The short version is : We're in a situation where we have no problem landing short term contracts, but are having trouble finding a project that will let us scale, ideally we'd like to have a revenue stream that lets us dedicate a good portion of our time to building a product.
I'm sure a bunch of you have been in similar situations and I'd love to know what else we could be doing to move to the next level, in addition to trying to leverage our network (which is good for short term projects but not larger ones) currently we're:
Building useful things and releasing them for free : https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/trello-card-dependencies/ddhnhdoghhfoeceiohphmjkcemlkkock
Lecturing at local universities
Sponsoring and organizing a local meetup
Talking to people who have done this
This is an extension of the last point, I'd like to hear from anyone that has insight. I can't find a sort of job board but for small contracts of this type, is there a name for agencies that would know of these types of engagements etc?
Thanks in advance !
The main influence on the kind of contracts you can get is the way you market yourself.
Don't market yourself as a 3 man team, market yourself just as a consultancy, don't explicitly state the size. Have a nice portfolio and people will just see what they want to. If you can complete the work asked for then I wouldn't see this as an issue, although some people would.
Some good contracts to start with (at least in the UK), are small government tenders. I don't know where you're from or what the system is like there.
Also try target more upmarket clientele. Law firms etc. Instead of charging a large fee for the work, charge a smaller fee but have a recurring monthly support cost. If they want the site updated do that, if they have some small feature to add, add it (within reason, some clients will try take advantage of this).