Good Contracts Make Good Business. Or, ‘F*ck You, Pay Me’
When I talk to new free-lance programmers about running a business, there are two core pieces of advice I offer. The first is that it‘s almost always better to have a little high-paying work than a lot of low-paying jobs. The other is the importance of a lawyer-reviewed contract that clearly defines the work to be produced, the date by which it will be completed and the cost of that work.
So I was very pleased to come across a Creative Mornings talk, given by Mike Monteiro of Mule Design and his attorney, Gabriel Levine, which reinforces and expands upon those basic ideas.
(via zeldman.com and Google Reader Play)
This is a long video (40 minutes) but worth every moment. But for the tl;dw crowd, here’s a synopsis of the salient points:
- Contracts protect both parties – you and your client.
- Don’t start work without a contract.
- Don’t blindly accept your client’s terms.
- Anticipate negotiation but don’t back down on important stuff – payment, deadlines and your intellectual property rights in the work until final payment is received.
- Lawyers talk to lawyers. If your client is talking to you in the presence of, or through, his lawyer, get yours or don’t talk.
- Be specific and confident about money. Ask for the rate you deserve and don’t back down on terms.
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My Glee-ful Piracy And The New Media Mistakes Of The Old Media
I’m a late-blooming gleek. But I’ve caught “Glee” fever something awful — thanks, in little to no part, to the Fox network.
For those not initiated, “Glee” is a musical comedy series that, in the words of the New York Daily News, “dresses like ‘High School Musical’ and has the heart of ‘Porky’s.’” I’d add that in addition to being “cynical, sweet and inestimably funny,” “Glee” may be the most perfectly cast television show ever, and about as well-written, directed, produced and inspired as is possible for broadcast television.
It’s not perfect, but of 20 episodes aired so far, I’d call one or two “OK,” one or two “pretty good,” one or two “masterpieces” and the rest “outstanding.”
I came to “Glee” late thanks in large part to the fact it ran opposite “NOVA” on PBS. That’s why I missed the pilot and second episode, anyway; I have a Series 1 Tivo and one TV, so I can only watch one thing at once, which is fine since I don’t watch much TV;.
I caught part of Episode 3, “Acafellas,” about a third of the way through its original broadcast and wasn’t particularly impressed (it’s one of the “OK” episodes). So I simply ignored “Glee” after that.
It’s how I came to appreciate the series, in the middle of Season 1.5, that spurs me to post: I had to come to it accidentally, thanks to Fox’s half-witted online strategy, and struggle against Fox mightily in order to become an addict.
The Happy Accident
Among my eclectic YouTube tastes are marching bands. I love them; they play into my prejudices so nicely. I like systems and orderly flow. I like precision. I like music, especially that performed on analog instruments. I like creativity. I like passion and performance. A marching band brings all those things together in one place.
Take, as example, one of my favorite marching band performances, from Nishihara High School in Japan:
Simply amazing.
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A Beginning Entrepreneur's Guide To Pricing Professional Services
I have long promised to blog on how best for a self-employed person to price his services.
Until now, I have basically said that you should charge as much as you feel is appropriate, given the amount of work you need to invest and the ability of your customer to pay. That, I know, comes off as either smug or glib. But the fundamental idea is sound.
You work for yourself because it is, in one or many ways, better than working for someone else. Most people work for someone else because it provides security and stability, or because they’re not good at the things it takes to be self-employed, such as project / time management or social networking. Most people choose self-employment because they want the ability to pursue interests a 9-to-5 job doesn’t allow, or believe they can be much more successful working for themselves.
That said, let’s first talk about how to set an hourly rate, and then how to go about pricing projects.
Don’t Become A Commodity
It’s natural for people who are used to working for an hourly wage to price their services in line with what others charge. Most people figure that charging more than other persons in a similar market, offering similar services, will effectively price them out of the market.
That certainly can be true if you are charging a significantly higher rate than your competitors, especially if you cannot provide a reason why your rate is so much higher.
But pricing to the level others charge is a significant mistake. It actually has the effect of limiting your ability to earn, far more than charging more for your services does. Because when you charge what everyone else charges, you effectively make your labor a commodity — and the one thing that’s true about commodities is that the lowest price always wins.
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