Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
- I am a sole proprietor. I've been doing this part-time since 1998 and full-time since 2002. I think that's pretty impressive, considering there are days I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.
- I know html well. I am creative, have good ideas and am super organized. I know enough CSS, javascript, php and mysql to make things happen and to do limited troubleshooting, but not enough to write something from scratch. I feel like some things are a bigger struggle than they really should be.
- I have a hard time keeping up with the latest and the greatest. I know I can't possibly know everything, but I still feel like I should.
- Up until recently, I had one really big client (an ad agency) and a few smaller ones. I "fired" the big client for many different reasons and I'm not unhappy with that decision, but now that my focus is on a lot of smaller clients, I'm stretched to my limits, timewise, but not making very much money.
- I got a dedicated server for reselling hosting and now that I don't have that big client anymore, I'm losing money and need new hosting accounts fast.
- I don't have the income to hire help, but I know I need to.
- I used to have a go-to person for backup and overflow, but no longer have a reliable option in that department.
- I have positioned myself as customer-service oriented and "affordable". I realize now that I can't afford to be affordable anymore.
- And then there are the clients who don't know what they want, but think they know more than I do when it comes to the web. I had a huge argument with a long-time client this week because he has a client who "doesn't know what she wants" in a site and therefore he couldn't give me specs, but he insisted on an estimate. I was baffled by this and finally said "anywhere between $4-8k." He wasn't happy and I've given up arguing with him. Logic tells me I don't want this business, but it's hard to turn down money when my family depends upon it.
I suppose I could go on and on here. And maybe you're reading this and nodding your head in sympathy. All of this boils down, for me, to money:
- How do I know I'm giving accurate estimates on a job?
- how do I keep myself from getting overbooked?
- Is getting a "real job" the key? Vacation time, right now, and a steady salary are very appealing right now. but at the same time, i'm pretty firmly established and I do, deep down, like what I do. And we're getting ready to have a kid and I want to be able to make work fit into my life and not the other way around. I'm not doing that now, but I sure can whip out loads of laundry while I'm working! ;)
How do you deal with all of these issues? Any suggestions?
The time-money issue is very important. If you can't quote correctly up-front then you need to move your clients to an hourly rate. If they are regular small jobs, they should be happy to just get a price after the work is done.
Dedicated servers are a great asset, unless it is a major financial liability, I'd try to keep with it. Learn how to use it!
Hiring help is a big plunge. Especially if you are somewhere that makes it hard to fire people. If you can get someone on a probationary or one-month-notice basis, then save up two months' of salary and just hire. Plan to fire the guy at the end of the first month if things aren't looking great. For the month before he starts work, let your clients, friends, family etc. know that you'll have him and are looking for new projects - they will come.
In house go-to is better than external go-to. Consider diversifying and using your own time and that of your employee, once hired, to build sites for your company. They could be simple content sites or more complex ideas, but the idea is that no paid hours are wasted - every hour will have a potential return.
As seems to be said here a lot: Cheap, good and fast. Pick two and then match your solutions to that choice. From what you say, you seem to be offering cheap and good; if you want to stick with that - consider outsourcing abroad.
You never depend on a client in this business, there are far too many of them. A wise developer knows to cherry-pick his clients. If needed, do some advertising or promotion to ensure that demand always exceeds supply.
- How do I know I'm giving accurate estimates on a job?
As I mentioned previously, use a time-billing basis. Failing that, track hours used on projects and then compare the new project to a similar project and how long that took. If the similar project took 100 hours and you base your quote on $120/hour, then the quote should be $12,000.
- How do I keep myself from getting overbooked?
Cherry-picking. Always have a waiting list and bump up any projects you feel suit you and your pocket. Being overbooked is the proper state for your business to be in. If you were underbooked you would have serious problems.
- Is getting a "real job" the key? Vacation time...steady salary
I've learnt the hard way that vacation time and a steady salary are things you need to make a priority in your business. If you do so then you will get them. For your vacation, decide your dates now, inform your clients and just take your holiday. For a steady salary, fight hard at the end of each month to get your salary - polish up projects, get out invoices, chase up unpaid bills - do your very best to make sure that your salary can be paid every month. Don't just leave it in the company account - put it through payroll so you can't end up spending it on company expenses.
- And we're getting ready to have a kid and I want to be able to make work fit into my life and not the other way around. I'm not doing that now, but I sure can whip out loads of laundry while I'm working!
Read my thread here:
[webmasterworld.com...]
Hope that helps and good luck in your future.
Chris
I never thought of jobs in terms of a waiting list. I have always felt like if the job presents itself, I should just do it. I will be hard to get out of that way of thinking, but I will get there.
I do track all of my jobs by hours and I've sort of been using that info for estimates, but now that I've started dabbling in ecommerce, it's a whole new world again. I have a good test job right now and am tracking every single minute I spend on it so I know better for the next time. Over the next week or so, I'll sit down with my timesheets and make a little cheat sheet for future reference.
Hourly billing...I definitely do that for ongoing maintenance and small jobs. It's the big jobs...big full-on sites with thousands of products or with a client who doesn't know what s/he wants, I'm not clear on how you can do that. They'd still want a price before getting started.
Thanks for your encouragement on the dedicated server issue, as well as the hiring issue. You're right. I need someone to come in and help, even just part time. I'm going to work on these, for sure.
And Chris, thanks for chiming in. I'll check out rentacoder.com. That sounds cool.
I am just so glad I'm not alone. I think I might even be able to sleep tonight!
One more question: How many hours a day do you all put in? I get up between 6 and 7 and I'm usually at my desk till 7 pm. Sometimes I dash out for appointments or errands and I'd like to start going back to the gym, but I just don't see how. Maybe once my current difficult gigs are over, things can get normalized again.
[blueflavor.com...]
Pricing a project
-enjoy
I think a big root of the problem is the dependence on the small clients. While it is often tempting to take on work with small clients, extreme moderation should be used in filling your time with this type of client.
In my experience, the small clients will suck the life out of you, to absolutely no end. They want, want, want. They stick their head in and try to micromanage every aspect of the project. It is understandable why; they are small and can't afford to have resources wasted so they scrutinize everything with their money. But it is extremely counter-productive and certainly causes friction.
There just really isn't a way to NOT underbid with the small clients. Either you bid a reasonable amount which the client can afford and then they drive costs through the roof by disturbing the process, or you bid what it will really cost you to work with them, and they can't afford it.
Either way, it's a losing situation. Put a couple of these together in your pipeline and you end up underpaid, and overextended. By having small clients taking up too much of your time, it leaves no time to go after or work with the clients you truly need - the medium or large fish.
The situation just spirals. Long-term, it really is more important to not take the short-term paycheck and allow your business to obtain "good" clients, rather than ones that bog you down. That's a very difficult thing to do though, to turn down clients when you are scraping by as is.
Marshall
bmcgee, are you stalking me? ;) You have very good points, but it sounds like my only solution is to ditch everybody and get a contract with a larger company. You know my history and how well that turned out with They Who Shall Not Be Named. Ugly. I also don't know if my confidence level is where it should be in order to go out and pitch myself to medium and large fish. I'm going to have to ruminate on this. Luckily, I do have one medium fish right now and that's getting the bills paid. for now.
marshall, I am SO glad you brought up that point. I have no idea why I never thought of it that way. I'm going to from now on.
essex_boy, I appreciate your input and I understand the business decisions behind outsourcing like that, but I don't agree with the practice, personally, and probably wouldn't ever do that.
