Hi, Jon...and thanks so much for the feedback. I think you've got a good perspective on the situation. I've always charged a premium for my services, partly because I work so hard to make them work well *and* look good (which many of the template-driven sites don't do very well), but also because I work very closely with clients on a personal level, guiding them through the entire process of developing a web presence...that's something that is very needed in my area.
Concerning your comment... " I think you could certainly benefit with a variation option two - using a core set of files to drive the sites while customizing them individually to fit your needs." I think what I'm after is offering both options...for those who choose to buy a "stock site", I can deploy re-made templates, customized with their choice of colors, etc, including functionality. For those who need a custom solution, that's available, too. I've always resisted going the template route...I know that every time I start coding from scratch, I learn something new. With templates, there is no new coding, unless I update the templates. I never want to get stuck in a coding rut. I should probably develop some standard site templates, for those who have a limited budget, and for those who need something quickly. For others who want complete customization in style or functionality...well, I do what I do now... have a long conversation with them about business goals, marketing goals, and develop a proposed site map and functionality. Competing in one area of concern...Real Estate sites...is particularly difficult, because one of the things that agents value most is information. And larger companies can make agreements with other large companies to gain access to data to feed sites that I can't get to. In Real Estate it's all about the information, and, more and more, the information that realtors and agents need is interconnected with so many other information providers, especially the MLS and IDX. Real Estate sites are a good area to work in, because they're so necessary, but it's getting more and more difficult to create sites that compete. Real Estate is becoming more and more a global marketplace, where agents and realtors want everyone everywhere to be able to access everything from their sites...with little effort on their part. From feeds of relevant articles on their site, to property data and images. I think you're right generally and especially on one point...specialization and working in a "niche market" are the key to success to a small (in this case, one-man) company. Thanks for your thoughts and time! Rick -----Original Message----- From: Jon Clausen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2006 7:37 PM To: CF-Talk Subject: Re: Constructing multi-user/multi-site applications... Rick, I do, but I'm not sure it's what you want to hear - sorry. Before "retiring" and doing my own thing a couple of years ago, I spent the previous 13 years with a Fortune 100 company on the Operations end of the business. When I started with them, they weren't even in the "Fortune 5,000". They grew by going the "all things to all people" route and doing it very effectively. As a consequence, many of the competitors of my former company which existed 15 years ago are no longer in business. I learned the following from the failures and successes of those competitors: 1) The smaller company will always lose when it attempts to play the big company at their own game (i.e. - in your case, going the template route). They can only survive by creating a distinct niche that offers something the bigger guy can't provide (i.e. - in your case, a site tailor made for their exact needs, with features that aren't available to them from the bigger guy's product). 2) Sometimes the smaller company actually benefits by increasing their prices rather than lowering them. When you lower your prices to react to a competitor, you also lower the customer's perception of your product value. Charging a reasonable premium for your services also sends a powerful message in contrast to that being sent by the bigger guy. People do think that they "get what they pay for." 3) Your technology also sends a message about what you can provide. Staying with CF 4.5 limits the end product you can provide for the customer and therefore may impact their perception of the value of your services. Maybe some of your potential client's socks could be blown off by something you could do with CFCHART or CFDOCUMENT or Flash Forms, but your current technology can't provide that as quickly or cost-effectively so you won't know. I think you could certainly benefit with a variation option two - using a core set of files to drive the sites while customizing them individually to fit your needs. Until you move your technology forward, though, you may not be able to compete with the features and options that a competing Ruby on Rails or CFMX7 site can provide with half the development time. That means you can't compete in features and you can't compete in price - not a good position for you as the little guy. There are enough hosting companies that want your dedicated server business to get you in at a reasonable cost with a free upgrade to CF8 when it becomes available that IMHO, you should run, not walk, to get up to speed with CF7 - that will make CF8 a breeze. Sorry for the blog post, but it's a topic I'm relatively familiar with and passionate about. It's one the reasons I chose Coldfusion as my platform of choice when getting into web development. The up- front costs may be higher, but the reduction in time to market is worth the additional investment for me. Less is more. - Jon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Introducing the Fusion Authority Quarterly Update. 80 pages of hard-hitting, up-to-date ColdFusion information by your peers, delivered to your door four times a year. http://www.fusionauthority.com/quarterly Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/message.cfm/messageid:258205 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4
