> 1. highly skilled (very knowledgeable in php, mysql, security, linux, etc) > 2. available regularly (don't have another full-time job) > 3. affordable (we're not looking to pay corporate-level pricing.) > 4. local (here in the US)
> We always pay per-project to control our costs. We don't pay per-hour.
Jason:
Perhaps the reason for the difficulty in finding programmers that meet your requirements is the current market situation with supply/demand/pricing. I took a look at your last project you posted that you wanted done for a firm $2000. I did not find it attractive - competitively with other projects available to me, the documentation requirements alone sounded like were worth about $2000. Maybe I was reading too much into them - if this is the case, this is perhaps something to consider - do not make things sound more complex than they ought to be.
Bidding on the whole project is great for the client, but terrible for the programmer. You can easily end up in a big hole. What if you misunderstand the requirements when you bid? What if the client starts pushing the limits in the interpretation of your agreement? What if you hit some hidden issue that takes way too long to deal with? The only time I would ever bid on the whole project would be when:
* it is small enough to see everything at once and the risks being reduced to a zero
* to prove myself and get my foot in the door
* to be nice for some good cause
The reality of custom software development is that it is gets exponentially more expensive as the size and complexity of the project increases. Good programmers know it, and are not likely to bid a reasonable fixed price on something that could take forever to finish.
The solution I believe is to make sure that the client understands how much work his money can buy, while the programmer understands the budget limitations of the client. They should work together to simpify the requirements so that they can create a functional product within some reasonable amount of time.
-- Sasha Pachev AskSasha Linux Consulting http://www.asksasha.com
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