include it in
the next edition (estimated in December 2020). Thank you for reading & we hope
you enjoy our little guide to freelancing!
With ♥from your CodeControl Team

Introduction to CodeControl
At CodeControl, our mission is to enable professionals to
realise fulﬁlling work.
Our value proposition for freelancers is to provide them with the infrastructure to
succeed both in their personal and professional lives by removing the barriers
inherent in their line of work. Whether it’s providing exclusive access to top remote
jobs with hassle-free payment, connecting them with the tools and resources they
need to get ahead, or by fostering a community of knowledge exchange and
collaboration, we are constantly striving to pave the way for professionals to ease
the transition into the Future of Work.
Founded in 2015 by Marc Clemens, a serial entrepreneur who previously built up
three startups and worked at Team Europe, CodeControl was born of the
recognition that even experienced freelancers struggle to ﬁnd work and there are
over 40,000 IT vacancies in Germany alone.
Today, our community boasts 700 top developers, designers and product
managers who work remotely and on-site with startups, agencies and corporates
from across Europe.
Would you like to join the community? Apply at community.codecontrol.io

1
What is the
Future of Work
and where is it
going?

Here’s the thing...
If we look closely, so many aspects of our personal lives are
in fact remote. We can have face to face interactions with
family and friends from anywhere in the world, workout
with an entire spin class from the comfort of our living
rooms and even attend a doctor’s appointment with merely
an application on our phone.
It makes sense that this practice would extend to our working experience. Now we
can send emails from the train platform and conduct entire meetings 36,000 feet
in the air. The digital revolution has produced a new form of professional
interaction.
Enter the Future of Work (FoW), this phenomenon has seen a surge in the last
decade, remote-working freelancers are now the fastest-growing labor group in
the European Union, with 11 million freelancers working in the EU presently
according to the European Forum for Independent Professionals (EFIP).
After such a meteoric rise, the concept of employment has taken a left turn, due in
part to digital transformation in the workplace, old roles are becoming obsolete
but newer positions are cropping up just as quickly.
According to “The Future of Jobs” report by the World Economic Forum, “robots
will displace 75 million jobs globally by 2022 but create 133 million new ones.”
Managing a more connected society means tech-savvy jobs are in demand and
industries are embracing the freelance process. Tech freelancers are entering their
golden age, and we are all taking notice.
In this guide, we are exploring how your role as a tech freelancer can be optimized
to the fullest extent in this brave new world.
But ﬁrst...

What is the Future of Work?
This concept is a tree with many branches, meaning there are few important
elements that support it. CodeControl believes strongly in agnostic working
environments because it provides more flexibility for workers to grow as both
individuals and professionals. This is the basis of the FoW idea, but there is more
to it that we want to map out for you.
• Machines and People
• Human capital
• Innovation in the workplace
Machines and People
AI and automation are now signiﬁcant members of the global workforce, however,
they are not the guiding forces. Like Elon Musk said after his well-known Model 3
production issues, “Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be
precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.”
Machine learning still has a lot to learn but, until then, a happy collaboration
between people and machines is what the Future of Work aims to achieve.
Approaching this partnership means understanding that intelligence is not one-
dimensional.
Computers are very good at pattern recognition, they surpass humans in that
sense, but programming this understanding falls on the head of a software
developer specialising in AI, whose mind may work more flexibly than a machine’s.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
According to MIT professor Thomas Malone, “[we spend] way too much time
thinking about what jobs computers are going to take away from people, and not
nearly enough time thinking about what people and computers can do together
that could never be done before.”

Human Capital
What is it? Human Capital is the stock of habits, knowledge, social and personality
attributes (including creativity) embodied in the ability to perform labour so as to
produce economic value. You can’t recreate human capital using a machine, as we
demonstrated in the first section.
The Future of Work is, however, redeploying human capital by forcing companies
to shift priorities. Producing economic punch in this day and age means filling an
organisation with the skills to match technology’s fast development and digitally
savvy consumer demands.
Instead of just maintaining operations, technology teams are becoming what
Deloitte calls “business co-creators.” Automation, cloud and as-a-service
technologies are taking over operational tasks and allowing tech teams to become
“a catalyst for business strategy and transformation.”
Innovation in the workplace
Recruitment specialists Robert Half asked 2,000 CFOs what is hindering
innovation in their organisations. Over 25 percent of respondents pointed to a lack
of new ideas.
Introducing new perspectives into stagnant environments is what the Future of
Work concept aims to do.
In that sense, future CEOs will manage workforces that includes both humans and
machines, they will use platforms to educate and onboard new employees, and ad
hoc work will become the norm as our expectations and digital access change.
In the far-flung future, the virtual workplace will be commonplace and we will no
longer need to leave our homes. Until then, remote work allows us access to more
ideas outside the physical walls of an office.

What does the Future of Work
really mean for tech
freelancers?
The FoW means tech freelancers are massively in demand. Tech freelancers make
up the second biggest category of all freelancers in the EU, just behind marketing
and communications.
By far the greatest influence on the FoW has been the cloud. This infrastructure
has expanded possibilities for how freelancers interact with companies. Working
using cloud services creates a space of universal access and safety for both
remote and in-house workers.
Cloud adoption is only increasing. LogicMonitor conducted a study on the future of
the cloud, they discovered that 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by
2020.
With nearly all businesses in the world moving to the cloud, this means tech
freelancers and freelancers alike will be desirable choices for businesses looking
to reduce labor costs and scale up quickly.
As we develop more into a digitally reliant society, tech freelancers will come out
in favour, goes without saying, we need you.

How are industries reacting?
Businesses aiming to secure their growth are future-prooﬁng. This means bulking
up their tech stack with the latest and greatest, plus ensuring their teams are tech-
literate and have the updated skills.
Beyond that, stakeholders are beginning to adapt to our changing mindsets, the
Future of Work idea is fuelled by immeasurable access to information and fast-
paced systems. Companies can’t get away with the same song and dance
anymore, they must embrace progress to survive.
Shift in HR
Human resources are quickly becoming what Accenture’s Jill Goldstein calls,
“workforce advisors.” They are now required to assess and assign jobs based on
what can be automated, freelance tasks and re-skilling in-house staff. HR
departments are focusing more on the employee experience as a whole in order to
maintain unity within an organisation that also includes remote workers who live in
other countries.
Restructuring business models
This is a big one. The last decade has inspired a massive paradigm shift in how
businesses are made from the ground up. Automation and AI have completely
changed how we view the nature of work. The value chain model is out, the value
network is in. The Future of Work will force industries to be more project-focused,
less about ownership and more about access to the best talent out there.

Takeaways
• The Future of Work is a concept with many layers not just a buzzword.
• We will need tech fluent brains to run the digital revolution.
• Industries are changing to adapt to the new workforce and not the other
way around.
• Tech freelancers are the most popular kids in school.
• Remote work is more in demand than ever and growing.
• Job roles are being restructured every day.
• The value chain model is out, the value network is in.

The State of Remote Work
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global acceleration of companies adopting
Future of Work practices. In particular, it has caused companies to rethink their
approach to remote work. To better understand this for ourselves, CodeControl
conducted a survey on EU companies to get an understanding how they have
adapted their remote work practices (if any) in response to COVID-19. English &
German results are available.
Key ﬁndings:
• More than 75% of participants indicate they were feeling ready for Remote
Work, yet Germans didn’t feel as prepared as the rest of Europe
• Team leads felt slightly underprepared compared to non-team leads for
this Remote Work transition (7 points difference).
• The transition towards Remote Work was easy for most companies
surveyed. Only 2.4% found it very difﬁcult to implement.
• Remote work is assessed to have a positive effect on companies, and it’s
even more the case if the latter were feeling prepared (+ 3 points).
• Remote Work is to here to stay and develop for 71% companies and even
more so in Germany (6 points more than non-Germany answers).
• 64% of companies believe Remote Work will have a positive impact on their
company in the future. The number is up to 69% in Germany.

What does this mean for freelancers?
Europe has started the COVID-19 crisis prepared, has adapted well to Remote
Work and seems positive about its usage in the future. Germany appears even
more optimistic about Remote Work for the long run. European companies have
had to hastily adopt remote work friendly companies policies. For freelancers all
over the world, this can be seen as a big win for two reasons.
• Freelancers can feel more integrated with their team. Instead of feeling like
‘externals', it helps with making freelancers feel integrated with the rest of
the team that is also fully remote.
• In the long run, there will be more opportunities available for freelancers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to quickly adapt their
company cultures to be remote-ﬁrst. As employers realise that efﬁcient work
can be done without needing face to face time, we will surely see an increase
in demand to hire remote specialists as company infrastructures can now
readily accommodate them. .

2
A closer look
at the
freelancer
experience.

Now that we understand the current Future of Work
ecosystem, leaping into a full-time freelancing career may
seem a bit more doable, and less like a long dark fall into an
unknown abyss.
If you’re not already a freelancer or strongly considering becoming one, then this
chapter should be beneficial. Alternatively, if you are a freelancer, then lookout for
a few tips and tricks you may not have come across during your career.
Why is freelancing great?
Life as a freelancer is a desirable position to be in as the optimum word here is
“free” which means the job comes with much more flexibility than the usual nine
to five.
Such freedom offers professionals ownership of their skillsets, triumphs and
losses. They can set their rates and market themselves based on their
understanding of what they bring to the table. Often in full-time positions, the
expectations, hierarchies and salaries are preset before a new hire walks through
the door. For freelancers, the control is in their hands much more.
So, if the goal is to gain control over your professional narrative, avoid long
commutes and unfulfilling work environments, then freelancing is a road worth
travelling.
Taking this route also means being your own boss and setting your standards and
work ethics. For some used to relying on company structures, this can feel like
unchartered territory, but due to the popularity of freelancing, tech companies are
developing collaboration and organisational tools like Slack, Toggl and Wave
which make life a lot easier for contract workers.
For tech freelancers, their purpose in this current climate is even more definite. As
we are moving through the digital revolution, tech specialists are in demand, and

top quality ones are found all over the world, which has inspired flexible working in
most business models.
Freelancing as a developer, designer or product manager can also offer access to
multiple tech projects popping up everywhere, “Products are constantly being
updated, and open source development is incessantly yielding new compatibility
issues and improvement opportunities,” writes Invoicing Ninja.
A little background
Freelancing in Europe arguably picked up in pace in 2013, ﬁve years after the
beginning of the most current recession, according to the CRSE report “Future
Working: The Rise of Europe’s Independent Professionals” nearly 7 million
Europeans lost their jobs during this time.
The combination of an employee exodus and the rise of technology in the
workplace resulted in freelancers becoming the fastest-growing group in the
EU labor market.

Combatting freelancer
loneliness
Working for yourself is great, and the positives outweigh the negatives, but like
anything in life, there are downsides.
Freelancers mostly work alone and from home. That experience can start with a
bang; fewer disturbances, less pressure to socialize with coworkers and engage in
office politics, plus the comfort of being in your own surroundings.
Eventually, loneliness can kick in, we are humans after all, not just freelancing
machines. An Epson survey found that 48 per cent of freelancers said their job
could be lonely and isolating. Creating communities, virtual or physical, can be a
productive way to combat this singular existence.
For human connection, CodeControl manages international communities bringing
tech freelancers from all aspects of the industry together in Slack channels and
video calls - even hosting get-togethers in their freelancers’ home cities.
You may be sacrificing a buzzing office environment for the multiple benefits
freelancing offers, but it is possible to integrate a carefully selected social circle
into your lone ranger style of working.
In their own words
Recently, we met up with CodeControl community members at a Berlin Boutique
Meet-up or BBM. These are monthly get togethers located in any of the
freelancers’ home cities aimed at promoting a social environment beyond Slack
chats.
We asked our Berlin community what they think are the most significant
challenges that freelancers experience at the start, how to create a brand, and a
few nuggets of wisdom. Here’s what they had to say.

Benefits
• “I wanted to have a flexible schedule - due to my state of mind I have bursts
of energy that last hours and then I switch off. So I wanted to use these
effectively.”
• “Family - I wanted to be able to be fully present in the moment for them
when it was needed.”
• “To be able to devote the time needed for the client - as much as he needs -
sometimes more sometimes less.”
• “Professional variety - it is easier to do what you know how to do for a long
time. Yet - pushing the boundaries (never on clients account - always
learning in my own account and only than using for the benefit of the client )
is harder, but makes the brain cells tick.”
• “Not laying everything in one basket - especially in these times it proves
itself beneficiary.”
• “Not being managed anymore. I am an experienced developer and a grown-
up who doesn’t need supervision.”
• “Getting the chance to work in many different environments and with new
people.”
• “Having more time, money and influence over my professional development
and more space for growth.”
• “More opportunities to do projects I care about rather than being assigned
and fixed on certain things.”
• “Being a master of my own resources and not assigned on too many
projects/products at once while slowly burning out and not getting the
support needed.”
• “I needed the freedom, the opportunity to my own direction and the joy of
getting results.”

Challenges

• “Maintaining a good balance between on-the-clock hours vs hours off-the-
clock and how much time should be dedicated to marketing.”
• “... I've always had the idea of running my own business, since I was 18 or
so. I missed a chance (and a few million euros) when I declined the
opportunity to start a business in the broadcast industry just after my eldest
daughter was born (the fear of risk of a young parent...). After starting a
consulting business unit for my last employer, I got into a conflict of vision
with the CEO and decided to go freelance.”
Creating a brand
• “It’s not just about doing the work of the freelance service, you must be able
to adapt into roles with marketing and management as well from time to
time, as all of these are important for working as a freelancer.”
• “Remember that you should be more confident in your skills because this is
part of what sells to potential clients.”
• “Treat your business like a business from day one. Make sure you have
contracts and time trackers in place.”
• “You cannot do everything in one day. Take the time to ground yourself, ask
for feedback, and double-check your work.”
Nuggets of wisdom
• “Take ownership of the project and push it to the finish line as if it were your
own, even if you are just a freelancer on the project.”
• “Introduce yourself to a new team, face to face if you can.”
• “The first week involves a lot of adaptation, so it means being ready to be
flexible.”
There is no “right” way to go about this process, it comes down to what works for
you, but taking from other experiences can only enrich your entire perspective.

Why modern companies want
freelancers
A KPMG report noted that business leaders see a flexible IT force as a source of
success, “digital leaders are better at ensuring that non-IT staff have the right
technology skills, and at using both internal and external resources to access the
right skills.”
A flexible force is a great way to describe what freelancers represent within
modern industry, they are prime examples of why variety is the spice of life. A
contract worker is desired for a few reasons.
• They are more cost-effective, meaning they don’t break the bank as they work
within a set amount of time for a fixed rate without the cost of added benefits
common for salaried employees.
• Freelancers are also highly self-disciplined as their reputation is what brings in
the dough. Image is everything to them. Companies with an entrepreneurial
mindset appreciate the laser-sharp focus that comes with a freelancer.
Beyond these points, the niche expertise they bring is vital as companies are
becoming more agile in the way they work. According to Forbes, freelancers
“make complete sense from a business economics perspective.”
Luckily, there are existing organisations like CodeControl that work closely with
businesses seeking out freelancers for specific projects, and so far, the results
have been stellar.
Here’s a great example: CodeControl carefully selected two senior iOS developers
from our community to work closely with heavyweights in both the automotive and
insurance industries. Our developers worked over six months on a cutting edge
application that was the first of its kind. The result was an award winning product.
It can be difficult to engage in such a project while working as a full-time
employee.

Use cases like these only conﬁrm what great options freelancers are for any
industry. For freelancers, the opportunity to work on such an exciting project is
what makes the gig worth any mind-numbing moments of solitude.
Takeaways
• Freelancing offers experts complete ownership over their profession,
triumphs and losses.
• Tech freelancers are seeing a surge in demand thanks to the cloud
boom.
• There are 11 million freelancers working in Europe right now.
• Joining freelance communities is a great way to combat loneliness.
• As a freelancer it’s important to see yourself as a business from day one.
• Investment in IT workforces both external and internal is higher than it
has ever been.

3
Building a
business for
yourself in
Germany and
the EU

Based on the last few chapters, it’s now clear that
freelancing is here to stay. The future will see businesses
increasingly seeking tech freelancers to run the digital
revolution with the help of machines. In turn, more experts
will ditch their office jobs for this freer, more varied career
route.
As appealing as being your own boss sounds, it also comes with added
responsibilities. You must open shop on your own and find clients, as well as
oversee your finances.
Indeed, as a freelancer or Freiberuflicher, your skillset is the moneymaker.
Creating a mini-empire around your expertise means putting yourself out there,
but also thinking like a CEO and a solopreneur.
Be committed to scaling up: a WiseBrand survey of 2,000 freelancers found that
“54 percent have no desire to go back to full-time work.”
Setting up a freelance business doesn’t have to be a complex experience. Yes, you
are learning on the go, but due to the popularity of Future of Work practices, there
are countless agencies, tools and experts out there ready and able to help.
So how does one achieve gainful self-employment and also run a hassle-free
business in Germany and throughout Europe? We have a few ideas.
Pro-Tip: Consider setting up a company as a vehicle to offer your
freelancing services. You can save more money through tax breaks &
business expenses. Furthermore, your company (instead of you as an
individual) will bare the burden of any liabilities.

How to avoid
Scheinselbstständigkeit
The term Scheinselbstständigkeit is well known within the German freelance
market, but not necessarily for good reasons. It means bogus/pseudo-self-
employment or someone who presents themselves as a freelancer but is trapped
into working full-time.
The risk of being trapped in Scheinselbstständigkeit is that you (sometimes)
unknowingly defy German labor, social security, and tax law. This can result in
hefty penalties expected from both the employer and contractor. These amounts
can rack up since they are not always detected until tax and/or social security
audits years later.
Ask yourself these questions to avoid the Scheinselbstständigkeit trap and ﬁnd out
if you are truly an independent worker:
• Do you have control over your own working hours?
• Does your job differ from the full-time employees of your client?
• Are you free from handing in periodic working reports?
• Are you able to choose your workplace?
• Are your hardware and software controlled by your client?
• Do you acquire new clients and do your own marketing?
• Do you develop your own business cards and marketing collateral?
• Do you have your own business website?
If yes is the answer to most of these questions, then you’re in the clear.
Before starting as a freelancer in the German market, it is vital to know the cultural
and legal expectations. Here’s how to avoid something like
Scheinselbstständigkeit.
• Register a business Gewerbe. Register yourself with the city as a business entity.

• You must pay the correct taxes. Register with a tax agency or Finanzamt and get
a tax ID to be able to write invoices within Germany. This can be done by ﬁlling
out a tax number registration form called a Fragebogen zur Steuerlichen
Erfassung. Go on ELSTER which is an online system for tax declarations.
• If you want to do business within the EU you also need to ask for a VAT ID. If your
annual income only goes up to 17,500 €, you don’t have to charge clients VAT.
• Monthly revenues going over 450€ must pay into a social security scheme which
is 18.7% per month.
• If you earn well, it makes sense to incorporate with a UG or GmbH. Otherwise,
you have to pay income tax on everything you earn. We recommend consulting
with a tax accountant.
The ROE (Rest of Europe)
Wherever you’re based in the EU you need to register as a single person business,
so that you and your business are the same tax entity no matter the country.
However, certain services are VAT exempt across borders, meaning your invoice
won’t always carry VAT. We recommend consulting with an accountant specialising
in tax laws across Europe. Inc has a great rundown for choosing the right
accountant for your business. If you are aligned with an agency, ask them for
advice concerning the tax set up per area.
Put more time into billing clients as opposed to spending hours researching the
process of billing on your own. Your time is precious, there are those out there
adept at solving these problems, it is okay to reach out for help outside your
business, outsource where you can.
Read more about where to network with fellow European freelancers here.

How do I get my first gigs?
The tech scene is unique in that many freelancers have gone on to establish
successful businesses because of the vast networks and diverse projects that
develop within this space. If you’re just starting out, or have been working in-
house for most of your career and want to get back into the game, this is how you
begin.
First. Network like your livelihood depends on it and we don’t mean only dive into
as many discussion boards, communities and meet-ups as possible. Start with the
first network you ever had, your family and friends.
Ask around, perhaps a relative is just starting a business and needs a website built
or help a parent build an accounting system for their day to day needs. Think about
how technology intersects in multiple occupations and seek out the gaps. Where’s
the need?
It is possible to profit from your personal network but you don’t always see the
monetary benefits initially, sometimes you will work for free just to build up much-
needed experience. It is all about earning your stripes.
We suggest looking into some awesome platforms and websites that are
frequently utilised by freelancers to keep your finger on the pulse (news, up and
coming gigs, inspiring stories, networking and more.)
• Twitter - create Lists on Twitter built around topics relevant to your specific skill
set, that way you’ll get activity notifications without having to search.
• Reddit - is a huge network for freelancers with communities partial to all aspects
of the tech environment. Check out r/webdev.
• Hackernews - this social news website is focused on computer science and
building your own business.
• Join local user groups on Slack.
• LinkedIn - we all know the power of this professional network, seek out new
connections through old schoolmates and friends.

• Freelancersweek - a great source for freelance events happening throughout
Europe.
For human interaction, look up local meet-ups. If you are into Javascript, ﬁnd a
group and join in, the same goes for designers, product marketers and tech
writers. Selling yourself offline is also important, as clients will be more inclined to
trust you if they meet you in person.
We also believe that freelance communities are hubs of support and opportunity. If
you’re based in Europe, why not consider CodeControl?
Already got gigs lined up? First of all, congrats! Keep your leads pipeline
full is one of the biggest challenges that all freelancers face. To make sure
you have a next gig lined up - you should setup a methodical way to
automatically capture leads & qualify leads.
During our weekly community Lunch & Learns, our member David shared
how he automated his entire Sales funnel using free tools like Airtable &
Zapier. Watch it here or read about it here.

Getting out of the comfort zone
You will find that after working within your personal network and putting yourself
out there both online and offline, jobs from outside clients will begin popping up
through recommendations.
There is also something to be said about investing in your own career development
the same way a company would. Many freelancers proactively put in time and
money to re-skill, or acquire additional skills.
In the beginning, the services you provide will look like a wide range. As time
progresses and you discover your strengths, that list will diminish. Start big and
narrow it down as the client base grows.
Setting up expectations
Every project has a different level of complexity: some aspects you will be better
versed in than others.
Be clear about your strengths and honest about where you would like to learn
more. Every project is a learning opportunity. For jobs that seem beyond your skill
set, charge a cheaper price and spend more time researching and understanding a
difficult task. Don’t play it safe every time, challenge yourself.
Walking them through your
work
Be searchable and easy to find. Have something you can instantly show to people
you meet, but also to whoever stumbles upon your work on the web.

Create your own portfolio via a website like Squarespace and Wix, and keep it
simple. Offer access to your code editor, terminals, view sources and staging.
Include screenshots of any apps, websites or platforms you worked on, and write
small blurbs explaining the rationale behind each project.
Make sure your website is creative and inviting, show off your personality and be
clear about your skills. Add links to your social channels and of course, LinkedIn.
Wordpress is great if you prefer to build a website yourself. Wix is best if you want
a quick and easy solution.
There are also many stellar portfolio examples out there:
1. https://www.loungelizard.com/
A web design collective based out of NYC.
2. http://y78.fr/
Yul Morea is a Parisian creative art director and UX designer.
3. http://www.adhamdannaway.com/
Adham Danaway is an Australian product designer.
4. http://www.emilyridge.ie/
Emily is an Irish freelance Wordpress and web developer.
A little something extra…
The Perks of being a CodeControl (CC) member!
There are communities out there ready & able to welcome you into the fold, with
access to the most established companies and exclusive projects. If the legalities
are too much to wrangle, then use a company like CodeControl to manage the
paperwork.
We can:
• Pay you in [maximum] 14 days
• Handle the legal side, invoicing and more

• Connect you with the most cutting edge tech projects
• Help you network with fellow tech freelancers in the community
• If you’re already part of CodeControl, start your own sub-community to keep an
eye on your subject area
Takeaways
• Think like a CEO.
• Network like a butterfly.
• Practice your skills on family and friends.
• Do your legal due diligence and reach out to consultants for help.
• Check out local meet-ups in your town.
• Every job is a learning opportunity to hone your skill set and reﬁne your
business processes.

Planning your ﬁnancial future as a freelancer can be
unnerving: money is a tool for life and you need it to
maintain your business.
Another equally useful tool is compensation. At the beginning, money is not always
flowing, and you will need to bulk up your portfolio. That being said, never do work
without some kind of compensation—whether it be contacts, new skills or
referrals.
There are a few questions worth asking when it comes to getting paid, but before
anything is decided, make sure you have a signed agreement mapped out. Know
your worth and don’t settle.
Here’s what you should stipulate in every agreement:
• How and when you get paid
• Deliverables
• Responsibilities
• Your rate
• Rights for usage
• Retainer (optional)
• Feedback requirements (the quicker a client responds the better)
• Deposit and billing
• Meeting times
Have a lawyer look it over once you have something set in stone.
COVID-19 Update: Are you a freelancer living in Germany? Did you know
that you’re entitled to emergency funds from the state? We held an
exclusive webinar on get crisis support & save taxes here. Watch it here.

Upfront and hourly rates
The ﬁrst thing a new client will want to know is - what is your rate? Ask too high
and you may be thrown to the side, undersell your skill and you will be out-of-
pocket.
For this you need a strategy: many freelancers will charge 50 percent of their total
rate to begin with. This is a way to protect themselves from being jipped by
dishonest clients.
So, how do you set your rate? Here’s our take.
Hourly rate
Even if you prefer to charge per project, having an hourly rate in mind will help you
understand your worth—and have a rough number to give when a potential client
asks.
Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You How To Be Rich, explains it nicely.
He suggests having a goal salary, or an amount you would like to earn in one year
based on your energy, skills and time.
Now, how do you come up with a goal salary? By doing what the next person does.
In other words, conduct benchmarking research. Go to career sites like PayScale
or Glassdoor to see what the going rate is for freelancers with similar experience.
Ultimately, you will need to align with supply and demand in order to get fairly
compensated and have clients willing to contract you.
Once you have that yearly salary in mind, consider the drop three zeros method.
Take three zeroes off your goal salary, and that’s your hourly rate. So if you would
like to earn €60 000 this year, then your rate is €60 an hour.
This ﬁgure should take into account 233 working days in a year and how many
hours a day are reasonable to work, plus compensate for 4 to 6 weeks of vacation.

Though the math may be off in this formula, Sethi’s justiﬁcation is as follows: “this
rule of thumb accounts for the fact that you won’t be working eight hours a day in
your freelancing role. Sporadic hours and spans of time when you just don’t have
work to do is the nature of freelancing.”
Another way to come up with a goal salary is via GitLab’s Compensation
Calculator. It’s based on regional rates throughout the world for multiple roles
within the tech industry. It is an up-to-date and highly useful tool for jumpstarting
your research into standard rates. It uses criteria such as: benchmark, skill level,
country, area and role.
SOURCE: GITLAB
Expenses
As a freelancer, you must cover your own costs, such as:
• Taxes
• Health insurance
• Workspace and equipment
• Marketing
• Research & Development

When you set your freelance rate, you must take all these things into account. Start
with an estimate of these costs, and when you start working, keep track of these
overhead expenses.
See yourself as a business, not an employee. According to CodeController Andrei
Serban, “to be a freelancer, in addition to technical skills, you will also need to be
good in management and marketing.” Inevitably, this involves substantial costs
that cannot be ignored.
Finding the sweet spot
In a way, ﬁnding the rate that will suit you and your client is much like an art, one
that takes time to master. Your rate will inevitably change with time, as you will get
a better understanding of overhead like living, taxes and business costs.
Sometimes, you will even have to haggle. As CC member Bhushan Lodha puts it:
“Learn about negotiating. The people that you talk to, their job is to negotiate and
bring down your rate.”
Simply put, tips and formulas can only help for estimations, but ultimately, you will
be the one making up your rate. Remember that with pricing, there are no rules.

How do I get paid?
At CodeControl, we know that getting paid on time, or getting paid at all, can be a
challenge for freelancers. Which is why we ensure that developers are paid within
14 days after each job—guaranteed.
Saving you the hassle of chasing clients to get paid means that you will have more
time and energy to realise fulfilling work in your field. That’s why we decided to
come up with this policy at CodeControl.
We also do the negotiating for you. Here’s CodeController Irina Spicaka: “In
Germany, women earn 25% less than men. When there’s a company in the middle
[CodeControl] with men taking care of the responsibility of negotiation, it makes it
easier [to get what you want].”
That being said, if you land a gig on your own, here are tips to consider.
Charge ½ upfront if you have never worked with a client before. This can protect
you from any sudden changes. If they are unsure about paying a deposit, then look
elsewhere.
Have an invoice at the ready, and this is vital. Cc the billing department at every
company you work with. Try Invoicequick.
Raise your rate if the deadline is short and the demand is high. You might have to
sacrifice weekends and other jobs to get a “rush job” done.
CodeControl Community Perk 🔔Getting paid on time, or getting paid at
all, can be a challenge for freelancers. This is why we ensure that our
freelancers are paid within 14 days after each job. Furthermore, there’s no
need to write invoices - you’ll instead receive a credit note from us at the
end of each month based on the time you’ve logged.

Creating a portfolio
We cannot stress this enough, your online presence is key. Creating a portfolio of
your work as a tech freelancer is not the same as other occupations, it means a
keen eye for detail and accurate information.
Word of mouth is great, and once you have got your foot in enough slack chats and
community doors then the word will get out, but your website is the foundation of
all that you do. It is your badge value.
CodeControl Community Perk 🔔Portfolios can be tricky to maintain &
annoying to get started with. As we continue to improve the lives of our
community members, we created an intuitive & efficient CV editing tool.
You can also easily pre-fill your CV by syncing your LinkedIn account. Take a
sneak peak of Fernando’s full profile here. 👀

Portfolio tips
• Make sure your online portfolio represents your skills. If you are a full stack
developer then we suggest a clean interface, this is about showing off your
redesigns, code samples, and features. It doesn’t have to be colourful and eye-
catching. Know your lane. We love this portfolio by Lawrence McDaniel.
• Add clear screenshots, ask every client you have worked with for permission to
use their images and demos. Put these terms in your agreement before every
gig. We like how product designer Adham Dannaway lays out his work.
• Make the UX smooth as butter. This means making sure everything is easy to
ﬁnd, has smooth transitions and only displays the most relevant.
• Include an “About Me” section, make it easy for clients to contact you, add links
to your social media and relevant metrics - perhaps you reduced sync process
time by 92% for a client? That is an impactful stat, throw it in there.
• If you are still experience building, then add in commentary on what you enjoy
most about your job, what projects you would like to work on and write blog
posts built around your favourite topics in the industry.
• It doesn’t only have to be about paid work either. Post the projects you worked
on in school, unpaid gigs and even smaller ideas you are developing for
yourself. Include it all.
• Feature testimonials if you can, add any press mentions, maybe your app won an
award? All good to know.
• Give away stuff. Create a page for downloading free resources like templates,
white papers and more. Be generous, it goes a long way.

Saving money
It is very easy to lose track of expenses as a freelancer, sometimes you are
required to travel as well as managing your own social contributions, retirement
fund and taxes.
Freelancing is not always a consistent form of income, some months are better
than others. As the CEO of your own business, it is useful to manage your ﬁnances
separately from your personal accounts.
Pro tip #1 - Always have a buffer fund. According to freelancer and Vlogger Flux,
have about 3 - 6 months’ worth of salary in a savings account for low months,
medical issues, job loss or any other surprises life can throw at us.
Pro tip # 2 - Separate your personal accounts from your business accounts and
open at least three accounts for taxes, living expenses and business expenses.
Break it down like this: Put aside money each month for taxes and living. Use the
rest for business expenses and savings. Aim to save about a third of your income
per month for your buffer fund.
1
Money comes in
from a job. 2
Put it into your
business
account.
3
Put aside a % for
taxes and
transfer it to
your tax
account.
4
Pay yourself a
salary into a
Personal
Account for
living expenses.
5
Your Business
Expenses
Account should
inlcude travel,
remote working
space, food and
lodging.

Finance tools
There are many platforms available to help scale your business. Do your research
and decide which one is best for you. Here are the ones we like:
• Fyle
• Coconut
• Paymo
• Stripe
• plain text accounting
• GnuCash
So, there you have it. According to CC designer Franziska Veh, people who are new
to freelancing should work to have a professional setup right away. In part, this
means being fully aware of your ﬁnances.

Takeaways
• Never work without compensation.
• Know the standard rates, ask around, understand your industry.
• Understand the difference between daily, hourly and project-based
rates. Some rate systems might work better than others. Depends on the
project type.
• Always have a signed agreement before any job, paid or unpaid.
• Put aside a third every month for your Buffer Fund in case of job loss or
medical issues.
• Charge ½ upfront if you are working with a new client.
• Make sure your portfolio is reflective of your brand and badge value.
• Research the best ﬁnance tools that ﬁt your needs.
• Continue the discussion around these topics and more on CodeControl’s
#freelancing Slack channel.

Featured 📌Top 9 Tax Tips for
Freelancers in Germany
Our friends at Accountable were kind enough to share their 9 tax tips for
freelancers in Germany. Original article written on 06.04.2020 is here.
1. Do everything right
from the start
• Setup a structured process for all your bills &
invoices.
• Accountable recommends four sections:
1. Unpaid bills to clients.
2. Paid invoices to customers.
3. Receipts and incoming invoices.
4. Bank statements.
2. Understand which
business expenses are
deductible
• VAT (vorsteuer) on goods & services are
refundable.
• Lower your taxable profit with business
expenses.
• Don’t know what’s business deductible?
Search any expense with this search engine.
3. Deduct the costs of
your home office
Not all setups qualify as a ‘home office’, make
sure you understand the prerequisites - make
sure your room is:
• Lockable.
• Used exclusively for business purposes.
• The centre of all business activities &
professional activities.

4. Deduct the costs of
your work equipment
• Even if you don’t have a separate room,
remember that your home office equipment is
still deductible.
• Note that work equipment can cost a
maximum of €929 including VAT.
◦ Here’s an official list of deductibles.
5. Educate yourself and
save taxes
• Business training expenses are deductible as
long as it helps you generate income.
• If you’re an expat, German lessons can be a
business expense.
6. Reduce taxes with
per diems
• If you’re working at a client’s office, remember
that you are entitled to a per diem of €14 (€12
until 2019).
• You can also deduct per diems & travel
allowance (e.g flight costs).
7. Save taxes when on
business travel & in
restaurants
• A monthly ticket (Monatskarte) is also
deductible if it is cheaper than the number of
single tickets you would need to make your
business trip.
• Same logic applies if you own a Bahncard.
• Only 70% of entertainment costs may be
deducted as business expenses.

All rights of this article are reserved by our friends at Accountable Original
article written on 06.04.2020 is here.
8. Pay attention to tax
prepayments
Liquidity traps happen often, make sure that you
are always calculating possible additional tax
payments and prepayments. If your income
increases signiﬁcantly, there can be a lag period
in how fast your tax payments grow (often times
it takes more time to kick in and can catch you
by surprise).
9. Prepare for the future
today
As a self-employed person, you are responsible
for your own pension. Do your research and
consider also a service like Vantik.

Trust us. There are countless websites, meet-ups, online
communities and companies that want to find you remote
work and create lasting collaborations with other
developers, project managers, designers and companies.
You just have to do a little digging to discover which forum
fits your goals. We can help with that.
Finding your peers
There are a few main places to start looking for fellow freelancers in the tech
space.
Websites like reddit and Github are places for joining the wider conversation and
deep-diving into software development. Freelance platforms like CodeControl can
offer fulfilling professional experiences in multiple sectors. Let’s explore a few.
Stack Overflow is a space for developers and tech professionals to ask and answer
questions posted by tech experts and enthusiasts alike.
GitHub is an open-source repository where developers share open-source
projects and fellow devs can take a whack at problematic bugs and learn from the
best. Want to showcase work you’re proud of? Recruiters are often scouring
GitHub profiles to find freelancers.
reddit is a more universal hub but has a large number of categories or
“Subreddits” focused on almost every aspect of the tech industry. This is where
you can start and participate in conversations, create relationships with other
developers and pursue jobs up for grabs.
Dribbble is a networking platform vastly used by designers of all disciplines,
including product designers. There, you can display your own designs, land your
next gig, and even find out about Dribbble meet-ups happening in your city.

Similarly, Behance allows designers to display their portfolio and ﬁnd inspiration
through other people’s work.
For developers, product designers, and product managers alike, use Slack
communities to connect with fellow tech people and keep an eye on the latest
buzz.
Finally, use the group feature on LinkedIn to nurture your network. This allows you
to join groups that are relevant to your area of work and take part in the
conversations happening there.
Simply put, freelance platforms take on the managerial stress of being a
freelancer. They handle the paperwork and client-side pressures so that you can
focus on just doing your job well. Many freelancers will use one or two platforms to
ﬁnd work and build contacts, so don’t worry about being pledged to only one.
Like we said before in previous chapters, try to get offline! Search for meet-ups in
your area, ask around in your local online communities for the next get-together,
tag along with one of your friends to their dev meet-ups. Make the effort to dance
between the online and offline worlds.

Build your community
reputation through knowledge
sharing
The knowledge freelancers build over time is unique. This information is collected
through years of experience and a variety of projects. Knowledge sharing on sites
like Github and Stack Overflow is great for your reputation within the industry, but
it's also just nice to pay it forward.
Developer Davide de Palois writes, “As soon as you learn something, try to help
someone else, teach other colleagues, share your learnings. It can be offering
advice after your daily standup, making a short presentation to your team, writing a
blog post or becoming a mentor on an online coding platform.”
It really is as simple as that, sharing is caring and it beneﬁts everyone career-wise,
especially you.
Stack Overflow has found a way to quantify reputation based on excellent
knowledge sharing. Their system allows users to score questions and answers, +5
if a question is voted up, +10 if an answer is voted up.
The more great answers and interesting questions you post, the more your
reputation score increases and this can lead to a bundle of opportunities.
Here’s tech recruiter Glen Cathey: “while LinkedIn endorsements can be easily
attained, Stack Overflow reputation points and badges are relatively hard-earned
in comparison.”
Also, once you’ve completed a project, consider sharing your learnings with your
network—that is, with your client’s approval. The process of creating something
can be just as interesting as the ﬁnal product. Show your work and teach what you
know.

Building a solid online footprint as a freelancer is a great bounty to carry with you
as you move up in your career.
Using CodeControl
CodeControl is a freelance platform and community of tech freelancers spanning
the globe. Our mission is to guide remote working professionals towards fulﬁlling
work in multiple industries.
The purpose of our company was formed out of a need to boost the lives of tech
freelancers.
CC does this by acting as the middle person between freelancers in the tech
industry (developers, project managers and designers) and companies seeking
them out.
Our goal is to build a bridge between you and your next job, while also providing an
infrastructure and support system for you to succeed.
The Community
CodeControl’s community consists of 700 freelance developers, designers and
project managers. About 20% of these freelancers are based in Germany, 50% are
in other countries in Europe, whilst 30% are spread throughout the world.
We take care of the everyday hassles by working towards matching you with your
ideal gig at exclusive companies, charging the rate you deserve.
To create a sense of support, CC constantly grows, maintains, and curates the
community so that it is a source of companionship and a base for knowledge.
With CC, the community convenes in a few ways. Either through boutique meet-
ups (BM) which are in-person events curated by CC in multiple cities or Slack

channels, where freelancers can sign up for new proposed gigs, exchange ideas,
ask questions or just socialise. Dog members are also welcome.
Read more here.
Our Culture
CodeControl’s culture is built on putting human beings first. Our Culture Playbook
states, “We exist to enable professionals to realise fulfilling work,” and we stand
by this. Our belief system is founded in supporting each other and future
innovation.
We believe:
• The Future of Work is human
A lot more tasks will be automated. But humans will still be needed.
• The future means more freedom
With more experience and skills, we will have more control over our lives.
• Connections last a lifetime
Technology enables us to stay connected with our community and collaborate on
cutting edge projects.
• Lifelong learning will keep us fit
Continuous improvement will allow us to keep up with the changing times.
• Organisations will never be the same
Top-down approaches are no longer fit for purpose. Organizations are living
organisms that must nurture their people.
Read more of our Culture Playbook here.

Slack
The CodeControl community team uses Slack to interact with all 700 members.
Channels include intros, help, topics such as DevOps and Blockchain, upcoming
proposals and events. You name it, CC has it.
We also encourage CC members to become topic curators. By that, we mean
overseeing the conversation about something that interests them within a Slack
channel. For instance, tech talent Fernando Silva was working with Coya in Berlin,
and is a DevOps enthusiast. He’s now curating the DevOps channel, and helps
bring the community together.
According to Slack, “For freelancers, working in Slack beats managing endless
email chains with clients.” We agree that it is a much easier way to manage future
gigs and correspond with freelancers in your position.
Join the channels that are relevant to you, get into discussions, keep an eye out for
events in your city. Everything curated in these channels is geared towards growing
your career.
As previously mentioned, we know that freelance work can feel lonely. So, we
encourage our community members to see fellow CodeControl freelancers as their
extended colleagues. While your freelance career may be unique, you’ll ﬁnd that a
number of challenges can also be solved collectively. Hence, the existence of our
#_helpme channel, where we strive to ﬁnd solutions together.
Interested in joining us? Please reach out via this form.

Takeaways
• Do your research and make a list of which forums work best for you.
• Reddit, Stack Overflow and GitHub are popular choices for community
building and learning.
• Get offline sometimes, ﬁnd a balance between your online world and
your offline network.
• Share your knowledge, it can literally earn you brownie points and get
you a job.
• CodeControl is a freelancer platform dedicated to growing your career.

So far, we’ve discussed the Future of Work, building a
portfolio, managing your finances, connecting with fellow
freelancers and the power of freelance platforms.
But, how do you keep yourself fresh as a freelancer? It’s simple - stay educated in
your field and dive into Research and Development (R&D) obsessively. Much like
medical professionals must stay up to date with the latest treatments and trials,
tech freelancers also have a responsibility to keep abreast of developing skills in
their industry.
Technology is progressing very quickly. According to Internet Stats, there are 1.7
billion websites active on earth right now and in the last 20 years, dozens of new
programming languages have been created, keeping developers on their toes.
Simply put, freelancers need to keep up to speed with the latest in tech. Using your
social networks, spend multiple hours a week reading and learning.
Here are a few other ways to ace your R&D:
Resources
Community membership
Joining a freelance community is a great way to meet people and participate in
discussions regarding all aspects of the industry, attend exclusive events
organised by the community team and gain insight into growing your freelance
business.
Luckily there are many communities out there and some even act as your own
personal agent, like CodeControl. Our Slack workspace boasts specific channels
catered to your interests, like DevOps, Product, or Blockchain. They allow you to
connect with community members with similar interests.

Know the trends
Whether it’s elevated image treatments, Blockchain or Docker, be sure to keep up
with the trends and keep an ear open for what everyone is talking about on the
usual forums. Websites like GitHub, Hackernews, TheNextWeb, Hackernoon and
Stack Overflow are teeming with the latest and greatest technology out there; they
are the proverbial technology specialist watering holes.
Statistics show that freelancers invest twice as much in their own education than
regular employees. In order to keep up with the Joneses, you’ll have to do the
same.
Try everything
CC member Mario Peshev spends six to ten hours on R&D per week. R&D means
experimenting with ideas or technology that may never actually become a product.
Being platform-independent and working on your own time is a way to try out a
platform, tool or library and see how it ﬁts with your process.
These new ways need not only serve R&D. After all, freelancers work on a project
to project basis, which means that opportunities to experiment on the job are
plenty. The same cannot be said about employees, who may be tied to their
company’s setup.
Influencers
Follow your giants. They got where they are by doing something right, so keep
track of the influencers making waves in the industry. As far as tech influencers go,
Twitter is the best place to seek them out. See what they share, who they follow
and the conversations they create. If they’re relevant online, they’re relevant.
A few we can think of are: Wordstream founder Larry Kim, open source and web
2.0 expert Tim O’Reilly, Erich Gamma (one of the “gang of four”), software
engineer Claus Ibsen, agile expert Lisa Crispin and software engineer Chiu-Ki
Chan.

Reading and Listening
Podcasts
Podcasts are a great way to absorb information while commuting or if you need a
break from work. A few we can recommend for both designers and developers are:
• Developer Tea - the whole premise of this podcast is that devs would listen on
their tea or coffee break, a short but concise listening experience.
• NodeUp - a podcast dedicated to Node.js hosted by Rod Vagg.
• HTTP 203 - Developers Jake and Surma talk about web development and
according to the podcast description, “No topic seems to be off-topic.”
• Design Details - this weekly podcast features all our favorite product designs
and is hosted by Bryn Jackson and Brian Lovin.
• The Drunken UX Podcast - the hosts Michael Fienen and Aaron Hill looks at all
aspects of web design and development while throwing back a few beers.
Plus, there’s a plethora of podcasts about the reality of freelancing. Here are a few
that are worth giving a listen:
• Six Figure Freelancer - experts share their ways of starting, growing, and
maintaining a 6-ﬁgure freelance career.
• Unemployable - digital entrepreneur Brian Clark, along with his notable guests,
shares actionable insights on how to succeed at being your own boss.
• Clients from hell - this popular podcast gathers horror stories from designers
dealing with the peskiest clients.
• The Tim Ferris Show - the author of The 4-Hour Workweek invites ﬁeld experts
to his show, and grills them on their work tactics, tools, and routines.

Books
Bill Gates allegedly reads about 50 books a year. Libraries are not just for code,
kids. Reading offline is just as important as it is online, give your brain a break from
the blue light. There is a lot of web development and design literature out there.
Books we can recommend to add to your library are:
• Clean Code - this book will teach you how to tell the difference between bad and
good code, write code, create good names, functions and more.
• The Pragmatic Programmer - learn how to ﬁght software rot, avoid
programming by coincidence, learn real requirements, solve the underlying
problems of concurrent code and more.
• The Gang of Four - this is a classic, known colloquially as “the gang of four”, this
book is actually called Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented
Software and it’s the bible.
• Grokking Algorithms - this one is just cute. Grokking Algorithms is a fully
illustrated, friendly guide that teaches you how to apply common algorithms to
the practical problems you face every day as a programmer.
• Head First Design Patterns: A Brain-Friendly Guide - this book looks at the
core design principles and design patterns in an easy to follow and digestible
way.
Courses
MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses are available for anyone at any time which
is useful for a busy tech freelancer. Taking a few courses every now and then is a
great way to stay fresh and not dive too deep. Coursera, edX, BitDegree and
World Mentoring Academy are few worthy shouts.

Events
Attending events can be unnerving, they are full of people but it helps when
everyone has a mutual interest. Plus, the networking opportunities are priceless.
Where to look for upcoming events in Europe:
• Tech.eu
• Information Age
• Tech Crunch
• Tech Radar
• Quora
• The Next Web
• Eventbrite
• European Women in Tech
• CodeControl Talent Summit
These are only a few suggestions, we encourage you to find your own learning path
and fill it with as many resources as you see fit. Keep learning!
CodeControl Talent Summit 2019 🔔Last year we gathered our members
from all over the world to join us for a two day CodeControl Talent Summit
here in Berlin. The goal was to give our members an opportunity to connect
with each other and to carry over those connections virtually, back onto
Slack. We had over 60 participants and inspiring guest speakers like Scott
Chacon - the co-founder of GitHub. With the current COVID-19 crisis, we
may be looking into a completely digital Summit this year.

The End
(not really)
There you have it, the end of this handbook. It doesn’t feel
like the end because technology and the role of a freelancer
are still progressing at a speedy rate. We at CodeControl are
so excited to grow with you every step of the way and
promise to keep updating and adding to this guide as time
goes by and trends change. Until then, we hope you
enjoyed our little guide to freelancing. :)

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