How much is it going to cost?

Lots of computer programming projects go wrong - but they don't have to. I use a process that makes sure your project comes in on-budget and produces the results you expected. It's not rocket science, just good solid business practice.

You've probably heard horror stories about programmers who promise the sun and the moon but then can't deliver or who work at a (possibly) cheap hourly rate but never seem to finish the project.

You're running a business and expect to get something valuable for your money. My process gaurentees that.

The other side

If you talk to programmers, it sounds totally different: clients who expect a site like eBay for $100 because their nephew built a really cool blog in an evening or who agree on a fixed price but keep changing their mind and adding 'just one more little thing.'

I'm running a business too and need to earn a fair wage for my work. My process gaurentees that too.

Here's how it works:

1. You send me an email with answers to the following simple questions:
   1. What service or product do you provide?
      What industry are you in? Who are your customers? Are your customers local, regional, or international?
   2. Who are your competitors?
      Two or three is enough.
   3. What makes you different from your competitors?
      Are you cheaper? Faster? Higher quality? Better Service?
   4. What do you want your website to do for you?
      Try to be specific.
      
      BAD: Increase communication.
      BETTER: Make ordering easier.
      GOOD: Decrease data entry costs by 50%
   5. What sort of price range are you EXPECTING?
      Are we talking about a few hundred dollars? A couple of thousand dollars? Over $10,000? If I can't provide something that does what you need within your means, then let's get that out in the open right away.
   6. Do you have a specific design in mind?
      Do you work with a marketting firm? Have you seen a web site that you'd like to immitate? Do you have some sketches that you've made?
2. I read your answers, look at your existing web site (if you have one) and the web sites of your competitors.
3. We have a telephone conversation where I ask you questions about your business, plans for the future and what role you envision your web site filling in those plans. It's not a requirement, but I recommend that we both sign a non-discloser agreement before this meeting - for your peace-of-mind, mostly. I have a standard one, if you don't have one already. This conversation usually takes about an hour. .
4. I prepare a quote. What the quote includes:
   • Cost for preparing the quote. This goes up if there are lots of revisions.
   • Specifics about what the site will and will not do for you.
   • Schedule of deliverables. Each deliverable provides something tangible that you can see or do.
   • Schedule of payments due. Each payment is tied to a deliverable. The final payment is always due 30 days AFTER the final product is delivered.
   • Draft sketches of the key pages of the website.
5. You accept or reject the quote. More realistically, what happens is that you decide that some features are not worth what they cost and we either change them or eliminate them entirely. If we did a good job in step 3, then there shouldn't be any big surprises here.

Once that's done, I know what I have to deliver and when and you know what it's going to cost. Any changes are agreed to by both parties in advance so I still know what I need to deliver and you still know what it will cost... no surprises.

Some Suggestions

• Start small - a web site that does one thing well is MUCH better than one which does several things poorly.
• Think cost/benefit - if it would be worth $10,000 to reduce your phone staff by 20 hours a week and a web site to do that will cost $5,000, then that's a good deal. If all the catalogs that you mail out cost you $4,000 and a web site that will reduce that number will cost $7,000, then that's probably not a good deal (but it might still be worth doing if it has other benefits).
• Measuring is important - how will you know if your web site is actually doing what you wanted it to do?

Thanks for considering me for your project

I look forward to learning more about your company and exploring how to make your computers work for you.

=dave=