Peter Toth has worked as a freelance SAP consultant for many years, taking on projects throughout Europe remotely from his home in Hungary. He graduated college in 1997 and began working for consulting companies in Austria and Germany. He later started working remotely from Hungary and focuses on areas like ABAP, BI, and print workbenches. While he does not actively seek new clients, he finds work through connections from previous projects. He recently joined Freelancermap to potentially find new clients as he works to relocate his family to the United States.

1. FREELANCER INSIDES
Peter Toth
– SAP ABAP Senior Developer
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© freelancermap.com
10.01.2014
Contact: info@freelancermap.com

2. Freelancer from the beginning
Peter Toth graduated from college
and directly became an independent
SAP Consultant, working in different
European locations. He describes
himself as a passionate dad, remote
SAP consultant, US “lover” and…
well… NOT as a Marketing guy. Let’s
find out how the likable and
committed Hungarian acquires SAP
remote projects without big
marketing efforts.

3. Peter Toth
1) Firstly, can you tell us bit about yourself!
I like to think that I am the best daddy and husband ever. This
important aspect is what defines and motivates me.
Professionally speaking, I finished Kando Kalman Polytechnic in
1997 and started working in Austria. It was the longest two
months of my life, adjusting to the new environment was not
without difficulties. My next assignments were in Germany and
they came and went quickly.

4. Peter Toth
1) Firstly, can you tell us bit about yourself! (cont'd)
After meeting my wife, I moved back to Hungary and continued
to work remotely. Later, a colleague called me to join him at the
first IS-U project with SAP Hungary. Ever since, I get continuous
contracts from SAP Hungary as well as from other consulting
companies. After my son was born my wife and I decided to try
to permanently relocate to the United States in order to be able
to provide him with as many opportunities as possible. This has
been my biggest and hardest ongoing project yet.

5. Peter Toth
2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the
three keywords you would type in the search bar?
ABAP, IS-U, BI-IN. Although these are very common
abbreviations, they are not what head -hunters search by when
they are looking for new faces in my field. The more specific
descriptions like schema, tariffs (which are the same) or PWB
are their usual lead, however, these do not necessarily come up
with the sole key phrase of BI-IN typed in.

6. Peter Toth
3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide
to become a freelancer?
I just happened upon freelancing while reading an
advertisement in an economics magazine after graduating from
college. A company was looking for freshers. I applied, they
assessed me, and the next day I was hired. This job was not
meant to be permanent, but it became a long -term contractor
position. So I was practically freelancer from the beginning of my
career.

7. Peter Toth
4) What kind of services have your clients asked you to
provide?
It is always ABAP development when we discuss the position
with the client in the first round, however later I find myself in
BI-IN consulting, print workbench consulting, or wherever I am
needed. Recently, I found myself in the PM team as the only PM
developer ironically, as I had been solving upcoming tickets for
past three months, and my coworkers just assumed that I was a
PM developer. Similar story with CRM in another case, this was
despite the fact that I voiced that I had never done CRM before.

8. Peter Toth
5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills
that you don’t possess?
No. Customers and consulting companies usually already know
what areas I am the best in. Of course there is always something
new in the box. If I do not possess the necessary knowledge or
skill, I learn it or debug the code to understand how it works.
Some may disagree, but I believe that due to SAP being such a
good collection of programs and tables, its basics are extremely
transferable and applicable.

9. Peter Toth
6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in
your services?
I had to think about this one awhile. I was never forced to search
for new clients since I had always been working on a project.
Usually by the time the project ends a new contract already turns
up. With our immigration plans however, I recently started looking
for potential clients. Although, I am relatively well known in
Europe, particularly in Hungary, it is not without difficulties to
market myself in a completely different geographic area, where I
am not yet familiar with the ins and outs of the system.

10. Peter Toth
7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit
about your experience with our IT-network?
I have current ongoing contracts, so I have not had the chance to
really start using freelancermap.com. Nevertheless, I received a
call last week with an interesting offer, and three written
queries since I joined. Quite exciting! I also read the newsletter
where I had already found 2-3 potentially interesting positions
so far.

11. Peter Toth
8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? What
makes you special?
I do not. Unfortunately, I am not good in self-marketing. I just do
my job, the best I can. Up until now this approach has worked
well for me. I am currently running at a 200% level in order to
meet all my deadlines. In the meantime, I am considering hiring
a PR company to polish my image for the US market.

12. Peter Toth
9) What are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read
to stay up to date in the IT-market?
I read the news only electronically. The only SAP specific site is
SCN. I also read a lot of blogs popping up when searching
solution for specific problems with Google. My IT-specific news
comes from friends and colleagues, but as a geek I read
techblogs like Gizmondo or Engadget. I also follow interesting
publishers on G+ like The Verge or a Hungarian blog:
bestandroid.blog.hu. Or just for fun: Lifehacker.

13. Peter Toth
10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our
readers?
Living in Hungary I work 99% remotely, which comes with its
associated pros and cons. On one hand, I have a chair and a desk
with three notebooks in my office, allowing me to work at up to a
300% production level. While it sounds efficient, it translates to 1217 hour work days and no boss to send you home the end of the
day. It is strenuous to keep up this routine and would be impossible
to do it permanently, however changes in laws and being an expert
in a specific field often require such desperate measures.

14. Peter Toth
10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our
readers? (cont'd)
I often find myself involved in multiple additional projects with tight
deadlines when they need me, on top of my regular work schedule.
On the other hand, I am lucky to be always around when my son or
wife need me and I really enjoy this aspect. Working from home also
allows me to allocate study time for self-improvement. For example,
I am striving to learn more about CRM, because I have been quite
curious since my first encounter. Another interesting field is HANA.

15. Peter Toth
10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our
readers? (cont'd)
While I only have superficial knowledge now, it seems to have a lot
of potential and a lot to offer, so I definitely am planning on
spending more time with it.
I guess I am still the kid who takes apart and dismounts daddy’s
electronic stuff to see how it works. I just need to find the time and
maybe a sandbox for it.

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10.01.2014
Contact: info@freelancermap.com