1. Become expert on something
"I became an expert by accident. I happened to be playing with Nginx, a web server with a funny name. I decided I would figure out how to write my toy programs as extensions to Nginx rather than as standalone programs. I poked around the code and jotted down observations in a notebook. My first Nginx extension, a culmination of weeks of effort, was around 100 lines of code so I decided to put my notes onto an Nginx mailing list. My guide was an instant hit in Russia and all of the sudden I was an expert in this limited domain. I got an email a few days after later asking if I wanted to write an Nginx module for an Internet start-up."
Evan Miller, open source contractor
2. The more esoteric, the better
"I started working on x264, the only open source H.264 video encoder. I knew basically nothing and was experimenting with the simplest things. Slowly but surely, I learnt the codebase and eventually got my first major patch in. I taught myself x86 assembly, and then SIMD assembly. and finally, the subtleties of C pointers. I finally realised that the best way to learn how things work is to identify some way to improve them, and then go and do it--the process of doing it will eventually teach you how it works. When Adobe released the latest version of Flash 9, which supported H.264 video, suddenly, thousands of websites were interested in switching. As a developer of x264, I was in demand!"
DarkShikari, Hacking News
3. Take part in a code sprint
"Open source consultancies or companies rate code sprints, or competitions, as a great way to recruit contractors and find the right people to hire. You see how people work in an intense coding session, over the course of a few days, and you see how they interact with others. More than 70% of those I’ve recruited are people who participated in a sprint."
Nate Aune Jazzkarta
4. Be an active community member
"Traditionally, advice about marketing emphasises networking and word-of-mouth referrals. That is true for open source developers too, of course, because recommendations from happy customers are always the best way to get new ones. However, there are a few marketing resources that are peculiar to the open source community, or at least emphasized in open source circles: the community itself. Because open source communities encourage conversation and collaboration, your presence as an authoritative, helpful, and knowledgeable resource can drive business your way. "
Esther Schindler, JavaWorld
5. Ignore proprietary software at your peril
"You may be flying the flag for open source, but that doesn't mean you should ignore what's happening in proprietary software circles. In other words, it could benefit you to interact with the ‘Kool-Aid drinking Microsofties’. Staying in touch with the proprietary crowd will also help you understand where their pain points and frustrations are. You can use those competitor frustrations in your own marketing. Drop them in a conversation with clients."
Brian Jamison, Opensourcery
6. Give talks for free
"Talks can generate interest in what you're doing. I gave several talks on ‘How to use Plone for nonprofits’ that led to plenty of work. But, the leads don't necessarily come from people at the talk or from those to whom you handed out business cards. What you spend time on is what will come back to you. This method of getting business by sharing knowledge isn't unique to open source, of course. But it is even more meaningful for a start-up open source consultant who has to demonstrate expertise."
Nate Aune Jazzkarta
7. Learn how to defend open source
"A unique attribute of being an open source consultant is that you are often asked by potential customers to defend open source choices. Don't argue technical merits - that's a useless effort with customers who may not understand the technical niceties. Instead, ask them very same question of the closed alternative that they're considering. So, your potential customer might ask, ‘How can you use an open source content management system; don't you worry about security?’ Suggest to the customer that they ask the other vendor, ‘How do you know that the products you're using are secure, when nobody else but the vendor is looking at it?’ "
Brian Jamison, Opensourcery
9. Be a well-behaved open source citizen
"Your best marketing strategy as an open source contractor is to be visibly part of the larger ecosystem even when this means competing with other open source. We work together but we each have to do our part to keep the community healthy and alive. So write documentation, serve on the board for your project, organise user groups, and above all, contribute code."
Nate Aune Jazzkarta
10. Don't go it totally alone
Organisations such as the Open Source Consortium in the UK are good places to meet and mingle with other open source enthusiasts and professionals, while the chartered institute for computing, the BCS, has an open source special interest group. But it doesn't have to be specific to open source. Membership organisations are good places to learn lessons from other, more experienced open source professionals and can make a huge difference.
11. Learn to say no
"Every new consultant is offered opportunities that should be turned down, Jamison points out. It might be because that early consulting gig would lead to specialization you don't care for; if you write one iPhone app, you'll forever be branded as the iPhone app guy. You have to learn to Say No, no matter how hard it is to do so, Jamison says. Say No to offers to work for sweat equity, to scope creep from customers, to lowering your price. "
Brian Jamison, Opensourcery
With thanks to Esther Schindler, JavaWorld
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