I’ve had a great time at WordCamp Orlando 2013 this weekend. Today I attended the business track which I enjoyed because of the storytelling and lessons learned from the speakers.
The track included presentations on building your company around WordPress, strategies for working with clients, client communication, and one of my favorite talks by Jesse Petersen, How to Reel in a Client Without Landing a Stinker.
Check out Jesse’s slides, my key takeaways, and some of the backchannel conversation from his presentation.
Key Takeaways
Watch out for red flags when a potential client contacts you:
- Second, third or fourth developer on the project
- Unrealistic budget
- Needs project completed within days or a week
- Lack of communication
Six types of clients:
- Noobs
- Rescue: clients you’ll have for life. You rescued them when their site crashed. Or a developer left and they have no support.
- Know it all: knows more than you. Or knows someone who knows more than you.
- “Clients from Hell” candidate: don’t communicate well
- Cheapskate: wants a website for $300-$500
- Dream client: talks about their family with you, then their project. Pay on time, or early. Been a client of yours for years. Refer new clients to you.
Resources for your business:
- Consider Stripe for payments (cost is 1% less than PayPal, but only works in the U.S.).
- Use Hover for domain name registration and quick Google Apps setup.
Backchannel
http://twitter.com/redcrew/status/402117096051851265
Thanks so much for the review, Deborah. I’m glad you enjoyed it and I loved how engaged you were with your questions during Q&A and afterward. I hope you come back next year.
Jesse, I enjoyed your presentation and was thankful you included time for Q & A. WordCamp Orlando was wonderful, and I hope to return next year.