RE: yikes! how much do I charge?

  Liliane:

>Can you seasoned pros help me out here?.   The last thing they said was that
>if I could do it for $1000 they knew the owner would agree.   Is this a fair
>price for a professional site which would include all of the above?
>Remember, I am just starting out...HEEELLLPPP  PLEASE GUYS.



My gut reaction after a few years in another area of consulting, they're praying
you'll say OK.  The more important question is how badly do you want the business?
However, make sure your role is defined and you estimate your time commitment as
well as you can.  Some parts appear to be a bit nebulous.  If you feel you can get
a good reference with the site and $1000 is OK to you, take it. But it does sounds
like a lot of work to me.  You'll need to get better definitions what's involved
in some of the pieces.

Do you believe they've only talked with a 'high school' kid, or maybe are shopping
around?  You could test their commitment with  you by proposing a phased approach.
Design a phase you feel comfortable with and give them a price?  Don't break it
too many pieces, you don't want them to look at it as a menu and order the 'tough'
parts from you. I think you need to have a good enough idea what is needed from
you so you understand what kind of hourly pay you'll be getting.

Roles of each party should also be defined as well as you can politically.  Ask,
"Who will be responsible to get me the answers to questions I will have?"  They're
asking you to do some things that go to the heart of their business strategy, and
it's their business and their strategy.  They've probably spent a few years
getting where they are with it.  How long will it take you to grasp it well enough
to develop their net strategy? If you've entered a potential loss leader for
yourself, at least a phased approach will help you cut your losses.

While you'll learn how to adjust your pricing and manage clients, this could get
you needed experience, you just want to be sure it a good experience.  If the
$1000 is ok for you and you can be sure your commitment is not open ended, go for
it.  If you want to try some risk, ask for more.

Good luck,

Tom Connor
twcinpa(at)early.com

HWG: hwg-graphics mailing list archives, maintained by Webmasters @ IWA