Once in a while in my business there’s a customer who thinks he is the greatest thing that happened to me and then disappears. Some of them go silently – just stop answering emails when you send them the source code (lesson learned). For some of them it’s enough to get the demo file to be able decompile it (lesson learned too). Some of them go away loudly citing Aristotle, calling names and naming matters of principle.
Here are some tips to avoid unfortunate problems while doing freelance work:
No rocket science
As a service provider you have to give away the completed product ONLY after the full payment has been made, or at least such guarantees are in place (such as Escrow process). If you don’t have such guarantees – you can be easily ripped off and not paid for your work.
Client’s size or his reputation should not be a factor for trust. Especially if you are an in-house developer, ask yourself: why would a multinational company with years of reputation and millions in cash would give the development of it’s most anticipated online product to your hands? Why do they care to bargain until the price gets ridiculously low?
Trust can be gained through depositing funds in Escrow and releasing them shortly after adequate project steps have been finalized, this will help both sides to feel that the project is going well and no one is trying to fool anyone. If you don’t use Escrow for your projects, make sure that you at least ask for an advance payment that should cover your basic development costs. The worst thing that could happen is to spend weeks on something that will not be published online at all. Even if you get ripped of and your source code get’s decompiled and reworked, you still have the benefit of claiming copyright rights to the final published work and putting it in your portfolio.
Budget and Timeline
Project’s time line and budget CAN and often DO change. Communicate any technical problems you encounter as soon as possible to your client and ask for extension of development timeline / budget if it is necessary, especially if you are working on an hourly basis – every minute you delay will cost you money.
If the project is large it is hard to keep track of every little detail, shift of deadline or little change in the specifications. So it’s very good if you communicate with your clients through an online tool such as Basecamp, then you can easily keep track of the changes to the project and adjust the budget / timeline accordingly.
Communication
Communicate professionally without getting into personal details with the client and keeping your tone official. Always remember – this is just business, there’s deadline, requirements and budget – nothing else nothing more. Use email as much as possible, if a problem occurs it helps to keep the emotions down to minimum and pick your words carefully. Respect the client and never talk with him in a disrespectful manner, if it happens that you are on the verge of a big conflict – take a walk to cool down, think how you can solve the problem and finish your project without escalating the tension.
Things To Avoid
- Avoid clients that get too personal too early. Calling you “buddy”, promising you fame and fortune, a new 3G iPhone, shares in their business or a vacation with them in the Caribbean.
- Avoid people who undermine your professionalism by citing your age, race or religion. It is discriminatory and should not be tolerated. In my current company the greatest talent is 18-24 years old, most of them are better than me in one discipline or another.
- Avoid projects that are below your budget requirements, in case the project goes flop the advance payment will not be enough to cover your basic development costs.
That’s about it. I am sure that learning from someone else mistakes is better than learning from your own.
And I wish best of luck to you all in freelancing!
Paul
