Stefan
]]>Generally I would agree. But, the most important question is: can you get your own clients?
… If you can’t, then the sales guy has leverage. In terms of fairness, you have to determine how much time is he putting into the process – dealing with clients can be very time consuming!
There are few set-in-stone rules when it comes to this business (and most others) so you have to play it by ear sometimes. So, the most important questions are:
1. do you need him/her to get you work?
2. would he/she be stuck if you left?
I hope that helps,
Stefan
]]>Its a weird scenerio but basically the other person doesn’t even have contracts set yet between 1. Clients and 2.Myself.
So far for what “we” have done – it’s basically been them fishing out for clients who need sites done and trying to convince them they should use their service – which would be me.
From what I get they are trying to start up their own company and well I came in originally just to maintain and make edits on a few sites that had currently existed from time to time but then they asked if I’d be interested in taking on some projects as they wanted to start something up.
Currently there are no contracts in place so I’m basically freelancing (not for hire) each project but I basically wanted to know if sitting down and saying to this person that what we get paid should go on a percentage rather than 50/50 is the right call.
I always want to be fair and want to make sure that I am being that way. I’ve been designing sites for about 5+ years now more so for myself and just recently for work + earning $ and more experience but I want to be sure that I am not selling myself short and being taken advantage of as this is usually the case ;O) .
Someone suggested to me that if all they are doing are pulling in the clients sending a few emails and making a few phone calls and I’m doing all the design work, programming and coding it doesn’t entitle them to take half of the profit made, but again I just want to make sure I’m going in the right direction.
Thanks again for reading all this, its good to have an outlet for issues surrounding this kind of stuff.
]]>I would suggest breaking it down by the hour – how many hours have you put in vs. how many hours the other guy put in.
If the other guy got the contract though, then he deserves at least 10% on top of that. That all said, if he got the contract (and it is HIS client) and he hired you, then he can pay you what he wants.
…. You can charge what you want too!
🙂
… But, that might not guarantee you the work.
Next time, clear all this up front BEFORE you do any work.
Some more important tips:
– stay calm and try to see things from different perspectives.
– don’t let people walk all over you, but nonetheless stay calm.
– try to get things clarified before you invest time into any project .. so you and the client know where you stand.
I hope that helps,
Stefan
]]>They basically would find the clients and I would do all the designing,coding, and work needed to get the site up for the client. We never spoke about money or contract “BAD MOVE” and recently it came up. The other person feels it should be a 50/50 split, but I feel that since I’m doing all the work (Design and implementation of the actual project) that there should be a percentage payout where I receive a bit more because I am doing all the work and spending my time to develop these projects.
They argue that they have to have contact with the clients, and respond to them via phone and emails etc..
so basically are stating that they are working just as hard and should receive half of whatever the job is quoted for. This would mean if I priced a site at say $1000.00 and I spent all my time working on it and getting it up and running I only get $500.00 – Just doesn’t seem quite right to me. Could anyone give any advice or feedback as to if my notions are right and how I should approach this?
Thank you
]]>Thank you for a great blog and sharing your wisdom with us.
Paul
]]>good voice
]]>So I see two issues here:
1. You did not charge for ALL your time.
2. You did not get a payment in advance.
What can you do?
Be nice and recognize that you failed to manage your client properly. When dealing with clients, you have to be like the Dog Whisperer and recognize that you have to through your actions, train them on how they should treat you.
So now, I would say something like:
“Since we did not anticipate me having to take pictures, I did not include it in the original quote. It took me x amount hours to shoot and edit the photos, so I will be adding x$ to the final invoice.”
If they are reasonable people, they will agree. If they protest, just mention the extra time you spent and mention how they used the images in two places, so they got twice the gain from your work.
Next, get the invoice in their hands ASAP.
–
Next time, be more fair to yourself about your time and do get some money up front!!
… I talk about all this in the Business of Web Design series I put out.
Hope that helps,
Stefan
]]>Wonder if you can help me out with a a bit of a dilemma. Just putting together my first website, stupidly without a contract as it is for someone I know (not a friend, more like an acquaintance).
She gave me a bunch of pictures to add to the website, I told her time and time again I could only use pictures if she owned the copyright or had a licence. I highlighted the importance of not being in breach of copyright etc, both verbally and by email. I then offered to take pictures myself, both of the business and staff, which I did, I also took some time editing them and making them look great. Stupidly, I did it for no extra charge, thinking I had made it clear enough the pictures were for the website alone.
I went to see her 2 days ago and found new brochures she’s had printed using some of my pictures, needless to say without my permission. I feel like she’s taking advantage of me and she knows it. As soon as I picked the brochures up she said “oh sorry, I probably should’ve asked you first”.
I now feel like I should charge her for the pictures somehow but don’t want to get on the wrong side of her as without a contract I fear she might just pull out and I won’t see a cent for my efforts. But on the other hand I’m seriously annoyed that she’s knowingly taken advantage of our friendly relationship and is going to get away with it.
Does anyone know where I stand with this??? I thought of charging her extra saying it’s for the “licence to use the pictures” which would “cover her for what she’s already done with them”.
Anyway, sorry this is getting a bit long, I’m upset and frustrated and don’t know what to do! Many thanks to anyone who may be able to offer some advice, I need to do something soon!
Much appreciated
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