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We all know that developing a relationship with a client takes work. It sometimes is neglected at every stage in the process. This should never be the case. You need to be actively building a relationship with that client, beyond just the project. This client becomes a mouthpiece for your web design business. Whether you think they were the biggest pain to work with or whether you want them to or not, they will be. So how do you build this relationship?

We need to know the various stages that a client goes through so we can build a fruitful relationship. These stages circle around creating what we’ll call the client cycle. This cycle consists of three distinct stages, identified by various aspects of a project. They are the Prospect Stage, the Proposal Stage, and the Project Stage. Let’s look at each one individually. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s article is in response to a user request from my article on web design contracts.

Great! Really good article. I think it might be quite useful to outline what happens if money is not paid within the time specified - like a late fee or removal of site until payment etc.

Excellent question. So what do you do when a client doesn’t pay on time or at all? Inevitably it’ll happen to you too. No matter how much you guard against it, no matter how much you attempt to prevent it, you’ll end up with this question. Face it, sometimes clients won’t pay. It isn’t because the website isn’t what they wanted or asked for, it isn’t because you’ve done something wrong, it just happens. When a client doesn’t pay by the date you’ve agreed upon there really are only two thing you can do at that point and you’ve mentioned them both. However, I am going to take your question a step further and include not paying at all. What may start out as a late payment, might turn into no payment.
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We have all been there, a business card is thrust your way. What most of us do is take the card, stuff it in our pocket and then toss it when we get home. FORGET that kind of thinking right now, you just threw away a potential opportunity!

A seldom utilized networking technique is the art of business card networking. This is the process of exchanging business cards with others. Sounds simple, right? So why did you just throw away that business card? If you get in the habit of following these 4 steps, then you’ll be a master networker. No college degree required and no special linguistic skills needed.

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How much do I charge? How much is too much? How much is too little? I wonder if they will they pay that? Is my time worth that little? Oh my, if only I had a dollar for every time I read someone asking what the appropriate amount to charge for their services. You see it so often because there isn’t a simple guide on what rates are appropriate. Although I can not choose your pricing for you, by the end of this article you should have a good idea of where to look to set your rates.

Setting the perfect rates is an important part of starting a web design company. If you charge too much you will likely not get much work, however if you charge to little you’ll likely be worked to death. So how do you find the right balance? It is my belief that you do so by an understanding of the main types of charging available and the factors that go into positioning yourself. There are many different ways to charge your clients and we don’t have enough time to adequately cover all of them so we are going to focus on the major three:

• hourly
• by project
• residual/payment plan

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At some point we all need a contract. Nobody likes them, everybody hates them, yet we can’t live without them. They are a vitally important step in our web design business. In their absence a he said, she said, you said game is just waiting to happen. Learn what’s the difference between a proposal and a contract, what to include, and download a sample to get you started.

Don’t overlook this aspect of setting up your web business. If you do, you’ll be sorry. Sooner rather than later you’ll have a run in with someone who might say, “That’s not what we discussed.” Then they’ll proceed to take you on a roller coaster ride of changes, just because the vision they had at the beginning isn’t panning out the way it did in their head. With that said, having a contract won’t protect you 100% from clients like that and it won’t even be a 100% slam dunk to defend in court either. It’ll just help your case tremendously.
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