When I worked in a startup, there was this unwritten rule that the person that worked the longest was the most helpful. It was like a direct correlation existed between hours sitting at a computer and value to the company. This placed no focus whatsoever on accomplishment. Just activity. So a person who sat at their desk and drummed up $200,000 in sales in a single morning was useless compared to a programmer that worked on a single function for 100 hours in a single week. Crazy, right? But my point isn’t value. Or the fact that great value can […]

When people first land on a page that’s selling them something—whether it’s a service, theme, plugin, or hosting—they may not know you. And if they don’t know you, or have no preconceived notions of who you are, then you know that the sale will be challenging. Some developers will push a long list of features. And it can work. But it can just as easily lead people to a sort of analysis paralysis. After all, they have to figure out what all those features mean and what they will do for them. And determine if they need them. Some developers […]

There are several pricing models that exist out there and I thought it might help our business discussions to look at them and to highlight the biggest difference between cost-based and value-based pricing. Cost-Based Pricing Flat Pricing  The most simple of cost-based pricing approaches is to simply charge a single price. It’s also the one that most people are used to—like when you walk into a store, grab a product, and it has a single price tag on it. If your production costs are clear, and your margin determined, then a flat price may not give you the best profit, […]

We Often Start in the Same Place When freelancers get their start, they often use the term “one-stop shop” with their friends, clients, and networks. People hear the phrase and their reaction depends on their experience. Younger folks nod in agreement; more seasoned folks smile with empathy and compassion. Because they’ve been there. We’ve all been there. Eventually we discover that our clients had a more pressing objective in mind. They just wanted the work done. Complete. Whole. With a single point of contact. That doesn’t suggest, nor should it, that the client was asking for a single person to do […]

Have you been watching the Olympics? Let’s start with the fact that his country’s not known for its cold weather. Or that its favorite sport is cricket. Add to that the fact that its own Olympic committee was recently suspended because it elected criminals to its leadership. Oh, and top it off with the fact that there’s not a single place to practice the luge in the entire country. There’s just no way to explain Indian athlete Shiva Keshavan’s appearance at this year’s Olympic Winter Games. Until you realize that he’s been practicing by putting wheels on his luge and taking it […]