Being a small shop(Just myself) I find that building a working relationship with companies who offer services that they contract out is generally a difficult situation. I've done this with 2 projects thus far and each time payment and final approval took way too long, and you usually end up doing more work than the original spec entailed.
I have made it a point to stay away from freelance type job sites, but when bills need to be paid or business needs to grow, you simply cannot completely ignore the availability of work on these types of sites. Lessons learned end up being very costly whether it's due to extended approval of finished product or payments.
A couple of months ago I went out on a limb and bid on a project via a freelance site which also happened to be a 3rd party that sold a contract at a very low rate and didn't have anyone to complete the project. Although this project was a mobile application(my main business product) the experience remains the same which was/is a bad one. You're probably thinking I'm crazy right about now after just mentioning that I don't like these sites or doing business with 3rd parties and you're right I should have never taken on the project.
- Firstly the project still isn't paid in full.(final invoice email over 30 days ago)
- Content was not delivered as was promised which caused initial project delays.
- I agreed contractually not to take any credit for the project.
- More work than the spec stated.
- Under budgeted.
As you can see the project although fairly simple ended up costing me more time and money than it was worth.
You are probably asking yourself why I agreed to take on an under budgeted project and it's fairly simple in that I was promised future work based on providing discounted services upfront. In my attempt to grow my company I got completely taken advantage, and future work with the 3rd party company is simply not an option as I refuse to work with a company that doesn't make timely payments for services rendered.
So the lesson learned at my expense can be your gain when you consider taking on a project at a discount rate with the promise of more work in the future, don't do it. Charge your normal rates on all work you do and never sell yourself short.
Joshua Needham
App Ventures, LLC
http://AppVenturesLLC.com
Comments
You are absolutely right,
You are absolutely right, Joshuabud.
I've had some tough experiences with the same sort of thing. As a matter of fact one of my recent posts talks about how a heavily NDA'd project cost me business, simply because I couldn't take credit for having done it.
--Susan
JoshuaBud: +1 subscribe. the
JoshuaBud:
Yashesh
JoshuaBud makes a good point
JoshuaBud makes a good point I think... the whole "future work" thing... tell you what, if you pay a 20% premium I might be able to offer you future availability :)
Currently part of the team at https://lastcallmedia.com in a senior Drupal specialist role.
Yep, I've been suckered into that one too...
There. I've admitted it. But like JoshuaBud says, sometimes work is work and you suck it up - generally to regret it down the line.
When I'm given the "future work" line and told too that "we'll see how well we work together" I agree with them and let them know that the first job will be regular pricing and as more work comes we can work toward a "long term rate."
This is also often a red flag that tells me that this is only the beginning of wanting a lot more for a lot less. So I break out the detailed scope explanation and the agreement that all work beyond the scope will cost more upfront.
Still, sometimes I walk right into those bombs. The kids gotta eat and the rent has to be paid... hrmmmm....