I know that what I am about to say seems obvious, but you have no idea how many times I have seen this simple business detail trip people up. No matter what industry you are in, no matter what service you offer, if you are going to enter into a business agreement, then get it in writing. I can not stress this enough. Get a clear and thoroughly detailed contract or statement of work (SOW). Do this for every project, every time! If you get married, you get it in writing. If you rent an apartment, you get it in writing. If you have your bathroom redone, you get it in writing. Why? Because it protects both parties, yes, both parties. The renter’s agreement I signed means that my landlord knows when and how much he’ll get paid, and I know that I won’t be evicted without cause or have my rent change without warning. Both sides are protected. Simple, right?
So why is it that so few people get things in writing when they have web work done? What about the web seems to make otherwise cautious people become inherently trusting? I don’t know, but whatever it is I’ve made the mistake of doing work both without a contract and with a vague SOW. What happened? One business that shall remain nameless got a nice full featured websites for free, another got way more than was originally discussed, and in both cases I got screwed.
What should you get in writing?
- The total cost of the project
- Terms of payment
- Complete project specifications (list every detail no matter how trivial)
- Deadlines for both parties
- Names of all decision makers (chain of command is your friend)
- Signatures of all relevant parties.
What should you do before signing an agreement?
- Don’t assume anything.
- Make sure you clearly understand what’s written. If something is missing, doesn’t seem right, or seems confusing insist upon a clarification. (This might have helped Billy Joel)
- Don’t ever let anybody pressure you into signing something before you have had a chance to review to your satisfaction. (This might have helped Tom Petty)
- Trust your gut and pay attention to red flags.
Remember, it’s your money, trust, reputation, and time. You deserve to know what you are committing to, and you deserve to be protected.
In summary:
- Get it in writing
- Always
- Every time
All the best,
John
Questions 67 and 68…
Introduction
This story, like many others, starts with a man sitting on a stationary bike. Let me explain. The audio for the TVs at my gym is broadcast over FM radio frequencies. I don’t own a portable FM tuner, and for some reason the only channel with closed captioning is HGTV. As a result I have been watching a lot of Holmes on Homes recently while riding the bike. This got me thinking that maybe we can apply a few of the lessons from Holmes on Homes to the web industry.
Really? I can hear you saying. What could Mike Holmes, a Canadian contractor who fixes houses that have been ruined by unscrupulous contractors, possibly have to do with my next website? Good question, fellow crime-stopper. Mike always says that the best way to avoid crooked contractors (or in our case crooked or incompetent web designers and developers) is to educate ourselves and to ask the right questions.
Personally, I think that this is great advice, but one problem with this idea was recently posed to me by a friend. He asked, “How exactly do I do this? How am I supposed to know what the right questions to ask are, let alone be able to evaluate the answers I get?” We kicked this question around for a few minutes, and then I had one of those well duh moments. I realized this question would be a good topic to write about.
So, how can I ask the right questions and evaluate the answers?
I’m getting there…over the four entries that make up this series I will go over some of the crucial questions you should ask before starting any web project, give you some concrete examples of the kinds of answers you should expect to hear, and expose some red flags you should be on the lookout for. But that’s not all…each entry will also have a handy checklist that you can download and use when starting a new project or evaluating a potential web firm. Here’s a preview of what lies ahead.
To wrap up, for now…
I believe that the more we can learn from and empower each other the better off we’ll all be. I hope this series will help you make better decisions about who you choose to work with and how you plan your future projects. A little knowledge can go a long way towards helping you avoid some of the common traps that are all too easy to fall into.
All the Best,
John