[thelist] pricing for web sites?

[Joel Canfield]

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 8:42 AM, Bob Meetin <bobm at dottedi.biz> wrote:

> I have a particularly faithful client for years running, pays bill on
> time, you know and love the type.  However, there are pitfalls.  Every
> time she hears about something new, I hear the "Bob, would you look into
> this for me?" It might be a half hour, perhaps an hour, who knows?
>
> Do you consider this kind of research to be billable, the clock is
> ticking, or an assumed part of the profession?  We all should know all
> this stuff, right?  And it increases are value, yes?


*If* it adds value, do it. What's the percentage on her curiosity? As a
general rule, does it turn into paid work? If not, do you enjoy working with
her enough to do it free (which is what you're doing) ? Either way is fine,
as long as you know.

No, we shouldn't all know this stuff. We should be specialists; specialists
get paid more. If you specialise in A, I specialise in B, and Jenni
specialises in C, and we each refer to the other, our clients all get a
higher level of expertise, we can legitimately charge more (or get things
done faster and take in more work, or use the free time to write a book.)

If a client asks us for something we know nothing (or not enough) about, we
tell them "not our specialty." If they'd rather work with us than find
someone else, we tell them right up front we'll charge $XX to do some
research, or that we'll outsource the actual technical work, manage the
project, and charge them more than if they went direct to our source (and
we'll share our sources freely.) They usually ask us to do it because they
trust us, and don't know the source. (You can make good money by
establishing great trust relationships with people who have needs and people
who fill those needs.)

Don't try to be well-rounded. Be sharply pointed. Laser focus wins over
well-rounded.

joel
--
joel at bizba6.com
http://BusinessHeretics.com/