No, the fact that it's not elitist makes it not elitist. Dave's analogy about the auto mechanic and the tools was spot-on (as per usual). If you want to do a job, you're expected to have the tools to do the job.
I also agree 100% with what many have said about this particular client. I've dealt with those toxic clients before, because like yourself, I couldn't afford to turn anybody away. I learned right quick that often, it's better (and more profitable) to -not- take on certain clients. I can virtually assure you that things with this particular client are not going to end well. Been there, done that. It's never ended well. I feel for your situation. We just made a move as well, and we're hurting from it. I'm also freelancing right now and I definitely feel the pressure to put food on our table. We're a single income family of 5, and it's definitely challenging at times. But the fact of the matter remains... it's not an elitist attitude to expect that somebody who wants to perform a particular job will have, or be able to obtain, the tools necessary. In all sincerity, I wish you the best of luck and hope things work out in the end. But sniping at folks who are only trying to offer assistance, even if you don't agree with their perspective, isn't going to get you out of the hole any faster. If anything, it'll only make it worse :\ On Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 9:38 AM, Eric Roberts < [email protected]> wrote: > > Actually, I dont want to do freelance work, but I am forced to do so. And > just because you share his attitude doesn't make it not elitist. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Dave Watts [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:15 AM > To: cf-talk > Subject: Re: CF Shopping carts > > > > I pushed that...he doesn't like PayPal for some reason...he is under the > > impression that people don't like it. Not something that I have ever > > heard...but he has that stuck in his head. I have suggested several other > > free options. It's not decision unfortunately. I even suggested that he > > use café press for now until; he gets some sales (He wants to do a > t-shirt > > site...I questioned whether or not this would even take off as he would > be > a > > really small fish in a huge ocean of t-shirt sites). He insists on doing > > his own site...so finding a good cart to integrate into this that he can > > afford is the difficulty...which is why I asked here and instead of > getting > > advice from folks like Sean, I was told that if I can't afford the carts > out > > there for 200, I shouldn't even be a developer. So if you really want to > > point a finger, I was just defending myself. > > This is all so screwed up, it's not even wrong. > > 1. $200 for any software development product is on the extreme low-end > of the scale. If you can't afford to buy the tools you need to do a > job, you shouldn't do the job. This doesn't reflect on your skills as > a developer, etc, it's just a fact of life. That's all that Sean was > saying, and he's absolutely right, and you're absolutely wrong to > label it as "elitist BS". There's a cost of entry into any field that > goes beyond your own skills. If you want to be a freelance programmer, > you have to buy a certain amount of stuff, like a computer. If you > want to be a car mechanic, you have to buy tools. Etc, etc, etc. So, I > point the finger at you for mischaracterizing Sean's response. I'm > sorry you don't have the money you need to do this job, but there you > go. And, you have a history of doing this with Sean specifically, and > it's out of line, and I think you should stop. > > 2. You're working for nothing for a client that's going to make > nothing. You have bigger problems than the cost of an ecommerce > package. If your client wants specific functionality that's in a COTS > package, he needs to buy the package, not you. If it's too rich for > his taste, that's his problem, not yours. But you're just wasting your > time doing this work. Clients like this, who aren't willing to pay for > what they want, or can't pay for what they want, they're toxic and you > should avoid them. This guy wants Amazon functionality on a Paypal > budget, and you're not going to be able to make him happy, which leads > to ... > > 3. You're using the wrong tools for the job. If you want to do > low-margin work, you need to use low-margin tools. You know, that > might mean PHP, because there's a much larger FOSS ecosystem around > PHP than CF. CF simply has never really aimed at that market. Frankly, > if I were you and I wanted to go after that range of clients, I'd drop > CF like a stone. Not because PHP is better, of course, and I wouldn't > like it, but it makes sense in that market. > > I'm sorry for being harsh, if you perceive this as harsh, but the > facts are what they are. I do wish you good luck in your future > development endeavors, though. > > Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software > http://www.figleaf.com/ > http://training.figleaf.com/ > > Fig Leaf Software is a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) on > GSA Schedule, and provides the highest caliber vendor-authorized > instruction at our training centers, online, or on > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology-Michael-Dinowitz/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/message.cfm/messageid:334931 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-talk/unsubscribe.cfm
