Sticking To Your Principles…

March 2nd, 2010

…while working with people you know.

We’ve all designed and built websites for people we know, mate’s rates don’t just apply to the building trade, and they shouldn’t. Helping a friend get their business online with a website can be very rewarding – they might have recommended you before, but now they have experience of working with you along with the results from their new website to back up their recommendation. You should also get to hear about how well the website is doing more often too – friends will often call to chat about their website, whereas some clients will only get in touch when they need something.

I have just recently finished a website redesign for a local driving instructor, he actually taught me to drive 6 years ago and lives opposite my parents – so I’ve known him quite a while.

For the purpose of this article, let’s call him Mr X. Original I know.

Mr X has contacted me a couple of times in the past asking how he can get his website on to the first page Google, and to get more traffic on to his site; advise that I have been happy to share. The website he originally had wasn’t very good, and could of been improved in a number of areas. Finally Mr X came to me asking if I would work on his website, I discussed with him and stated that the best thing to do would be for me to redesign the website and start from scratch. The price was agreed, and I started work.

Here was the first problem. We verbally agreed the brief and the price – nothing was written down. At the time I didn’t think I had anything to worry about, we were both happy with what was being done and the price I was going to charge. I also didn’t invoice for the usual 20% at the start of the project either – it was a very quick and relatively small project, it’s not like Mr X could disappear, I knew where he lived.

The project was finished quickly, and sign off was achieved after Mr X visited and looked through the website. I emailed over my invoice and expected a quick turnaround on payment. What I did get was a phone call and a confused Mr X wondering why my invoice wasn’t what was agreed. The discussion went around in circles, I was adamant that the invoice was correct, that it already included a “mates rate” style discount. I also apologised for not putting the quote in writing. I finally agreed to trim the invoice down by 10%. I was also asked to provide username and password details so they could manage and update the website content themselves – this wasn’t actually part of the original brief, but as the site was built in WordPress, there was no problem with setting this up.

A few days later, the goal posts moved again. I received an email asked for the domains to be transferred, the website to be exported so it could be moved to a new hosting company (I was currently hosting it) and for me to explain the theme I designed and how to modify it in the future. I was a little annoyed at this new request so late in the project, but agreed to do so after the invoice was paid. And that was the problem. Mr X only wanted to pay my invoice after I transferred the website, I explained this wasn’t how I worked and that I was treating him like any other client. I also had suspicions of more delaying tactics were on the cards even after I made the transfer, in which case I had no way of taking down the website if payment wasn’t received. Mr X insisted that he would pay as soon as the website was transferred, but I refused. If he hadn’t of made an issue over the invoice initially, then maybe I could of trusted him to pay.

It’s a shame that the project has been taken down, I was looking forward to checking the analytics and seeing the website improve over time, as well as working on the site again in the future. It’s also a shame that our relationship has also been taken down by this project – a project that Mr X said he no longer cared about and wished he never asked me to do.

This project, like all others, has taught me a few things.

• Discounts are fine, but be realistic in pricing. Don’t give the project away, if your friend doesn’t like your quote – then walk away.
• Ask for a deposit at the start. State it’s needed for initial costs – purchase of domain names, hosting etc, rather than saying it’s just incase we have a falling out and I don’t want to lose out completely.
• Make sure the brief is in writing – even if it’s just an email listing what’s required and expected. As long as it can be referred back to later.
• Stick to your terms of business as closely as possible, even when asking for payment.
• Try not to do anything that will ruin your friendship.

The advise works both ways too. If you are employing a friend to work on your website (or any other project), then understand it’s not necessarily a favour and your friend is running a business, so try to treat it as business arrangement; with the added bonus of liking the person you’re working with.

Tags: contracts, delayed payments, freelance, invoicing, website design, working for friends