Do you think this could put a developer at a competitive disadvantage versus other developers who can offer more time (and may be cheaper, too)?

This may depend upon the type of work, the type of client, and whether you are a contractor or a subcontractor, but I wonder how this is perceived by companies who view freelancers as “employees for rent.”

I suppose that’s why you need to market yourself more as a company and not an individual–challenging for a soloist without a storefront–and also differentiate your services from the competition. IOW, you’d better have something the other guy doesn’t to charge more and spend less time with the client.

I see how you’re proposing the arrangement with the client–that would make me a bit uncomfortable to say but I suppose it could be learned. ;)

In my world the clients are government, which means you’re always coming in under someone else’s banner due to contracting regulations. I get a smaller cut, I have to commute onsite, and they want all my time. Not a bad gilded cage overall, but lacking some of the freedoms (and uncertainties) of agency-style client work.

So in my ideal weeks, I try to have one in ramp-up phase, one in full steam, one in ramp-down. Rather than splitting 15/15/15 hours across three clients, I aim for more like 10/25/5. Then the pitch becomes “I can do heavy work on your application in 2-4 weeks, but we can get started working me into the team right away; I can give you 10 hours starting Monday and we’ll adjust from there.”

The other thing that helps is to say something like “I know my hours are going to cost you more than the employee hours, so let’s be smart about how many of my hours we put on the project. Let’s start out around 10 a week and see whether you need more help than that.”

Do you have any tips on how to schedule multiple clients as a soloist?

In my freelancing days I never had more than one, and always believed clients would get spooked if I could only offer them 10-15 hours per week (given several clients and humane work hours).

How do you tell a client–straight, without flinching–that you can only offer a day or two per week?

P.S.: No problem here with rates. Pay my rate or buh-bye!