Just like any other freelance work, being a software gun for hire is about the choice between being a commodity or being a talent.
Being a commodity is both easy and unsatisfying. For good or bad, there is an ecosystem out there where you can get someone to write whatever code you want for the price of a large pizza and a beverage of your choice. There is definitely good here, as many people just need some simple code and do not have the requirement and burden of commercial quality software. And there are programmers willing to work a few extra hours for that pizza. If you are doing this by yourself, how do you prove to people you are worth the extra money? Better yet, how do you explain that the cheap code they just got will cost them more money in the log run? And do all this without sounding arrogant
But if software is your craft and being a freelancer is your livelihood, you want work that is more satisfying and frankly pays better. You then have to go after the work that matters, the software that that people paying for it care about the quality. You know you are the talent and you need to prove this. Then it is all about connections. Only people who know you or of you will trust you to do work that matters. Why would they trust their product to some guy with a laptop sitting at his house?
Ultimately you want to make sure you target people that you do not need to explain to why they need talent, not commodity. But then we are back to how you get them to trust you. And this is where a company like toptal comes in. They have the trust of the companies looking for talent, trust garnered by guaranteeing and delivering results, as well as proving that they know how to screen talent. Now it is up to you to prove you are that talent. So this is why I want to join the ranks of the Software Developers Group, so I can do work that makes me feel like I did something that matters.