Posts filed under 'Humor'
One of the markets we obviously target is Seattle Web Design & people looking for Seattle Web Designers & Seattle Web Developers.
We love working for Seattle clients on development or design projects. It is an easy hop down the highway, preferably made at off-peak times since Washington State does not believe in building roads or non-Boondoggle mass transit projects (Hear that “Big Dig” we’re coming for you!).
Seattle is a funny area for Web Design & Development. Take us as an example. We are a company. We have an office. We have all local designers and developers. You will probably talk to the same people year after year because we have had less than 5% turn-over since we started back in 2000.
We tend to get a lot of work from a certain breed of company. This breed basically has very nice offices, slick salespeople and puts a lot of time into fancy proposals and “the process”.
What they do not do, is the actual work apparently .. but you wouldn’t know that from talking to them. They in turn, sub out your projects to people like us. Want to confused this breed of salesperson? Just ask them who specifically will be working on their project and watch them either
1) Tell you the name of someone who will probably NOT be working on your project.
2) Make up a name.
3) Tell you that will be decided later.
The last time we competed against a firm like this, after seeing this firm in the waiting room, I challenged the client to ask them this question. Apparently they did and they fumbled it bad. Sorry folks, no points for second place. Honestly rules.
In our area there also seems to be a large number of single individuals “faking” being a larger firm than they really are. Now I know this is common in other industries, especially whenever the ambiguous word “consultant” is invoked, however with Web Firms it seem to be more prevalent. Selecting a vendor is an important decision. It can make or break a project or even a business if you are building your business around a new application, portal or website.
A lot of people in our industry have full-time jobs doing something else, but still act like a 9-5 firm. This is a huge disservice to their clients.
Here are some examples and patterns to watch out for:
- Any firm that uses the words: Studios, We, Our, Staff, Employees, etc.. - yet doesn’t have a page devoted to Staff Bios or Resume. (To be fair - here’s our Seattle Web Developers bio page and I need to add recent hires.)
- Any firm or individual that lists portfolio pieces or clients by name, but does not link to the website or describe in detail what they did. This usually indicates that they were either employed at that Company or we not 100% responsible for the project.
- Any firm that does not list a mailing or office address.
- Any firm that seems to have a half dozen email address yet they are answered by the same person.
- Any firm that cannot tell you “who” will be working on your project - this means they take all jobs and then scramble to find people to do the work. These are called unnecessary middlemen in the real world.
- Any website that uses a non-professional email like AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.
- Any firm that talks about their multiple locations or offices, yet doesn’t list addresses. These are probably apartments.
- Any firm with a poor looking website; a website or portfolio that consists mainly of web templates or that can sell you pretty much the same solution no matter what you tell them you want. When all you know how to use is a hammer, everything is a nail.
Well, I am out of time for now. What do you think?
Tom
July 31st, 2008
We’ve hired two new employees here at FDG Web. Jared & Blake.
Jared is a graphic designer fresh out of school (for the most part). You can see some of the great stuff he is working on for JJIElectronics.com (Special Christmas Zen-Cart Overlay). Jared is a designer. Did I happen to mention that? Photoshop, Illustrator, Vector Artwork, print work, etc - that is his area.
So, what you are seeing here is the result of our having put him next to the programmer’s pit here in the office.
[click to enlarge]
November 21st, 2007
In 2003 we put this together with some help from our friends over at SitePoint & the Flash Kit forums. A lot of time has passed since then - standards change, the popularity of certain technologies wax & wane - even new “BuzzWords” emerge or go out of style. As the clients shout out their “feedback” in the game below - what clichés have you heard as a designer, developer or as a consultant? Post your comments and the best will get updated into the game. Immortality is yours - take it! Without further ado - it’s time to play….
It’s not in the contract…
(Free therapy for Developers & Designers! )
August 14th, 2007
NEW from Google - Gmail Paper! (BETA) - Google will print your email on demand and send them to you.
Tagline: You Click. We Stack. You Get.
With advantages such as:
- No pop-ups or flashy animations.
- Print 1, 1,000 or 100,000 emails - WHATEVER seems reasonable to YOU!
- Made from 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputnum - the environment actually gets healthier.
Gmail paper has got to be the funniest thing I have ever experienced on the Internet.
More craziness - if you are a developer or a designer - click here.
PS - If you haven’t figure it out… this is not a new Web 2.0 thing…more of an April 1st thing.
April 2nd, 2007
It is the best of times and the worst of times. Life as a web or graphic arts freelancer can be both rewarding and tough. On one hand is the indescribable pleasure of be able to charge what your worth; on the other is the often frustrating task of getting paid what you’re owed.
Your time is money. That is why you went into this business in the first place. Learn it. Live it. Love it. This is the Golden Rule and you should chant it like a mantra because we’ll be coming back to it in this article; I promise.
The reality of any design business, or service business in general, is that you must pay as much attention to the business end of your efforts as you do to the service end. Failure to do so exposes you to liability issues, profit loss, headaches, dry mouth, wasted projects and more. While you may be a creative design god, a visionary, genius-it doesn’t mean you are running your business as effectively as you can. If you’ve ever watched a profitable project slip away because the edits just wouldn’t end; if you’ve ever let a client push you around and make you feel uncomfortable; if you’ve ever found yourself wishing you had more legal protection for the work that you do, then this article is for you.
This list of steps will separate your design business from the amateurs:
1) Spend time interviewing the client about the job. Not only will this help you determine first hand what the client’s needs are, but also it will help the client view you as a professional. A good first impression will help you later on when it comes time for payment.
2) Put together a work order based on what was discussed in the interview. This will be your proposal to the client to begin working on their project. You will need to spell out all of the terms, delivery dates, number of pages, editing guidelines, deposits and payment terms. You also need to include all of the options discussed in your interview with the client. A formal proposal says that you are a professional.
Your proposal should contain no less than the following:
-
Cover letter
-
Site Specifications and layout
-
Development Guidelines
(include milestones and number of drafts)
-
Payment terms and conditions
-
Storyboards, diagrams, or examples
-
The contract
In considering each of these elements I cannot stress enough the following point: Leave nothing open-ended! Even if “open-ended” is a vital part of the contract, as in the case of an ongoing relationship for maintenance and updates, you need to spell it out!
3) Never work without a deposit. Go look at the Golden Rule again in case you forgot. A deposit does two things for you.
- It helps separate the serious clients from those who are not. A client is less likely to pull out of a project if they’ve made a financial commitment.
- See the Golden Rule.
4) Have a pricing strategy. Know what your time is worth, how long it takes you to do certain tasks, and the value of those tasks in the marketplace. Communicate them effectively to the client, impress on them which tasks are time consuming, and how this will impact pricing. Your client is likely to be a professional, and they will understand that time is money. They understand that their own time is money. They should understand the Golden Rule and so should you.
Developing a spreadsheet or other form which allows you to track changes to a project as you go helps in the long run. It will not matter whether you charge per page, per project, or a combination of both, because you will know how to price what you are doing for the client.
5) Test early and often - don’t let your credibility erode by forgetting little Q/A issues such as Browser Compatibility (read: Netscape), plug-in issues, load times, and screen resolution. Do as much of this before the client sees it. If the first impression of your creation is a good one, then it will be easier to get paid than if the client could not view the site correctly the first time around.
6) Have a final invoice - make sure it reflects the work order to the letter. Any agreed upon changes must be billed with the approval method clearly outlined. Attach any copies of emails, faxes, or other communications regarding changes to your site. Your contract should outline the terms of payment, and definitely detail a “late payment” policy. Just slap a statement on your invoice which reads “18% APR for accounts more than 15 days past due” and see what happens. You should always have a plan to enforce non-payments
Whether you are a freelance web designer, graphic artist, desktop publisher, or programmer you take on a great deal of responsibility every time you accept a new contract. Having ironclad contracts, invoices, and work orders can go along way in protecting your interests early and often, before trouble starts.
Putting these steps in place takes time and a little money, but you don’t need to hire an attorney, an accountant or a business manager to increase your sales and efficiency. Just remember the Golden Rule. Your time is valuable; don’t let the client take that from you.
A good resource for many of the things I’ve mentioned above is a company called Proposal Kit; you can find the product here. I purchased their “Professional” package originally for our business and we’ve been extremely pleased with the results. So much, in fact - we still to this day help advise and shape the documents that Ian & Cyber-Sea, Inc produce with each update.
November 5th, 2006
We get a lot of spam targeting our servers. I mean A LOT of spam. Definately more than 60,000 spam messages a day per server we own. Most of that is out of the blue; usually foreign and almost all total crap.
[Note to our web hosting customers … when you find yourself irked by the few that do get through (maybe a dozen per 300 delivered). We’re on the front lines taking the brunt for you. Promise. It’s the virtual equivilent of Kevin standing out there with a rolling pin in one hand waving it away - which is funny as hell to watch. Besides where have YOU been surfing lately. 
]
Anyway, so I’ve realized that if you take the average product(s) that spam is pushing, from its very inception, you’ll see that spam isn’t really all that bad.
Spam doesn’t want to hurt you.I mean, he’s (yes, spam is a “he”.) really looking out for you as the consumer. Serious. Spam is all about proportions, and here is the money shot:
Spam just wants to make your manhood larger and your mortgage payments smaller.
What scale!
So, when I found this website - http://spamusement.com/ - I nearly bust a gut. Granted, you have to read A LOT of Spam subject lines to get any of these jokes..but when you are in our industry - or just get a lot of email - you may recognize some of these.
Other cool links as of late:
——————————–
http://www.theyrule.net (Track the fat cats who sit on publically traded companies by how inbred their relations are to other companies you know. The fatter they are - the more they sit on)
New post over at our friends at Deviant Art - create your own Ski Hill and drop some poor soul down it to glory or his doom:
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/40255643/
Warning the above is addicting.
Apologizing ahead of time for spelling errors. Luke has a 103.5 degree fever. So tired.
October 9th, 2006
