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Three88bu
Premium Member
join:2004-08-14
Huntley, IL

Three88bu

Premium Member

Possible side work...advice?

I have been approached by an acquaintance to do a fairly complex website for him and a friend on the side.

This is the second time i would be doing this, the first was for family.

Just curious if anyone has some good advice. Things I know I need to be thorough with is:

Properly setting expectations on deliver-ables.
Documenting requirements properly.
Communication in general.

Please share your rate if you dont mind doing so. I am no graphic designer so that is definitely not my strong suit. I may recommend to them to farm that part of it out to someone a bit more qualified. I can handle every other aspect of the site without issue.

Some details of the site:

Developed in ASP.NET 4.0 / SQL Server 2008
Likely fairly heavy use of AJAX/JQuery
Will integrate with Google maps and likely other related map data services. (Yelp, Google Places possibly?, etc)
User login capability.
NO eccommerce

Thanks.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

1. Read this so you have a clue going into #2
2. Get a lawyer for the work contract and to cover your ass.
3. Document EVERYTHING. If you have a simple contract form, document exactly what fields are included, any conditional logic, where it gets sent, etc.
4. Your project scope will creep. When it does, change orders are required. Repeat #3.
5. Prepare to make enemies.

I was in almost the same shoes as you were last summer. If it wasn't for me insisting a signed contract before any real work began, I would have been in a lot of hurt. The money never really was there, the verbally agreed rate would not have been honored, the scope would have wildly swung all over the place.

Also, don't forget to consider just the development, but any type of warranty period, ongoing maintenance, hosting, support, etc. Also are you an employee, or is this just contract work. If it's contract and the rights to the work aren't explicitly signed over as part of the contract, YOU own the copyright even if they pay for an hourly rate. That can be used as part of your negotiations leverage.

Three88bu
Premium Member
join:2004-08-14
Huntley, IL

Three88bu

Premium Member

Thanks for the input!

Yes, this would just be considered contract work. Ill check out that book.

stray
join:2000-01-16
Warren, NJ

1 recommendation

stray to Three88bu

Member

to Three88bu
Hmmm... I've been contract programming for 30+ years. Never used an attorney, never made an enemy, never had a non-payer, never been sued or gone to arbitration, and never been burned.

Hints from my experience:

1. Always exceed the clients' expectations. Really the most important thing.
2. Always get to know your client and their business. Can they afford the project? Where's the money coming from? What's their business model? Does it all make sense? If they're leveraged beyond reasonable business practices, time to walk away. Even if you get paid up front, it will get ugly later. Take on projects that are likely win-win.
3. I don't negotiate on price. I always ask the client beforehand about their budgetary limitations and then try to craft an agreement that meets their needs. If they get in my face about money after this process and before the project even starts I'll pleasantly move on.
4. The Nolo books are a good start on the legal issues, including what it means to be a contractor (taxes, liability, and IP ownership.)
5. Clients who don't know much about what they need usually go on hourly rate, rather than fixed price. If I go hourly, I usually supply an estimate, and keep the client informed about hours expended and shoot 'em an email whenever they've implicitly asked (feature creep, etc...) for more hours (before I've invested the time.)
6. First time clients get a brief contract with an Appendix containing the specs, schedule, and costs. Complex specs are billed to the client, even before the big contract.
7. Long time clients with whom I've bonded usually just get an email containing the terms; I ask them to shoot me back an email with their explicit assent.
8. Figure out milestones where you've accomplished some tangible things and connect your billing to those milestones, i.e. bill clients just after you've done something great for them.
9. If there's a payment problem, promptly call the client and ask them politely if you've disappointed them in any way, and if so, how can you fix it. Try to tie in payment to the accomplishment of those fixes.
10. Keep some of the crown jewels until you've been paid; perhaps the passwords, or some limitation on the size of the database, or source code, etc... No need to rub this in the client's face. If they treat you well, they should never know that you kept the keys to the kingdom pending payment.
11. Check in with the client a few times after project completion to see how things are going. If they have some minor tweak, or found a small bug, AND they're not being abusive, just fix it for free (assuming it doesn't take more than an hour or two.) You'll get much love and repeat business that way. If they're abusive, go hourly on them and keep a short leash on your billing.
12. Never leave in anger (even though you might be angry.) Allowing the client to save face will pay dividends in the long run.
13. Client gender matters. Guys can trade harsh words, then go out for beers and everything is dandy again. Gals tend to hold a grudge because of the harshness, not the substance of the argument. YMMV.
14. Don't let your clients see you sweat. Assure them calmly that their technical problem has a solution, even if secretly you're not sure. Chalk up the "not sure" work hours to your own education; don't slam the client for the whole thing. Down the road you'll use the knowledge again.

Sorry to be so long winded. Just my own experiences.

Three88bu
Premium Member
join:2004-08-14
Huntley, IL

Three88bu

Premium Member

Thanks much, great input! Gives me some more to think about.