Journal SlashChick's Journal: Client gives a tentative green light; more work ahead! 5
Today I approached my client (the one currently being hung out to dry by my friend) and gave them a stellar deal.
There is background to this whole story in my last journal, so if you haven't read that yet, read it first. Quick summary: I left this contract in May and gave it to a friend of mine, who flaked out on it about 2 weeks ago.
I left them after I had submitted a redesign proposal. I spent 8+ hours on the original comp (Photoshop layers and all!) and presented it about a month before I left. They loved it, but then their second-in-command suggested getting quotes from other web designers. Plus, their sales manager said I was "too expensive" (at $50/hour for design work? Please!) and hired someone else to do a project for them.
Having had enough of this negative feedback from their staff, I threw down an ultimatum. "If you like my work," I said, "hire me. If not, hire someone else and be done with it. I'm not splitting out projects with anyone else."
Well, they sat on that for about a month and I got sick of waiting. Eventually, I canned the redesign, pulled back all comps of it, and had them sign a contract stating they were not allowed to use it without my permission (and they didn't have my permission.) I also gave them the name of my friend and recommended her as my successor.
Fast-forward to today. Their website still hasn't been redesigned. They're currently stuck -- they can't seem to find anyone who is both a programmer and a graphic designer. Their second-in-command, T, did manage to find someone who is a PHP programmer, but the programmer "is not into that graphic stuff," as T put it.
So far, the only thing that has been added to the website since I left in May has been one PHP page done by the aforementioned programmer whom T hired. My friend has not added anything new to the site.
I called T up today (remember, he was the one pushing "other contracts" that first caused me to be unsettled about this company), and pitched him. "Look," I said. "If you hire someone else, it's going to be December before they even have a grasp on this website. I'd like to come in and finish what I started."
T made some neutral "well, maybe that would work out" comments, so I added the one sentence I knew would close the deal. "If I don't have the website completely redesigned, up and running before November 30, it's free of charge," I said.
Stunned silence from T's end. Then, "Wow."
Of course, T still has to talk it over with the man in charge. And there are going to be some hurdles to overcome -- namely, finding people from my end to do the work I am too busy to do. But by convincing T, who was my hardest sell back in May, and having him convince the guy in charge, I think I can pull off this contract. Of course, I'll be charging them a ton of money for it. And I'll be outsourcing most of it (especially the PHP programming part...a couple of friends of mine are already interested in that part.)
I know I can pull this off. It won't be easy, but I want to finish what I started and close the door instead of having to train another designer/programmer about the website I already know like the back of my hand. Plus, the contract will be enough to completely pay for a hot tub.
Hot tub, here I come.
Damn... (Score:2)
One thought - make sure you have everything you need from them and make them understand that when you need information, you need it now (well, approximately now, not on midnight of November 30th).
Just thought I'd say that for two reasons - politics can make any project *really* drag (why am I becoming a teacher again?) and your time is worth money, even though your friend didn't work out.
Yeah, that last sentence is mostly for me.
And know that there are a few lurkers that read and che
Uhm... (Score:2)
PLEASE tell me that you are including a "you can't change the requirements once I start clause"....
Also (Score:2)
It is imperative to define completely redesigned, up and running in concrete, literal terms. For example: "work consists of 3 pages, as shown in exhibit C, each with the functionality listed in appendix H." C is a collection of wireframes with essential features highlighted and H is a laundry list of specific functionality.
Yes, it sounds stupid that this has to be done, but I make the mistake once (*once!*) and it cost me two weeks of unpaid work.
Of course, the level of specificity can be adjusted up or
Re:Uhm... (Score:2)
No, better: an "any time you change the requirements, so do I" clause :-)
Re:Uhm... (Score:1)