Developing for Web – Part 1
Over the years I’ve spent more time than most trying to find an efficient way to deal with clients. Its probably taken me more time to perfect than mastering Front-End Development, but its such an essential skill. Considering I’ve paid silly amounts of money to try multiple tools and SaaS (Software as a Service)’s, I feel like I have finally got to a point where I have a good system in place that:
a) doesn’t make me look like a complete noob.
b) Makes me look professional, efficient and passionate.
c) Gives me plenty of paper work and documentation incase the relationship goes sour or becomes nasty, which lets face it, has happened to the best of us.
Im going to divide this post up into 4 parts:
Business / Client Management
Designing for Web Interfaces
Developing Web Interfaces
Handing Over and Maintenance
Let me tell you though, that I only know these things because shit has gone wrong in the past. I’ve let clients down, beaten my self up, given up, tried again, been threatened with law suits, the whole 9 yards. BUT. Im still here, business is booming and the feedback; not only from my design and development but also the feedback that I’m receiving from clients is now more accurate and 100% more positive…if all else fails I could sit around a table with Tim Ferris and have a good chat about it.
The main motivation of these articles is to help other freelancers, be it beginner or experienced, or even help individuals in startups and agencies. You can always learn something from some one else. These articles are geared towards Web Development, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that it doesn’t apply to you if you’re an illustrator, jewellery designer or interior decorator. All creative freelancers need to manage expectation, and for that to happen, you need to know exactly what services you’re providing and how to keep your client living in the realms of the realistic world.
So, without further a do — go grab your favourite cup of coffee and read the first part!
Developing for Web – Part 1
Over the years I’ve spent more time than most trying to find an efficient way to deal with clients. Its probably taken me more time to perfect than mastering Front-End Development, but its such an essential skill. Considering I’ve paid silly amounts of money to try multiple tools and SaaS (Software as a Service)’s, I feel like I have finally got to a point where I have a good system in place that:
a) doesn’t make me look like a complete noob.
b) Makes me look professional, efficient and passionate.
c) Gives me plenty of paper work and documentation incase the relationship goes sour or becomes nasty, which lets face it, has happened to the best of us.
Im going to divide this post up into 4 parts:
Business / Client Management
Designing for Web Interfaces
Developing Web Interfaces
Handing Over and Maintenance
Let me tell you though, that I only know these things because shit has gone wrong in the past. I’ve let clients down, beaten my self up, given up, tried again, been threatened with law suits, the whole 9 yards. BUT. Im still here, business is booming and the feedback; not only from my design and development but also the feedback that I’m receiving from clients is now more accurate and 100% more positive…if all else fails I could sit around a table with Tim Ferris and have a good chat about it.
The main motivation of these articles is to help other freelancers, be it beginner or experienced, or even help individuals in startups and agencies. You can always learn something from some one else. These articles are geared towards Web Development, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that it doesn’t apply to you if you’re an illustrator, jewellery designer or interior decorator. All creative freelancers need to manage expectation, and for that to happen, you need to know exactly what services you’re providing and how to keep your client living in the realms of the realistic world.
So, without further a do — go grab your favourite cup of coffee and read the first part!
Business / Client Management
My grandfather, Graham Higgo who was CEO of one of the biggest food manufacturing companies, Reckitt and Coleman, you know, the mustard on your sandwich right now? Thats made by Reckitt and Coleman, so was the Purity baby food that you used to throw up on your mom.
He managed a multi-national company, not one pesky freelance client. He gave me 2 pieces of advice before he died that I will never ever forget:
“There’s no emotion in business.”
“Partnerships are the only ships that sink.”
The emotional side in this case is more important than the sinking ship and this is the first point I want to make. You are a better person if you don’t take things personally. Trust me, its almost impossible after working 16 hours on a project that was on quoted for 4. A project where you spend all night working, go to sleep when the birds start tweeting (irritation-deluxe) and you put your head on your pillow, dreading what your client is going to say the next morning. Why do we get so scared of clients? They’re not Godzilla, they aren’t going to breathe magical blue fire down your throat — theres a reason why they are with you and not an agency.
What creatives seem to lack is a guided sense of clarity and infrastructure. Its expected, we get so caught up in colour and form that any administrative thought is like being sucked into a black hole. Well, thankfully this is 2015. If you’re serious about any kind of freelance work, dont make the same mistake that plenty of clueless other freelancers have made. Get shit written down. Communication, Communication, Communication.
Now before I make my point, i’d like to make another point. Don’t be cheap. There are tools to help you…and guess what? You have to pay for them monthly just like any business. Few businesses can reach 100% profit of outlayed service charge. Technology is your friend, and if you’re:
a) a web developer
b) a freelancer charging a substantial rate
then I don’t want to hear any excuses. Your hourly rate is normally over 500% more than the average hourly rate for casual work. So shhh.
Motiv is a Creative Freelance Business Management tool. There are plenty of alternatives, but at a crisp $15 / month, you aren’t going to do much better. Its fully customisable in terms of branding, and offers time tracking apps for iOS and Android as well.
The most important thing about Motiv is that it takes out a lot of admin and as a freelancing individual, it keeps you safe.
Motiv works by allowing you to create quotes which you can send straight out of the app to your clients, this also means that you can setup a client and their details (CRM), create invoices, proposals and most importantly contracts. The app also allows you to see when clients have opened up emails sent, and they can electronically sign contracts making them binding in a court of law. Even more importantly, not only for your client but also for you…you can track your bloody time.
I’ve been working at a agency for the last 2 months on contract, and wow. Their influence on time tracking for profit ratio’s is crazy. But it makes so much sense. You dont want to rip clients off, but at the same time, you also dont want to be taken advantage of. Get into the practice of tracking your time. If you’re developer, do you actaully know how long it takes to build a WordPress site? Sure, the scope of functionality can change, but its worthwhile, and it makes you look pretty damn smart.
Everything lives in one clean dashboard in Motiv, nice flat design makes the whole experience better as well. The comments from clients I’ve had so far, have been very very positive. They like the idea of the app and the approach to business.
Contracts are super important. It keeps your clients expectations realistic and it keeps you safe from doing an unlimited amount of pissy changes that only serve to frustrate you and lengthen the project. Motiv has a good templating system and you can jump in and customise the language to your liking. Its not legalize either so it makes understanding the entire tone of contract a lot better.
If you’d like a good introduction you can watch the video here:
It goes with out saying that the way you speak to your clients is just as important. Use this software as a tool, but make sure your meetings and email / telephone communication remain just as professional.
The last point I’d like to make is about staying detached from your work. Its hard as a creative to detach from work so close to you, the work that you’ve put hours into, trust me, I know. I have a client right now thats been such a bozo, easily pinning blame, making excuses, being rude and unnecessary. Its an emotional reaction, not a professional one. You must remain professional all the time. Dont retaliate, it will only make things worse. As much as you want him to get hit by a bus tomorrow — chances are he wont. Stand your ground, especially if you have a contract in place. The old saying of “Dont let them smell your fear” always comes to mind.
I will leave you with one last quote:
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you” — Jim Rohn
The next article in this little series will talk about how, after I’ve finished dealing with the proposals, contracts and payments (I’ll speak about payments in part 4), I use online tools to serve design to clients with ease and receive feedback that is actually worth something to the project!
Your first step after reading this article:
Go sign up to Motiv (Im not getting paid to say that by the way), give the trial ago, and please tweet me if you have any questions: @dainemawer
D