1. An easier way to respond to equity based web development requests

    I recently received (another) equity based request for my services. We all get them from time to time, some more than others. This one was based around (reluctantly) giving away a small piece of equity in an idea in exchange for developing it all for free. Not something i’m very fond of doing unless I truly love the market they’re getting into (gaming, advertising, tv, films for example) or it comes with convincing financial statements.

    Here’s the straight forward and simple reply i’ve put together which was used in this situation (and will be used in similar future situations):

    Thanks for getting in touch. I’m afraid I don’t work in equity situations that value the idea more than the person putting it into execution. Thanks for getting in touch, but i’m not interested in this case.

    Good luck with the idea, I hope you guys make it a great success :) Feel free to send me an e-mail rubbing it in if that’s the case further down the line.

    There are several reasons for the language in this e-mail:

    • bold statement to declare i’m not interested because it is undervaluing me
    • making sure it ends friendly and opens up for witty banter
    • making sure there’s an opportunity for myself to be ridiculed if the idea becomes a success later down the line

    If you’ve responded to similar requests or have an e-mail that you yourself use in this situation I’d be happy to hear from you and discuss your experiences in the comments below.

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  2. Prioritising development

    speedy gonzales Prioritising development

    Developers when young in their career are keen to impress. The words “I’ll get on it straight away” are often used and the client ends up being impressed as a result. This works very well and everyone ends up happy when the workload is kept low.

    The problem occurs when growth accelerates and the developer has to learn to say “it’ll be two weeks” to a client who wants it within two days. When “I’ll get on it straight away” means that you’ll likely reach the job in a few hours rather than a few minutes.

    There are several ways to deal with this to ensure you aren’t bogged down whilst working on current projects by past clients and side jobs alike.

    Support contracts

    Sell x hours a month to your clients to ensure they’re paying for the time you spend maintaining and updating their sites when they come back to you. It benefits both sides as it means you have a reason to get to the job sooner and it means the client is happy to place requests in a certain format and manner as set out in the contract. Want to give a two week lead time? Make it clear in the contract.

    Make sure free support time is limited.

    Ensure you have a 30, 60 or 90 day cap on free support for bug fixes and issues with a website. This isn’t to say that you will launch bug-filled websites, but it’s to say that there’s a point where by the final payment for the project has left your bank account and that it’s no longer fine to work any further on the project.

    Schedule projects in, and turn projects down.

    Probably the most important of the three in my opinion. The ability to schedule work and changes properly is only ever going to benefit your work life and happiness overall working on projects. If a change comes in that will be billed as a day then you need to book that in for a certain date so that the client knows when to contact you regarding that change.

    Setting time aside for this each week is also a great idea for handling large or regular loads of work of this nature. If you can set aside time for this it’s certainly a great idea. If you don’t have lots of changes to do one week then you have time off and it works well in the opposite direction too.

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  3. Another designer trying to take over your project?

    An ex-designer colleague of mine came to me the other night and asked me for some advice. He’s a freelance designer and has a set fee for a project he’s working on, but has ran into some trouble over the final design. This was his situation:

    • he was two months into a big project
    • the project involved one sole contact of the client
    • the project involved one developer, who also does design
    • all management and communication is through Basecamp
    • he is almost near the end of the project and the developer (who also does design) asks “hey, mind uploading the PSD? I want to try a few things…”

    There’s two clear paths to take here in my opinion:

    The worst: go crazy, get paranoid

    State very clearly you want to control the design, it’s yours, hands off. Do it on Basecamp and in front of the client. Make sure you well and truly make the client regret hiring you.

    The best: think it through

    Approach the client 1-on-1 and tell him you’d rather not adhere to the developer’s request. You think you’re close on the design concept and want to follow through with what you’ve done. Then, once you have worked something out directly with the client post a positive reply essentially saying “I’ve discussed this with the client and think it would be best for me to remain 100% in control of the design, I should have something up shortly”.

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