Month: December 2014
Price so your services are an investment
by
If someone can just barely afford your services you really need to make sure that they don’t view it as an expense. [Tweet “You need to price your services so that your clients step back and evaluate them as an investment for their platform.”] Links Art of Value with Cliff Ravenscraft Podcast Answer Man
Present and Practice
by
I was recently at an event put on by Atlassian. The main topic for the event was Git, with 2 talks given by 2 different developer evangelists. Outside of the talks being very salesy for Atlassian products (way more than I anticipated), the big thing that stood out to me was that both of these people…
The problem with pricing calculators
by
I admit that when I started working as a developer I used a pricing calculator to try and figure out what I should charge because I didn’t have a clue how to handle this part of my business. While the one I used is no longer around, you don’t go to many weeks without finding a…
You’re not there yet so you better keep learning
by
It feels odd to say, but I know that a bunch of you awesome people who read my site appreciate the advice I give, and I’ve earned some credibility with you. Acquiring this level of trust feels odd because I’m just some dude building sites for clients in a small town in British Columbia. The…
Don’t Make That Sale
by
I’ve been tempted more than once to sell a client on a site that they didn’t really need. Oh sure, in these cases maybe the client’s existing site design was ‘terrible’ or there was a better way accomplish their technical goals. But better design and slicker features aren’t the secret formula to increasing a client’s…
What if a prospect gives you their contract first?
by
Depends. How long is the contract? Do you need a lawyer to understand it? How much is the project worth? If it’s a 10k project and a 20 page contract I offer to bill for my lawyer. If it’s a 200k project and a 20 page contract then I had better have lawyer time built…
Figuring Out What You Really Value
by
Today we’re going to wrap up our short series on what you value by looking at creating a weekly schedule that actually reflects what you say you value. On Tuesday I told you to design your ‘ideal’ week but I didn’t really give you any framework to decide what is the most important thing for you to…
I value my sleep
by
This week we’ve been talking about demonstrating what you value, not just saying you value something with no action that backs up your claim. Monday we looked at how we say we value learning, but often don’t show it, and I gave you some practical advice on how to budget your time so your schedule accurately represents…
You’re not too busy you lie
by
This week we’re looking at what you really value. Not what you say you value, but what you show you value. What you say you value doesn’t matter. What you do to accomplish what you value matters. Yesterday we talked about paying lip service to learning and today we’re going to talk about all those ideas for…
Do you pay lip service to learning?
by
How much importance do you place on learning new things? I’m guessing you consider learning to have some importance, since you’re reading my site. But my follow-up question is: Are you really giving yourself the space you need to learn? That time I… I’ve considered other job opportunities during the course of running my own…
