Being able to build is the baseline...

Being able to build is the baseline, and if I receive an offer on a partnership where the offer is "I can build". I'll be frank, there are so many people that can build, I'd wager that it's expected.

So why am I bringing this up? Because the highest leverage skill is not building. It's getting clients, closing deals, and bringing in revenue. I could create a post right now and look to hire somebody, and I'd get at least 10 people wanting to work.

So if that's the case that everybody can build, where is the leverage as a dev? Well, speed and reliability. Take this for example.

I took over a project from a dev a few weeks back, and one look at what he built told me everything I needed to know. This would not scale or work at all, and that's why they hired me. To fix the entire system because it was not working.

I rebuilt what needed to be rebuilt within a day. Used my experience to make sure that it does scale. And if they asked for extra things? I replied within an hour and fixed it.

In fact, this client was so surprised by my speed and knowledge that they asked for more. Which is my goal with every single client, turn a one-off into at least 3 orders. But this is only possible if you're on top of your game.

So instead of offering "I can build and you can bring leads," offer speed and reliability. Because at that point you're different, and of course the bigger portfolio you have, the better it is. And I don't mean show me the biggest, most complex thing ever made. I want to see how many different builds are under the person's belt and how they're built. Because with experience you'll realize that there is a right way to build things. And without that experience? We'll end up with a bad build that works in demo but not in the real world.

And proof from the client as well :)

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