RE: Grrr!! Do-it-yourselfers!

<snip>
I'll play devil's advocate here.  I've found that the do it yourselfers are 
often my best clients since no one understands how difficult web 
development is unless they have tried it themselves.  I've taken on many 
projects that were begun by somebody's nephew who was taking a web design 
class in college or by the business owner who had gotten a copy of 
FrontPage.  These people are not my mortal enemies and they certainly are 
NOT my competition.  I explain in a very friendly nonconfrontational manner 
the problems in their site and then show them good examples of competitor 
web sites to give them an understanding of professional versus amateur 
design.  Giving advice and training is never giving something away for free 
when you gain a customer for life as well as their future recommendations 
to other prospective clients.  Sometimes it takes a while for them to admit 
they need help but you know who they are going to call when they do.
Blue
</snip>

Blue,

I agree with you wholeheartedly but there's a big difference between 
helping out someone who is already in trouble and knows it, and having some 
goose tell you, after hours of work, that they don't need you after all 
because they have just discovered how to do your job.

Of course, the guy is going to come unravelled somewhere down the track and 
need help, but would *you* trust him to be on the up and up, or would you 
question if he's just picking your brain so he can go off and do it himself 
again.

I'd be charging him an entrance fee for stepping into my comfort zone quite 
frankly.

Kym


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