Linda Wishman wrote:
> Wish me luck. I am 99.5% sure that I landed a job redesigning a
> web site for
> a multinational corporation. <deep breath> While it's quite
> exciting, I'm a
> little intimidated because it's going to require me to grow.
> That's good for
> me, right?
Depends on what you want in the long run (and also on how you define
"grow"). It doesn't sound like this site will require too much growth, as
far as adding personnel or hiring subcontractors is concerned. In other
words, doesn't sound like you're biting off (way) more than you can chew. My
preference is to keep my business kinda small, but that probably stems from
having previous jobs where I supervised 125-150 people ;)
> It's weird that a corporation making soooo much money, and
> spending big bucks
> on other types of advertising, could be so cost-conscious about what I
> consider to be a pittance for what they're getting. Right now
> they're getting
> 2,000 - 3,000 hits a week; I'd throw money at those kind of hits, I think.
If they're already grumbling about the cost of the project, I would proceed
with caution. Make sure you both know exactly what the project will consist
of ahead of time. Be sure to make the details very clear, preferably in
writing. Once the plan is clear, be sure that they realize that adding
things that are not in the site outline will cost extra. Then, stick to your
plan.
Also, if they are highly cost conscious about spending money on a web site,
it may be because they don't know much about the medium or what it takes to
develop a site. Sounds a bit like they might feel like they're being dragged
into this kicking and screamin, maybe by someone at their business. Someone
who really wants a web site and understands what it's about usually
understands the costs involved and will respectfully pay you your due
without hassling about the money. This project may require that you
"educate" your client (figure extra time into your quote).
Keep an eye on "feature creep", too. Be sure that your client is aware that
"yes, we can add the shopping cart, but it'll cost you an extra x amount of
dollars". If they want the world for a small amount of cash, be sure to
straighten them out. I'm assuming that you're bidding this on a project
basis. If so, the better the project specs are defined ahead of time (and
quoted as accurately as you can) the less likely you are to end up working
extra hours while watching your hourly $ average dwindle.
Then again, since you haven't done a shopping cart in the past, perhaps you
are willing to eat some of the profit in exchange for the learning
experience?
Jack
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