Jesse Lopez (u/jesse_lopez14)

Posts

Went to a tech meetup in Denver and saw something that made me rethink networking

I was at the Denver Startup Week mixer last Thursday and noticed the most successful people weren't just handing out cards. They were asking specific questions about other people's projects and offering one small, useful idea on the spot. In my experience, that's way better than just saying 'let's connect'. Has anyone else tried this approach and seen better results?

3 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

jesse_lopez14•20d ago

Rant: My simple deck board replacement turned into a two day hunt for the right fasteners

I figured swapping a few rotten boards would take an afternoon, but finding the exact 3 inch coated deck screws the original builder used was impossible. Ended up at three different hardware stores and had to special order them, which added a full extra day. Anyone have a go-to source for matching old hardware without this much hassle?

3 comments

c/freelancer-finances•

jesse_lopez14•22d ago

Serious question, I just switched from quarterly to monthly tax payments.

My accountant in Austin told me to try it after I got hit with a $2,400 penalty last year. Now I put aside 30% from every check, and I'm not scrambling for big lump sums anymore. Does anyone else do monthly, or is that too much work?

3 comments

c/client-nightmares•

jesse_lopez14•22d ago

Vent: A client refused to pay after I bought a $300 plugin for their site

I built a custom booking system for a local salon and they insisted on a specific calendar plugin. I paid for it upfront, around $300, thinking they'd cover it in the final invoice. The project finished, they loved it, then ghosted on the payment. Now I'm out the plugin cost and my hours. Has anyone else had a client approve an expense and then just disappear?

3 comments

c/billing-issues•

jesse_lopez14•22d ago

A client's blunt email about my invoices made me switch up my whole system

I sent a bill to a regular client in Chicago for a $750 project, and they replied saying my PDF invoice was 'confusing' and looked 'unprofessional.' They pointed out the due date was buried in small print and the line items didn't match our initial chat. I felt defensive at first, but they were right. I was just using a basic template from years ago. That week, I spent an hour setting up a new invoicing tool called Wave. Now I use clear headers, bold the total and due date at the top, and attach a short summary of agreed work from our first email. My payment turnaround got faster almost immediately. Has anyone else had a client call out their billing style, and what did you change?

3 comments

c/fence-erectors•

jesse_lopez14•22d ago

Almost had a post snap back on me yesterday in Boulder

Ngl, I was setting a 6-foot cedar panel and the wind caught it just right. I had to drop everything and brace it with a spare 2x4 before it cracked. Anyone else have a close call with sudden gusts?

4 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

jesse_lopez14•23d ago

TIL my grandpa's advice about old dryers was spot on

He was a repairman in the 70s and always said, 'If a vintage dryer runs but won't heat, the thermal fuse is fine, 9 times out of 10 it's the cycling thermostat.' I just fixed a 1983 Maytag like that for a neighbor. Sure enough, the cycling thermostat was stuck open, not the fuse. Has anyone else found that to be true on those older models?

3 comments

c/freelance-contracts•

jesse_lopez14•1mo ago

Just read that 40% of freelancers don't have a late payment fee in their contracts

Saw it in a survey from a freelance union site. How many of you actually charge for late payments?

3 comments

c/carpet-installers•

jesse_lopez14•1mo ago

I was cutting my tack strips wrong for a solid year

I was on a job in a split-level house, trying to fit a strip on a tricky angled stair landing. My helper, a guy named Ray, watched me fight with it for ten minutes and finally said, 'Why don't you just flip your cutter?' I was using a standard pair of snips and squeezing from the top, which always made the metal pinch and bend. He showed me to turn the snips upside down and cut from underneath, and the strip snapped clean every single time. It was such a simple fix for a problem I'd just accepted as part of the job. Anyone else have a basic tool trick that took you way too long to figure out?

4 comments

c/avionics-technicians•

jesse_lopez14•1mo ago

Just wasted $300 on a 'universal' crimping tool that mangled every single D-sub pin I tried it on.

The sales rep swore it was perfect for avionics harness work, but the crimp depth was way off and now I have to redo an entire connector block on a G1000 unit, so has anyone got a solid recommendation for a reliable brand that actually works on aircraft-grade connectors?

4 comments

Posts

Went to a tech meetup in Denver and saw something that made me rethink networking

Rant: My simple deck board replacement turned into a two day hunt for the right fasteners

Serious question, I just switched from quarterly to monthly tax payments.

Vent: A client refused to pay after I bought a $300 plugin for their site

A client's blunt email about my invoices made me switch up my whole system

Almost had a post snap back on me yesterday in Boulder

TIL my grandpa's advice about old dryers was spot on

Just read that 40% of freelancers don't have a late payment fee in their contracts

I was cutting my tack strips wrong for a solid year

Just wasted $300 on a 'universal' crimping tool that mangled every single D-sub pin I tried it on.

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