What Is a Professional PHP Freelancer?

image courtesy of Kate B. Harding

Today, it won’t be long, but rather straight to the point with a simple question:

• Is it looking the part with fancy clothes, a flash website and fancy business cards?
• Is it having all the right processes, procedures and business structures in place?
• Is it how you present yourself?
• Is it your business correspondence, such as letterhead, email signatures and so on?
• Is it how you handle yourself, your employees, your sub-contractors when things are going wrong - as well as when they’re going right?
• Is it your professional approach?
• Is it that you always send legal contracts when your project proposals?
• Is it use of professional finance management software?
• Is it how you deal with an unprofessional client?
• Is it the number of hours you put in to your business (or that you don’t work yourself to death)?
• Is it how you reward your best clients?
• Is it the number of skills and level of knowledge you have?
• Is it the number of conferences you attend yearly?
• Is it your involvement in the local user groups?
• Is it your involvement in the local community?
• Is it your contribution to Open Source projects?
• Is it your source code on Github?
• Is it your blog?
• Is it the current new skill, hot trend or topic that your learning all about?
• Is it your thoughtfulness and consideration towards younger developers?

In your opinion, what is a professional PHP freelancer to you? And are you it? Leave your opinion in the comments.