There are plenty of reasons to work at a startup. But what those reasons fail to address are some of the core principles that drive startup success.
Not everyone is suited to working at a startup. Even if the reasons entice you, it takes a considerable amount of intestinal fortitude. The ride can be rough. And many of us are programmed to believe in an “us versus them” work environment — the relationship between employer and employee has to be at odds, fellow employees can’t be trusted, it’s a “dog eat dog” world.
All of that is true, to a certain extent, but you can’t succeed in a startup with that mentality.
Startup teams can’t succeed without immense amounts of loyalty, trust and faith in big ideas.
Alexis, an employee at reddit, nailed it perfectly in a recent blog post:
“At a startup, no one needs motivational posters. You work because it’s your damn job and you don’t want to let down the person at the desk beside you.”
“There’s something special about being in that always-sinking-boat of a startup and being able to count on all the folks sinking with you.”
Many people say sacrifice is a requirement of startup success. And in some ways they’re right, because you’re going to make sacrifices. You’ll work weekends, you’ll live on ramen noodles, you might get paid poorly…hygiene is always an issue. And yes, the grass is always greener on the other side. But none of that is really a sacrifice, because you want to be there. If you’re constantly looking at what you’re doing as a sacrifice, get out.
What do Loyalty and Trust mean to you?
Loyalty and trust are necessities if you’re going to build a great startup.
Each person in a startup team has to:
* be there for the greater good
* trust that the other guys will be there
* feel that everyone is putting in the same effort (note: founders put in more time & lead by example)
* be responsible for everyone else’s success
* be responsible to everyone else.
Employees have to trust that the founders know what they’re doing. Founders will make plenty of mistakes, but if a startup employee isn’t prepared to follow, things break down quickly.
Alexis won’t use the “going to war” metaphor for a startup, and he’s right - startups aren’t war. No one dies. No one’s maimed. No one’s tortured (well…) But the camaraderie that must exist within a startup team is very much the same as a unit in the army. You have to trust wholly and completely that I’ve got your back. If you don’t, you can’t succeed. And in a startup team, where each person is insanely important because the team is so small, if one guy isn’t on par with everyone else, you’ve got serious trouble.
Big Ideas are really about big challenges
Lots of startups are founded by dreamers. But in this day and age, when many people believe that web startups are becoming commodities, it’s not just about big ideas and dreams, but really about big challenges. And even a web startup that’s basically a commodity will still encounter big challenges. Succeeding will be a huge challenge.
And you can’t excel in a startup without having a deep desire to take challenges head on. In this case, having an “us versus them” mentality makes perfect sense — you are fighting against the rest of the world, so get ready. More than being ready, you have to want that challenge, otherwise you won’t succeed.
Loyalty, trust and big ideas — That’s what great startups are built on.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Pros and Cons of Freelancing
Freelancers will often tout the benefits of freelancing. Just as much as people working full-time might do the same (It’s true! Some people love their jobs!) Startup entrepreneurs will rant and rave about the benefits of starting companies and working at startups. Assuming we like what we’re doing, we’ll promote it as “the way to go” and happily list numerous reasons to support our argument.
So what are the pros of going freelance?
Freelancers will rattle off a number of them as “accepted truths” - but let’s look at things a bit further.
The Pros of Freelancing
1. You get to be your own boss. This is 100% the case…until you land your first client. Then say a big happy hello to your new boss! Many freelancers do have more control over their work lives than people with day jobs, and this certainly can be a pro to freelancing, but oftentimes this argument is taken a few steps too far. Clients are bosses (regardless of how badly you want to call them “partners”) and they can be as, or more demanding than anyone else.
If possible, freelancers will gain the ability to set their own work schedule, determine their workload, and have more control over their careers. So there is a certain element of “being your own boss” that’s attainable through freelancing.
2. The money is better. Many people choose to freelance in order to work less hours, in which case it’s very hard to argue that the money is better. For those that are planning to freelance full-time they’ll often cite this as a significant pro to freelancing.
Your hourly rate should be higher as a freelancer. And if you were doing billable work 100% of the time, you should be making more money. But this is where you may run into issues. I always think about cab drivers in this circumstance. Cab drivers (in Montreal) make somewhere around $40-$70/hour based on the rate per minute or kilometer. That’s not too shabby…except for the fact that cab drivers aren’t collecting fares 100% of the time.
As a freelancer, you can’t possibly bill for 100% of your time. You’ll be doing sales (unless it all comes in as referrals, in which case you still have to do a certain amount of negotiation, pre-project legwork), administrative work, etc. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about the bags of money you envision hauling to the bank vault.
3. You get to work on a variety of projects. This is very often the case. And for many this is an exciting prospect. Even more exciting is the possibility of choosing what projects you get to work on, as opposed to having a boss handing them to you. Just remember: With variety comes uncertainty. Will the new client be reasonable? Will they pay? Will you be stretching yourself too thin? For some, uncertainty is the spice of life (or at least one of them), but it’s important to realize its potential impact.
If you get to the point where you can pick & choose projects, this can be a huge advantage. But it takes time to get there. When first starting out, you may be accepting projects that are less worthwhile, interesting or rewarding (personally and cashflow-wise.)
4. You get to work from anywhere. For many freelancers, the appeal of working from home (or the cafe nearby) is too hard to resist. And I certainly see the appeal. But working from home is not without its challenges. You need a good office setup. You need to minimize distractions. You may get roped into doing chores around the house which you previously escaped from since you weren’t around! And you might become isolated. Oftentimes when people return to the world of day jobs from their freelance careers they point to a need for more camaraderie, and a greater opportunity to work with, and socialize with others.
If you are working at a day job and having the freedom to work anywhere (or at least from home) is important to you, I’d suggest you negotiate telecommuting time. More and more employers are amenable to this type of work setup.
My goal isn’t to burst any bubbles, only provide a perspective that may differ from what many freelancers espouse. Let’s take a look at some of the cons of freelancing…
The Cons of Freelancing
1. You do less of what you really like doing. That’s a pretty broad statement, and certainly won’t apply to everyone. In your day job you may be doing very little of what you really enjoy. But, when it comes to freelancing, there’s no doubt that you’ll do a fair amount of work outside of your expertise, in order to maintain and build your business. Think: Business setup, taxes, accounting, bookkeeping, sales, marketing, contract negotiations, project management, etc. Even worse, wait till a client doesn’t pay on time and you have to hound them — collections is miserable.
2. You have to manage yourself. Some might consider this a pro, but freelancers will often talk about the need for a ton of self-discipline. More than that, freelancers have a huge amount of responsibility resting on their shoulders. The buck stops with you. There’s nowhere to hide. You can’t blame office politics, bad bosses or co-workers, or anything else. It’s much more difficult to have a bad day or even take time off (ask freelancers if it’s harder to go on vacation…) because of the responsibility to keep things chugging along.
3. You have a lack of security. This is one of the most common “cons” people will point out about freelancing. There are three issues when it comes to security: job security, income security and.
Personally, I don’t believe in job security. Unless you’re part of a union, you don’t have a lot of job security. And to rely on job security as a means of keeping your job is a good way of finding yourself unemployed in a hurry.
So I don’t consider the “security” offered at day jobs to be much of a pro versus freelancing except when it comes to the steadiness of the income generated. Freelancers need to plan for uneven income. And this goes beyond having some money saved. Think about when your prospects set their budgets and spend their money. Map out month-to-month your busy and slow times, so in following years you’ll be more prepared.
Freelancers also have a lack of security when it comes to health benefits. Simply put, freelancers are at a disadvantage when it comes to benefits, pensions, and other rights given to full-time employees. Recently in Quebec (and perhaps in all of Canada), they changed the rules governing maternity and paternity leave, so that freelancers could take paid leaves just as employees can. But in most places around the world, those types of benefits are not given to freelancers.
4. You don’t own your work. This is the biggest con of being a freelancer. You’re doing work for someone else, and when you’re done, it’s handed over and that’s that. You retain the knowledge gained, and you may even be given some rights to reuse work you produce for a client, but ultimately you don’t own it. You will most likely not gain any future value from the work (although there are opportunities to negotiate equity deals for work, etc.) Still, it’s not really yours any longer.
As a result, you’re not building up any equity or long-term value as a freelancer. Your rates might go up. You might get more work. You might earn more money. But at the end of the day you’re still a mercenary going from contract to contract, hand-to-mouth.
This is why I’m an entrepreneur more than a freelancer or consultant. By starting a company I’m creating the opportunity to build value in something beyond just myself. I want to own what I do (or at least a piece of it) so that there’s something more tangible to hold onto at the end.
Deciding to go freelance is a major step. It has personal and financial implications that go beyond “simple” benefits like working from home, or setting your own schedule. You need to go into freelancing with your eyes open, aware that it’s not the panacea some claim it to be.
The pros of freelancing are attainable, but they’re goals not givens. If you succeed, then you will be working on projects you’re passionate about, you will be setting your own schedule, you will be making more money. Those opportunities exist, but like starting a new company, the amount of personal, emotional and financial investment can be extremely high and needs serious thought.
So what are the pros of going freelance?
Freelancers will rattle off a number of them as “accepted truths” - but let’s look at things a bit further.
The Pros of Freelancing
1. You get to be your own boss. This is 100% the case…until you land your first client. Then say a big happy hello to your new boss! Many freelancers do have more control over their work lives than people with day jobs, and this certainly can be a pro to freelancing, but oftentimes this argument is taken a few steps too far. Clients are bosses (regardless of how badly you want to call them “partners”) and they can be as, or more demanding than anyone else.
If possible, freelancers will gain the ability to set their own work schedule, determine their workload, and have more control over their careers. So there is a certain element of “being your own boss” that’s attainable through freelancing.
2. The money is better. Many people choose to freelance in order to work less hours, in which case it’s very hard to argue that the money is better. For those that are planning to freelance full-time they’ll often cite this as a significant pro to freelancing.
Your hourly rate should be higher as a freelancer. And if you were doing billable work 100% of the time, you should be making more money. But this is where you may run into issues. I always think about cab drivers in this circumstance. Cab drivers (in Montreal) make somewhere around $40-$70/hour based on the rate per minute or kilometer. That’s not too shabby…except for the fact that cab drivers aren’t collecting fares 100% of the time.
As a freelancer, you can’t possibly bill for 100% of your time. You’ll be doing sales (unless it all comes in as referrals, in which case you still have to do a certain amount of negotiation, pre-project legwork), administrative work, etc. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about the bags of money you envision hauling to the bank vault.
3. You get to work on a variety of projects. This is very often the case. And for many this is an exciting prospect. Even more exciting is the possibility of choosing what projects you get to work on, as opposed to having a boss handing them to you. Just remember: With variety comes uncertainty. Will the new client be reasonable? Will they pay? Will you be stretching yourself too thin? For some, uncertainty is the spice of life (or at least one of them), but it’s important to realize its potential impact.
If you get to the point where you can pick & choose projects, this can be a huge advantage. But it takes time to get there. When first starting out, you may be accepting projects that are less worthwhile, interesting or rewarding (personally and cashflow-wise.)
4. You get to work from anywhere. For many freelancers, the appeal of working from home (or the cafe nearby) is too hard to resist. And I certainly see the appeal. But working from home is not without its challenges. You need a good office setup. You need to minimize distractions. You may get roped into doing chores around the house which you previously escaped from since you weren’t around! And you might become isolated. Oftentimes when people return to the world of day jobs from their freelance careers they point to a need for more camaraderie, and a greater opportunity to work with, and socialize with others.
If you are working at a day job and having the freedom to work anywhere (or at least from home) is important to you, I’d suggest you negotiate telecommuting time. More and more employers are amenable to this type of work setup.
My goal isn’t to burst any bubbles, only provide a perspective that may differ from what many freelancers espouse. Let’s take a look at some of the cons of freelancing…
The Cons of Freelancing
1. You do less of what you really like doing. That’s a pretty broad statement, and certainly won’t apply to everyone. In your day job you may be doing very little of what you really enjoy. But, when it comes to freelancing, there’s no doubt that you’ll do a fair amount of work outside of your expertise, in order to maintain and build your business. Think: Business setup, taxes, accounting, bookkeeping, sales, marketing, contract negotiations, project management, etc. Even worse, wait till a client doesn’t pay on time and you have to hound them — collections is miserable.
2. You have to manage yourself. Some might consider this a pro, but freelancers will often talk about the need for a ton of self-discipline. More than that, freelancers have a huge amount of responsibility resting on their shoulders. The buck stops with you. There’s nowhere to hide. You can’t blame office politics, bad bosses or co-workers, or anything else. It’s much more difficult to have a bad day or even take time off (ask freelancers if it’s harder to go on vacation…) because of the responsibility to keep things chugging along.
3. You have a lack of security. This is one of the most common “cons” people will point out about freelancing. There are three issues when it comes to security: job security, income security and.
Personally, I don’t believe in job security. Unless you’re part of a union, you don’t have a lot of job security. And to rely on job security as a means of keeping your job is a good way of finding yourself unemployed in a hurry.
So I don’t consider the “security” offered at day jobs to be much of a pro versus freelancing except when it comes to the steadiness of the income generated. Freelancers need to plan for uneven income. And this goes beyond having some money saved. Think about when your prospects set their budgets and spend their money. Map out month-to-month your busy and slow times, so in following years you’ll be more prepared.
Freelancers also have a lack of security when it comes to health benefits. Simply put, freelancers are at a disadvantage when it comes to benefits, pensions, and other rights given to full-time employees. Recently in Quebec (and perhaps in all of Canada), they changed the rules governing maternity and paternity leave, so that freelancers could take paid leaves just as employees can. But in most places around the world, those types of benefits are not given to freelancers.
4. You don’t own your work. This is the biggest con of being a freelancer. You’re doing work for someone else, and when you’re done, it’s handed over and that’s that. You retain the knowledge gained, and you may even be given some rights to reuse work you produce for a client, but ultimately you don’t own it. You will most likely not gain any future value from the work (although there are opportunities to negotiate equity deals for work, etc.) Still, it’s not really yours any longer.
As a result, you’re not building up any equity or long-term value as a freelancer. Your rates might go up. You might get more work. You might earn more money. But at the end of the day you’re still a mercenary going from contract to contract, hand-to-mouth.
This is why I’m an entrepreneur more than a freelancer or consultant. By starting a company I’m creating the opportunity to build value in something beyond just myself. I want to own what I do (or at least a piece of it) so that there’s something more tangible to hold onto at the end.
Deciding to go freelance is a major step. It has personal and financial implications that go beyond “simple” benefits like working from home, or setting your own schedule. You need to go into freelancing with your eyes open, aware that it’s not the panacea some claim it to be.
The pros of freelancing are attainable, but they’re goals not givens. If you succeed, then you will be working on projects you’re passionate about, you will be setting your own schedule, you will be making more money. Those opportunities exist, but like starting a new company, the amount of personal, emotional and financial investment can be extremely high and needs serious thought.
Top 10 Reasons Why Proposals Fail
Your business is great. You’ve invented something better than sliced bread. You offer such an amazing service at such a great price that people should be knocking your door down.
And they might be. But they’re all asking for a proposal.
Proposals are a fact of life. We all do them, and we’re all trying to blow our prospects away.
But most proposals are bad. Here are 10 reasons why proposals fail:
1. They’re too long. Proposals aren’t meant for “shock and awe” - don’t try and overwhelm the prospect into submission. Edit and cut. Cut and edit. There’s no perfect length for a proposal, but how many of your prospects really read the whole thing? They scan and skim till they get to the price and timeline. Keep it short.
2. They don’t reference the prospect’s pain. Why did the prospect ask you for a proposal? You better have a crystal clear answer to that question. Too many proposals don’t reiterate the pain properly. Skipping that makes the prospect feel like you don’t get it.
3. They’re too technical. I know you’re the expert in your field, that’s why I asked for a proposal. You don’t need to inundate your proposal with buzzwords and industry-hooey. A prospect only knows a smidge of what you know about your business, and they don’t really want to know more. Your proposal fails when it sells industry mastery using language I won’t understand.
4. They’re not selling benefits. Proposals that miss out on #2 and focus too much on #3 invariably aren’t selling benefits. If you’re not selling benefits you’re sunk. And for the love of everything that is holy, spell these out as clearly as possible.
5. They’re not well structured. Proposals are stories. And every story has a beginning, middle and end. Think of your proposal as a story and write it accordingly.
6. They’ve got spelling and grammatical problems. A proposal with spelling errors is unacceptable, it’s as simple as that. Grammatical problems may be harder to catch. Three tips: Read it out loud. Write short sentences. Have someone else read it.
7. They’re poorly formatted and packaged. Style counts! On top of that, your proposal isn’t the only game in town. You want to stand out right? Take some time to format things nicely. Add some pictures. Use bigger headers, smaller paragraphs, and color where appropriate. Think jazzy. If you’ve got substance, sell it with nice packaging.
8. They’re missing testimonials and client references. I’ve rarely seen a proposal with testimonials or client references. It makes no sense. Pepper in a few testimonials to spice it up and add a feeling of success. Add in some client references with contact information to give your prospect a clear message, “you know what you’re doing and you can prove it.”
9. They’re missing a thank you. Proposals are personal. You’re not writing installation instructions for IKEA furniture are you? Unless you’re sending a proposal unsolicited (which makes little sense) someone’s given you that opportunity. Thank them for it.
10. There’s no call to action. You submit the proposal. Now what? Um…um…um…oops. Put in a crystal clear call to action. It could be a follow-up meeting, contract signature, or something else — it almost doesn’t matter. What’s important is that there is a next step and you’ve explicitly told the prospect what it is.
Your business rocks. You work hard. You deserve more business.
Don’t let proposals get in the way. Do them right and you’ll win a lot more business.
And they might be. But they’re all asking for a proposal.
Proposals are a fact of life. We all do them, and we’re all trying to blow our prospects away.
But most proposals are bad. Here are 10 reasons why proposals fail:
1. They’re too long. Proposals aren’t meant for “shock and awe” - don’t try and overwhelm the prospect into submission. Edit and cut. Cut and edit. There’s no perfect length for a proposal, but how many of your prospects really read the whole thing? They scan and skim till they get to the price and timeline. Keep it short.
2. They don’t reference the prospect’s pain. Why did the prospect ask you for a proposal? You better have a crystal clear answer to that question. Too many proposals don’t reiterate the pain properly. Skipping that makes the prospect feel like you don’t get it.
3. They’re too technical. I know you’re the expert in your field, that’s why I asked for a proposal. You don’t need to inundate your proposal with buzzwords and industry-hooey. A prospect only knows a smidge of what you know about your business, and they don’t really want to know more. Your proposal fails when it sells industry mastery using language I won’t understand.
4. They’re not selling benefits. Proposals that miss out on #2 and focus too much on #3 invariably aren’t selling benefits. If you’re not selling benefits you’re sunk. And for the love of everything that is holy, spell these out as clearly as possible.
5. They’re not well structured. Proposals are stories. And every story has a beginning, middle and end. Think of your proposal as a story and write it accordingly.
6. They’ve got spelling and grammatical problems. A proposal with spelling errors is unacceptable, it’s as simple as that. Grammatical problems may be harder to catch. Three tips: Read it out loud. Write short sentences. Have someone else read it.
7. They’re poorly formatted and packaged. Style counts! On top of that, your proposal isn’t the only game in town. You want to stand out right? Take some time to format things nicely. Add some pictures. Use bigger headers, smaller paragraphs, and color where appropriate. Think jazzy. If you’ve got substance, sell it with nice packaging.
8. They’re missing testimonials and client references. I’ve rarely seen a proposal with testimonials or client references. It makes no sense. Pepper in a few testimonials to spice it up and add a feeling of success. Add in some client references with contact information to give your prospect a clear message, “you know what you’re doing and you can prove it.”
9. They’re missing a thank you. Proposals are personal. You’re not writing installation instructions for IKEA furniture are you? Unless you’re sending a proposal unsolicited (which makes little sense) someone’s given you that opportunity. Thank them for it.
10. There’s no call to action. You submit the proposal. Now what? Um…um…um…oops. Put in a crystal clear call to action. It could be a follow-up meeting, contract signature, or something else — it almost doesn’t matter. What’s important is that there is a next step and you’ve explicitly told the prospect what it is.
Your business rocks. You work hard. You deserve more business.
Don’t let proposals get in the way. Do them right and you’ll win a lot more business.
How to Build Strong Relationships with Your Customers
Treat them like people.
* Don’t think of a customer as a disconnected voice on the phone.
* Don’t think of a customer as a waste of time.
* Don’t think of a customer as a pain in the ass.
* Don’t think of a customer as an open checkbook.
You will always have difficult, frustrating, stressful and downright rude clients. They’re people remember? And some people are just like that. But…
The quicker you can turn the relationship from client to vendor into person to person the quicker you’ll be successful with that client and future ones.
Find ways to open the lines of communication, meet on common ground and share interests.
Always react professionally, calmly and respectfully. Feel free to say what you think is best, what you think is right, but always maintain a tone of professionalism.
Get to know them, and the environment in which they work. Understand the motives behind their behaviors.
Losing sight of a customer as a person is going to lose you that customer. And, get jaded from bad experiences with customers, and you could lose more than just a customer or two…your business could be in peril.
Customers are people. Find out who they really are.
* Don’t think of a customer as a disconnected voice on the phone.
* Don’t think of a customer as a waste of time.
* Don’t think of a customer as a pain in the ass.
* Don’t think of a customer as an open checkbook.
You will always have difficult, frustrating, stressful and downright rude clients. They’re people remember? And some people are just like that. But…
The quicker you can turn the relationship from client to vendor into person to person the quicker you’ll be successful with that client and future ones.
Find ways to open the lines of communication, meet on common ground and share interests.
Always react professionally, calmly and respectfully. Feel free to say what you think is best, what you think is right, but always maintain a tone of professionalism.
Get to know them, and the environment in which they work. Understand the motives behind their behaviors.
Losing sight of a customer as a person is going to lose you that customer. And, get jaded from bad experiences with customers, and you could lose more than just a customer or two…your business could be in peril.
Customers are people. Find out who they really are.
3 Easy Ways to Treat Your Customers Right
It’s simple really: Happy customers will buy more from you and tell more people about you. You want customers buying more and telling more people about you. You want happy customers.So how do you get happy customers?
* Treat them well.
* Respect them.
* Be honest.
* Respond quickly.
* Be open and accessible.
This is all common sense. But common sense isn’t terribly common, is it?
Here are three stories that demonstrate how easily companies can take basic steps to keeping customers happy for life.
1. Turn your customers into advocates. Andy Sernovitz tells the story of Coffee Cup Software which has a list of 100 customers on its site that anyone can contact for information about the company. I don’t know how the company chose these 100 customers, but it doesn’t matter; they’re giving you unfettered and easy access to them.
2. Customer Relationship Management = Huge Long Tail Profits? Andrew Wee has a couple great examples of how he’s been treated by various financial institutions. Citibank sent Andrew a personalized cake for his birthday. What did the other 6 or 7 banks/trading companies he uses send him? Nothing. It’s so easy to send personalized, quality gifts and “thank yous” to customers, it just takes a bit of creativity and time. And the will.
3. You Don’t Even Have To Go An Extra Mile My own story of buying a gift. The cashier took a bit of extra time to make sure I was treated well, and had a great shopping experience. He didn’t have to bend over backwards; he just paid attention to what was going on and made sure I’d remember how pleasant it was to shop at that store.
It really doesn’t take much to treat customers well.
But you have to recognize the value. And then you have to be willing to take a bit more time, get a bit more creative, push a bit further…
It’s well worth it. Treating customers well is the path towards increased customer loyalty, word-of-mouth and business success.
I Love Customers
Customers are great. If you don’t think so, you’ll never succeed. Surprisingly, a lot of people consider their customers to be “the enemy” or a nuisance they’re forced to deal with.
Just remember that customers:
* pay the bills
* provide good feedback
* find bugs you’ll never find on your own
* use your product in new ways (which can result in new opportunities)
* recommend your product/service to others
* serve as references
Without customers you don’t have a business. It’s as simple as that.
And the key to everything I’ve listed above is having happy customers. Unhappy customers do none of the above. In fact, they do quite the opposite. And that’s bad. (I’m trying to be plain spoken and clear about this!)
The simplest way to have happy customers is through customer support. Of course building a product they want to use is a necessity - but you don’t even have to get that right out of the gate if you’re providing killer customer support.
Customer support isn’t complicated but it is demanding and time consuming. It requires fast response times, courteous replies and decisive action. Luckily for you, very few companies (especially startups!) provide anything remotely resembling quality customer support and so you can immediately use it as a differentiator.
And that’s really the key — leveraging great customer support into a differentiator.
This is especially true for startups. You might not think a startup has the time and wherewithal to focus on customer support, but it’s an absolute necessity. Invariably your product will be rough around the edges, bugs will emerge and there will be a shortage of features. On top of that, you’re the new kid on the block, so customers may look at you with a bit of concern (especially in a B2B market.) “How long will they last?” “Can they really provide the level of product quality and service we need?” To assuage those concerns, and balance against the shortcomings of an early product, use great customer support.
Doing so will increase the likelihood of good things happening (see the list above if you need a reminder.) Customer support can be a strong differentiator if you maintain it at exceptional levels, because you can be sure others won’t bother. They don’t recognize the value. And they’re losing business because of it.
Just remember that customers:
* pay the bills
* provide good feedback
* find bugs you’ll never find on your own
* use your product in new ways (which can result in new opportunities)
* recommend your product/service to others
* serve as references
Without customers you don’t have a business. It’s as simple as that.
And the key to everything I’ve listed above is having happy customers. Unhappy customers do none of the above. In fact, they do quite the opposite. And that’s bad. (I’m trying to be plain spoken and clear about this!)
The simplest way to have happy customers is through customer support. Of course building a product they want to use is a necessity - but you don’t even have to get that right out of the gate if you’re providing killer customer support.
Customer support isn’t complicated but it is demanding and time consuming. It requires fast response times, courteous replies and decisive action. Luckily for you, very few companies (especially startups!) provide anything remotely resembling quality customer support and so you can immediately use it as a differentiator.
And that’s really the key — leveraging great customer support into a differentiator.
This is especially true for startups. You might not think a startup has the time and wherewithal to focus on customer support, but it’s an absolute necessity. Invariably your product will be rough around the edges, bugs will emerge and there will be a shortage of features. On top of that, you’re the new kid on the block, so customers may look at you with a bit of concern (especially in a B2B market.) “How long will they last?” “Can they really provide the level of product quality and service we need?” To assuage those concerns, and balance against the shortcomings of an early product, use great customer support.
Doing so will increase the likelihood of good things happening (see the list above if you need a reminder.) Customer support can be a strong differentiator if you maintain it at exceptional levels, because you can be sure others won’t bother. They don’t recognize the value. And they’re losing business because of it.
10 Tips for Picking a Great Freelance Vendor
The pros and cons of freelancing are fairly well known. And freelancers have no shortage of stories about bad clients. But what about bad freelancers? Does such a thing exist? Of course it does. And there’s no worse feeling than paying someone a lot of money to do work for you only to have them screw it up or bail on you completely.
So what can a client do in a situation where the vendor screws up?
Honestly, not much. Certainly you should stop paying them, but recovering money already spent will be extremely difficult. The best option is to tell everyone you know about the bad experience and lousy vendor. Negative word of mouth (especially if you blog about it publicly) can put a real dent in a freelancer’s future, and it might spur them into action.
Hopefully, it never gets to that point, because if it does the results are never pleasant. Publicly humiliating people is unpleasant (even if it generates results), and no matter what, you’re likely to get screwed out of money and your project.
The best defense against bad freelance vendors is to pick them carefully.
When selecting vendors you have all the control. You can ask for as much information as you want. You can do as much research as you want. You hold most if not all of the cards, so it’s up to you to use them.
1. Get referrals. The best way to find a good vendor is through a referral. If a friend or trusted colleague recommends someone to you, that’s worth a ton. Having said that, don’t take the referral at face value and leave it at that. Do your own research. The person referring a freelancer to you may have different standards. But the best place to start when looking for a freelancer is through your own network.
2. Forget about the lowest price. Generally, you scrap the lowest bid that comes in for your project. (Often people suggest you scrap the highest bid as well, and go for something in the middle.) The lowest bidder may be a good vendor, but it’s a warning sign. You have to ask yourself, “Why are they lower than everyone else?” The answer doesn’t really matter (and it’s not worth trying to figure out), so just thank them and move on. Price is a critical component of picking a freelancer, but if it’s the most important point, you’re in big trouble already.
3. Ask freelancers to explain their price. It doesn’t really matter how a freelancer is pricing the project, you have a right to more details. This is especially true when the project has a fixed price. The vendor will give you a number - $10,000 - but what does that really mean? Ask the vendor to break it up on a deliverable-by-deliverable basis. Or they may have another structure (work, project management, profit, etc.) … it doesn’t matter, you just want to know. Vendors often don’t like doing this because of how they estimating the price of projects (often very poorly) and it requires more effort and leads to more debate on the minutiae of the pricing, but for the client it can be very worthwhile.
4. Get references. One of your most effective weapons against crappy freelancers is to check references. Freelancers will give you their best ones (of course), so it’s up to you to ask good questions of them to get real information. Find out how the vendor reacted under stress. Find out how effective the vendor was as a communicator. Find out if they ever blew any deadlines, and what they did about it. Don’t be shy when probing for information from references. And always ask these two questions: “Would you hire the vendor again? And, would you recommend the vendor to others?”
5. Hunt down your own references. Nothing says you can only speak to the references a vendor gives you. Why not find others? Presumably the vendor has a portfolio; so look up those clients and reach out to them without the vendor’s knowledge. You may find some surprises.
6. Leverage social networking. There’s a very good chance the freelancers you’re looking at are using Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking services. At minimum you should be doing a Google search and hunting around for information on them. Then dig a bit deeper and look for them on social networking sites.
7. Test them on smaller projects. If possible, give a freelancer something small but time-sensitive to do first. It might be a small piece of the bigger project, or something else completely. Test them. It’s a small test, but it’s better than doing nothing. You want to see if they deliver the goods, on time and on budget. You want to assess their communication and operational skills. You want to build a relationship with the freelancer to see if you’ll gel.
8. Spread payments out. There are very few reasons you should have to pay everything upfront. Break up the payments based on deliverables, with some amount upfront. The bigger the project, the more you can chunk up the payments. On smaller projects you can go 50-50 (50% due at the start, 50% due at the end), but most often I prefer 33-33-33 or 25-25-25-25. Of course that works well on fixed price projects. For hourly projects, you can pay based on milestones or at certain time intervals (i.e. every 2 weeks.) And make sure payment is due on your acceptance of delivered work not on the simple delivery of something (which may be crap!)
9. Define the working arrangement. How you communicate and manage the project with your vendor is critical for its success. So, define those terms early on. For example, do you want to make sure the vendor is available via Skype or another online chat tool? Do you expect weekly status reports? Do you want regular face-to-face meetings? How is the vendor expected to deliver the project? Think about the mechanics of the relationship and get agreement on those details as quickly as possible.
10. Hire multiple vendors. On bigger projects consider hiring multiple vendors. This comes with its own challenges — having them work together, integrating work from different people, etc. — but it can mitigate the risk of one vendor totally ruining your project. Try and compartmentalize the work they have to do, so it doesn’t require a lot of integration. If the vendors have to work together, try and get them in a room together and make sure communication is strong.
Picking a great vendor is definitely a challenge.
You may not be able to follow all of the steps above. What happens if you can’t find a referral, for example?
Do your homework. Research potential vendors and freelancers as much as you can. Demand whatever you want from them, because it’s your money and project on the line. The sooner you weed out lousy vendors, the better. And, by going through a rigorous selection process you give yourself the best chance of success. Freelancers may grumble and groan at the amount of effort needed to close the deal, but if it’s a good fit and they really want the work, they’ll do what’s needed to make sure you’re comfortable with them.
So what can a client do in a situation where the vendor screws up?
Honestly, not much. Certainly you should stop paying them, but recovering money already spent will be extremely difficult. The best option is to tell everyone you know about the bad experience and lousy vendor. Negative word of mouth (especially if you blog about it publicly) can put a real dent in a freelancer’s future, and it might spur them into action.
Hopefully, it never gets to that point, because if it does the results are never pleasant. Publicly humiliating people is unpleasant (even if it generates results), and no matter what, you’re likely to get screwed out of money and your project.
The best defense against bad freelance vendors is to pick them carefully.
When selecting vendors you have all the control. You can ask for as much information as you want. You can do as much research as you want. You hold most if not all of the cards, so it’s up to you to use them.
1. Get referrals. The best way to find a good vendor is through a referral. If a friend or trusted colleague recommends someone to you, that’s worth a ton. Having said that, don’t take the referral at face value and leave it at that. Do your own research. The person referring a freelancer to you may have different standards. But the best place to start when looking for a freelancer is through your own network.
2. Forget about the lowest price. Generally, you scrap the lowest bid that comes in for your project. (Often people suggest you scrap the highest bid as well, and go for something in the middle.) The lowest bidder may be a good vendor, but it’s a warning sign. You have to ask yourself, “Why are they lower than everyone else?” The answer doesn’t really matter (and it’s not worth trying to figure out), so just thank them and move on. Price is a critical component of picking a freelancer, but if it’s the most important point, you’re in big trouble already.
3. Ask freelancers to explain their price. It doesn’t really matter how a freelancer is pricing the project, you have a right to more details. This is especially true when the project has a fixed price. The vendor will give you a number - $10,000 - but what does that really mean? Ask the vendor to break it up on a deliverable-by-deliverable basis. Or they may have another structure (work, project management, profit, etc.) … it doesn’t matter, you just want to know. Vendors often don’t like doing this because of how they estimating the price of projects (often very poorly) and it requires more effort and leads to more debate on the minutiae of the pricing, but for the client it can be very worthwhile.
4. Get references. One of your most effective weapons against crappy freelancers is to check references. Freelancers will give you their best ones (of course), so it’s up to you to ask good questions of them to get real information. Find out how the vendor reacted under stress. Find out how effective the vendor was as a communicator. Find out if they ever blew any deadlines, and what they did about it. Don’t be shy when probing for information from references. And always ask these two questions: “Would you hire the vendor again? And, would you recommend the vendor to others?”
5. Hunt down your own references. Nothing says you can only speak to the references a vendor gives you. Why not find others? Presumably the vendor has a portfolio; so look up those clients and reach out to them without the vendor’s knowledge. You may find some surprises.
6. Leverage social networking. There’s a very good chance the freelancers you’re looking at are using Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking services. At minimum you should be doing a Google search and hunting around for information on them. Then dig a bit deeper and look for them on social networking sites.
7. Test them on smaller projects. If possible, give a freelancer something small but time-sensitive to do first. It might be a small piece of the bigger project, or something else completely. Test them. It’s a small test, but it’s better than doing nothing. You want to see if they deliver the goods, on time and on budget. You want to assess their communication and operational skills. You want to build a relationship with the freelancer to see if you’ll gel.
8. Spread payments out. There are very few reasons you should have to pay everything upfront. Break up the payments based on deliverables, with some amount upfront. The bigger the project, the more you can chunk up the payments. On smaller projects you can go 50-50 (50% due at the start, 50% due at the end), but most often I prefer 33-33-33 or 25-25-25-25. Of course that works well on fixed price projects. For hourly projects, you can pay based on milestones or at certain time intervals (i.e. every 2 weeks.) And make sure payment is due on your acceptance of delivered work not on the simple delivery of something (which may be crap!)
9. Define the working arrangement. How you communicate and manage the project with your vendor is critical for its success. So, define those terms early on. For example, do you want to make sure the vendor is available via Skype or another online chat tool? Do you expect weekly status reports? Do you want regular face-to-face meetings? How is the vendor expected to deliver the project? Think about the mechanics of the relationship and get agreement on those details as quickly as possible.
10. Hire multiple vendors. On bigger projects consider hiring multiple vendors. This comes with its own challenges — having them work together, integrating work from different people, etc. — but it can mitigate the risk of one vendor totally ruining your project. Try and compartmentalize the work they have to do, so it doesn’t require a lot of integration. If the vendors have to work together, try and get them in a room together and make sure communication is strong.
Picking a great vendor is definitely a challenge.
You may not be able to follow all of the steps above. What happens if you can’t find a referral, for example?
Do your homework. Research potential vendors and freelancers as much as you can. Demand whatever you want from them, because it’s your money and project on the line. The sooner you weed out lousy vendors, the better. And, by going through a rigorous selection process you give yourself the best chance of success. Freelancers may grumble and groan at the amount of effort needed to close the deal, but if it’s a good fit and they really want the work, they’ll do what’s needed to make sure you’re comfortable with them.
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