If I might jump in here. I am a small one man shop that has been 
working to grow my business in a small community. Going the 
extra mile has been my personal motto. Now, in the community 
my business is known for my ethics, integrity and the great service 
you receive by doing business with me. Going the extra mile has 
been the best advertising I could have ever done. I only work from 
word-of-mouth business--and I'm swamped!

Now, how about a graphics-list question <grin>



On 23 May 2000, at 12:00, Keith D Sellars wrote:

> David,
> 
> You brought out some points that everyone would do well to take note of.  What
> you have described is exactly the way we do business.  There are times when you
> must stand your ground.  You may lose *some* business, but you will find that
> you often will gain other business simply because you have enough confidence to
> *stick to your guns*.  I also wholeheartedly agree with not overpromising, but
> ALWAYS doing extra.  We almost always will give our new clients pages that they
> did not pay for simply because the site needs it to be complete.
> 
> Good old fashioned courtesy and *going the extra* mile will make you stick out
> like a sore thumb in today's business world.
> 
> Have a good one,
> Keith D Sellars
> WebGraffix
> www.webgraffix.com
> 
> "David L. Semans" wrote:
> 
> > Keith,
> > Your point is well taken.  I guess what I was trying to say is that it is
> > easy to price yourself right out of business.  A business owner needs to
> > know what their time is worth.  You can have all the work in the world, but
> > at $2.50 an hour you won't be in business long.
> > Your strategy for acquiring clients due to value (low price and good work)
> > is a great way to get started. The key here, is knowing when you are
> > established enough to take your rates to the level they should be.  It is
> > easy to get a lot of work lined up when you are affordable and good at what
> > you do.
> > The key to charging for your services, is to maintain your professional
> > image.  Don't let the customer push you around - be confident, but don't
> > promise anything. Promise only _some_ of what you are capable, and perform
> > far beyond your promises.  Clients will rarely complain about your rates if
> > you go the extra mile for them, just don't tell them you are going to do
> > that before hand! :)
> >
> > David L. Semans
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Keith D Sellars [mailto:Keith(at)webgraffix.com]
> > > Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 11:25 AM
> > > To: David L. Semans
> > > Cc: hwg-graphics(at)hwg.org
> > > Subject: Re: How much to charge?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "David L. Semans" wrote:
> > >
> > > >  The most important thing is to
> > > > charge high now.  You can always lower prices if you are too
> > > high.  You will
> > > > have lots of trouble raising your rates later.
> > > >
> > > > David L. Semans
> > >
> > > I don't know if I necessarily agree with this statement.
> > > Although this may not
> > > be the correct list to post this Q&A to, I wanted to respond
> > > using my personal
> > > experience.  In theory, you may be correct.  The only problem is
> > > that, for new
> > > businesses, often the only way to gain a solid start is by having a very
> > > competitive pricing structure.  This usually means simply having
> > > the lowest
> > > price for the same or better quality work.  Once you get a solid
> > > customer base,
> > > you can start gradually raising your prices to meet the industry
> > > norm.  If this
> > > is done gradually, you most often will not see any type of
> > > backlash effect.
> > > Your existing customers will feel as if they got a good deal, and
> > > new ones will
> > > then see you as a *legitimate player* in your field.
> > >
> > > Just my $.02 worth,
> > > Keith D Sellars
> > > WebGraffix
> > > www.webgraffix.com
> > >
> 
> 


Jim Haslam
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