| How much should you ask for upfront and should | | | | looking at that hourly rate for monthly work and not |
| there be a breakdown of payments ie payments at | | | | thinking about the current project. |
| different mileposts? How about hourly versus per | | | | Or the other scam is to say that they want a long |
| project? | | | | term relationship and will pay monthly AFTER the |
| From my own personal experience with many clients, I | | | | month is over. So you work on their assignments for |
| can say that working per project is by far the best, at | | | | say 80 hours in a month. You invoice them. Then you |
| least to start out, along with 50% upfront. | | | | wait. You keep on working on their assignments and |
| As I say over and over, you need money upfront so | | | | keep waiting for that first payment. Nothing. You are |
| you are not taking all the risk. If you do the work first | | | | giving away your services again. So what do you do? |
| and then ask for payment and they stiff you, they are | | | | Back to upfront money. A retainer so to speak. |
| out nothing. You are out your time and effort. And if | | | | I call it a "set up fee". In reality if you are doing |
| you were really foolish and gave them the finished | | | | programming on an existing site, or even doing |
| product before receiving any payment, you are out the | | | | graphics, whatever you are doing, you need to have |
| product itself. You may as well just advertise for free | | | | time to figure out what is already in place and how |
| products. | | | | what you are doing fits in. For programmers this can |
| If you look for freelance work at the freelance | | | | take a bit of time if the previous programmer was |
| websites, you should avoid the people who advertise | | | | clueless or just used a totally different programming |
| for a big job but payment is upon completion. They | | | | paradigm from you. I've actually taken over a hundred |
| may have been burned in the past but that doesn't | | | | hours to sort out a website backend before. The site |
| mean you are going to assume the full risk involved in | | | | was a nightmare. |
| this type of deal. I saw one that said FIRST you make | | | | So get upfront money from the client. Nothing |
| a working mockup of the site. Then IF you are | | | | outrageous but approximately half of the first project |
| selected, you will integrate your creation into their | | | | they want you to work on. |
| website. THEN they will test it. THEN if they like it, you | | | | Actually you should always take the first assignment |
| will be paid. WARNING WARNING! Do not take such a | | | | as a project and NOT as an hourly or monthly |
| deal. Do not make that mockup even. Let those | | | | contract. You can explain it by saying this allows both |
| offshore people take this risk. | | | | sides to determine if the relationship works for both |
| Think of yourself as constructing a building for them. | | | | parties. If the first project works, then you can move |
| Would you even order the first load of lumber without | | | | to a long term contract with monthly billing or flat rate |
| some upfront payment? No. And they should not | | | | monthly payments. |
| expect you to either. As I said, they may have been | | | | Personally, I believe sticking with per project contracts |
| burned in the past, but that is because they did not | | | | is the best way to go. For one thing, you can focus on |
| take the proper steps to protect themself. | | | | just that one project and not have the client bouncing |
| If they are really worried about the risk, then have | | | | you all over the place on different ones. Also, if you bid |
| them go through someplace like where there is a | | | | a project thinking it will take 100 hours and it takes you |
| method of holding the funds until work is approved. | | | | only 1 hour you have just made an amazing amount |
| BUT make sure the funds are put into the escrow | | | | per hour. Of course on the other hand if it takes you |
| account BEFORE you begin work. Then if there is a | | | | 1000 hours you have gone in the toilet with your hourly |
| dispute, it can be resolved and they can't walk off with | | | | rate. |
| the product and the money and you can't walk off | | | | This can hurt you when you allow a client to keep |
| with their money without any product to show for it. | | | | adding onto the project. The old "can you do this little |
| Long term? Short term? A lot of potential clients will | | | | thing?" shtick will kill you if you allow it. Instead, tell your |
| advertise that they want a long term relationship with | | | | client you are putting it on the list for the "next phase". |
| the right person. This supposedly means the price for | | | | Of course once you achieve a working realitionship |
| the current project should be lower in hopes of further | | | | with a client, you will know how much you can trust |
| business from them. That is what the client thinks and | | | | them and how far you are willing to go with them on |
| that is what a lot of freelancers believe too. They are | | | | payment terms. |