I would contend, rather than take the double-the-hourly-rate option (which goes against normal market practice in terms of startups). I would put time into nailing the specs for the job (in which case you would end up with maybe doubling the hourly rate when you realise it will take twice as long).
I would include in your costing for the site the following: system analysis - this is where you put the client requirements into data structure and data flow form and includes the phone calls and meetings that you will have browser compatibility - IE can take half a day or more for a single site simply for fixes and hacks. Find out if Safari will be important for the site. changes in requirements - most clients change something (add 5-15%) followup - most clients will require some follow up, because there will always be things that happen on the live site that you can't predict maintenance - set a date at which your follow up ends (say 21 days following completion of site) and offer maintenance at a hourly or monthly rate (specify what this covers) I recommend this approach because it helps you to be more specific in your interactions with the client and is a better learning curve. If you are working from home and new to the business there is nothing wrong with working to a $17-20 hourly rate until you get confident. Most sites are built at that kind of rate by young people working in business firms which charge >$50 an hour because of all the overheads. No one is going to pay you $50 an hour while you are still learning. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ NZ PHP Users Group: http://groups.google.com/group/nzphpug To post, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
