tedster - 8:15 pm on Mar 8, 2001 (gmt 0)

Welcome to Webmaster World forums, BC. Given your provocative nick, you may not need this particular bit of advice, but here goes anyway.

Dealing with small businesses and mom-and-pops (I do a lot of both) realize you will be in the client education business in many cases. Find a way to make this essentially self study, and encorporate hands-on treatment into your fee structure. Otherwise, your time can be eroded very fast and undermine your profits. Be very clear about charging for phone and email communications.

In general, be sensitive about pricing. In larger businesses I've found that funding is a well oiled business process. In smaller operations, every detail may be a new, agonizing decision -- and you're often dealing directly with the person whose wallet is being opened. This calls for a very firm but diplomatic approach. Small businesses in my experience often underestimate what resources (money and manpower) it takes to develop a decent site.