| There are so many tangents to go off on, but let me pick this one thing to comment on: Read Justin Jackson's story about the Mayor vs. the Ad Agency Whichever price model you chose, you must learn early which clients are just wasting your time. There are no hard and fast rules, often it's just a gut feeling, but here are the mistakes I used to make & how to try to avoid them: 1) People who want to discuss their site for an hour or more on skype are not proper businessmen. Look for people who's time is money - they have some key questions for you, they don't just want to "chat" about their idea. People who just want to chat - get your hourly rate mentioned early. If you tell them "I charge X" and they still want to talk a bit, then go with your gut, but don't talk more than 15min. with anyone without giving some indication of the price. 2) Don't lower your price unless you are repeatedly being rejected at that price level BY THE TYPE OF CLIENT YOU WANT. That second part is important - your price will screen out the little projects you aren't really after. Don't worry if it is doing that job. But others will reflexively ask for a better deal, and won't push back hard if you don't budge. $10/hr less at "full-time" costs you $20,000 year that you'll never earn back. What always seemed to happen to me was, the moment I agreed to a lower rate, someone would come along who was willing to pay full rate, and now I'm massively stressed trying to do everything. 3) Ask to see any specs and/or designs early - offer to sign an NDA right up front This is to let you see how prepared they are, how professional they are, and if the work is defined well enough to be able to offer a weekly rate. Weekly rates are great, but they can be a harder sell for certain types of work. 4) Weekly rates are NOT risky if you define the number of hours/amount of work you can reasonable expect in a week. Project rates are dangerous. Weekly rates just mean, "Of course I can do that! You understand that will cost X, correct? Would you like to cut something else out, or just approve the overrun?" Weekly rates DO mean you need to be professional - you are promising 40-50hrs of actual work. For that reason I often go hourly to keep my personal flexibility. 4) Don't run out an "prepare yourself" for the techs you'll need for this project before signing the contract. This is for the younger folks starting out, mostly back-end developers. Create a career learning plan of technologies you want to improve at, and use down time to study those. Don't jump around to new languages/server tools/whatever that a potential client mentions & never get good at anything. To a point that's ok, when you really ARE new and need to get familiar with what is out there & being used, but get away from that habit quickly. If it looks useful, schedule it in your Career learning plan & visit at the appropriate time. I know there's plenty more, but I think those are solid enough that I feel comfortable offering them to people. Good luck! |