If 2 of you can't handle all of the early stage development work, then you need a third partner. Why would anyone any good work for you without getting equity?

This is hacker news. One of the primary beliefs here (correct me if I'm wrong) is that this is the best time ever for one or two good hackers to start a business if you can build something people want. Why? The incredibly low cost of entry, available technology, tremendous demand, etc. All you need is some skill, some smarts, a couple of laptops, and whole lot of determination. You don't even need much money. That's the good news.

Now the not-so-good news (for non-hackers). This is a sufficient condition. BUT IT IS ALSO A NECESSARY CONDITION. You gotta be able to hack. If you can't, then why bother?

I know. I know. You need both development and design. Design without development is a brochure. Development without design (although not a good idea) can be a sustainable business. Just ask google.

Many hackers here already do work for big companies for pretty decent $. And we're still unhappy because we want better. We want our own. A web/tech/software business has to be founded by hackers; anything else doesn't make much sense to me.

Didn't mean to sound so negative to the original poster. Maybe they ARE good hackers. But if not, they need at least one rock star hacker as a co-founder, not a freelancer.

This post kinda reminds me of opening a dentist's office if you can do everything needed except fix teeth. Imagine an ad, "Dental Hygienist and Office Manager looking to hire a freelancer to fix teeth." If I'm a dentist (who is any good), why would I respond to that ad? I'd just open my own practice. Why should hackers accept any less?

And yes it is cheap relative to other businesses. Try opening a restaurant with only 2 laptops, some determination, but no money.

I'll rephrase myself: "You don't even need much incremental money". You have living expenses whether you do something or sit on your butt. Better to do something.

To address some things...

@edw519 - This isn't a start-up situation. As I said, this would be freelance, (i.e., we pay them). And this is for client work that comes along, not an internal project that would be relevant to an equity situation. I didn't think that hiring freelancers when work exceeded manpower was that ass backwards...

@lanej0 - My developer is to an extent, but I was also looking for more resources. Can't hurt to expand right? Also, on your other point, it's tough working with college students because of their schedules. But it is something we've explored.

@everyone - I want to stay away from elance and the like. I'm not looking for someone who can low-ball the best, I'm looking for someone who can do great work. Also, job boards aren't the best either. They are useful for AFTER you get the proposal. I'm looking for resources so that when client work comes in, I'll have some names on hand to contact to determine if I can take on the job. It's kind of a preemptive thing. Too many of these job boards focus on the specific job, not the talent pool.

@tmm - A good way to find designers is to check out design galleries and design communities. That way you will be able to judge the talent pretty easily by the work they've done. A simple email will get the ball rolling. Most designers say whether they are looking for freelance work right in their portfolio.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

Very well then... Colleges and universities aren't bad. Most students will work for a reasonable rate, and most CS majors can handle a little PHP easily.

just what you're looking for