Best strategy for starting a remote work consulting company, likely targeting enterprise customers?

Hi everyone,

I am interested in starting a company that performs architectural design and development of web applications, and am looking for a little input from anyone who has had experience here.

I've been a software developer for 10 years and core proficiency is enterprise Java portals. I've also had some experience with building node.js projects as well. I've had experience and am very comfortable with managing outsourced teams.

My plan is to leverage my skillset to get off the ground as a solo consultant, and as the amount of work I bring in (hopefully) grows, I intend to scale up with outsourced (and potentially local) employees. Currently, I am considering getting an application architect certification (both for the shorthand credential that says I know the bare minimum and also for shining a light on all of my blind spots in application development) and targeting enterprise application development.

The first concern I have is that I do not have a portfolio of clients and work to show. My work has been property of the companies that have employed me, so I am a little stumped regarding how to make the case for myself. One option that comes to mind is to do dirt cheap or pro bono work until I have a reasonable amount (maybe 5 large projects or more smaller projects) to show. Does this sound reasonable? It seems slow going and I would like to get a return on my time as quickly as possible. And I'll still need to convince these folks to let me do dirt cheap development for them.

Another concern is not pigeonholing myself with a tech stack. Going independent I will be responsible for every part of the product, so I will need to invest a significant amount of time into my blind spots in the node.js or Java tech stacks. Enterprise Java seems to be mostly used by large enterprises and startups developing enterprise applications. Does anyone know whether, or how to tell whether, there is enough independent consulting work here to make it worthwhile? If these technologies are mostly used by large corporations like Goldman Sachs, etc. sure they'll have money to spend, but if they hire mostly in-house architects and developers, then I will be out of luck, and my time would be better spent ramping up my skills in node.js and end to end Javascript. In other words, I'm not certain how to determine where there is a market worth pursuing.

Any help from seasoned vets would be greatly appreciated.

 

One of my relative now retired joined her boss when he decided to start his own company doing similar things like you. Her boss had no computer background and only handled the business aspect. However he was still able to find project that was similar to what my relative did while they worked in the original company.

The first thing that might help you is to see if your previous work can be disclosed. But the most important thing was is look for clients. How did your previous company find their clients?