[thelist] Spec Work Pt. 2

the head lemur headlemur at clearskymail.com
Wed Aug 29 11:18:37 CDT 2001


First Thought: RUN!!
add it to the experience file. My experience is these deals are like lending
money and needing it back. Doesn't work well and engenders bad feelings and
broken friendships.

Second Thought:
are you really sure?
there  is a lot to be said for swapping services. most of it bad.
MLM, percentage deals, you do the work, we get the money ect.

I do a lot of sites for wrecking yards. most of these folks are doing web
business in the 30-50,000 bucks a month range from website leads.

If I had worked out a percentage deal, I would be sitting in my bathrobe
cashing checks and surfing all day long.
I would also have to hire an accountant to track the lead to sales, compute
the percentages, make sure the money was right, become a much more active
part of their business, and generally think about cars and parts, shipping,
chargebacks, returns, recalculating compensation, and on and on.

Nowhere in the above is there any mention of web design, new clients, or
more work, let alone surfing.

I am a web developer, not an accountant, or a wannabe business partner.

Most people who offer these type of 'deals' are the last folks who are
looking for another business partner that has no experience in their
industry. Nor do they understand the implications of what is required to
maintain such a relationship especially when you factor in the intrusive
nature of what You need to do to protect yourself in terms of accurate
reporting and fairness. Let alone getting paid.

Third Thought:
There will always be someone to beat you on the money. Always!
Your validation has to be on expertise and service.
You can get damn near anything to show up in a browser.

You cannot fight on price. You have to demonstrate ability and expertise.

What level of validation/optimizing/architecture/design/pre and post launch
service/submission/updates/maintenence/competitive analysis/due
diligence/experience/etc. are you demonstrating?

If your client is shopping on price, send them to Wal-Mart.

What longevity in terms of previous work can you demonstrate?
(the average website life is 44 days)

You can build websites for 200 clams. But you can't do much else unless you
are running your business as a non-profit operation.

Building websites is like having children. You give birth to them, raise
them, send them out into the world. You have to take care of them, long
after they have left the nest. Their  activities reflect your values,
ethics, and commitment. If you have been successful, you will know about it
in terms of new work.

Web development is a field that has a low cost of entry, an enormously high
failure rate, and is a moving target in every aspect of it. You also have to
become competent in areas not connected with the design area.

If you are not, trust me, you will be pursuing other interests shortly.

Sales, Accounting, Education, Promotion, Billing, Collections, Profit and
Loss, Taxes, Insurance, Contracts, Copyright, Theft, to mention a few.

Did I mention that full time web development will require somewhere between
70-90 hours a week of your time? Of that, maybe 10-20% is billable.

Did I mention that I will never, ever, do anything else untill they pry my
cold dead fingers from the keyboard?

the head lemur
Web Standards
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