I can see valid points on both sides of the fence here. Yes, we work to make money and the faster we can get on with what we truly want to pursue, the better. That’s generally my feeling when it comes to working 16-18 hours days with the hope of working on other things I can’t afford to spend time on now.

It’s always unfortunate to see a company like Mint cash in their chips, but this seems to be a glass half-empty, half-full situation. Perhaps the Mint crew want to pursue more noble pursuits, philanthropic pursuits, or start their own companies that contribute to some other exciting industry like solar or other green tech ideas?

The primary criticism I have here is not your points- it is, of course, a worthwhile pursuit to try and innovate in a given field, but rather that you seem to assume these guys are done, that they are taking the money and running off to burn hard currency in their fireplaces.

I’d say at least acknowledge you have hope that the Mint team is going on to bigger and better things.

On the other side of the coin, your passion for overthrowing the old regime is inspiring, passionate, pragmatic and admirable, but keep in mind that the large barge companies out there that are currently in the “purchase and conquer” phase could also be suffering from a lack of direction, a leadership team not sure how to adjust to a new paradigm.

You can argue the large guys will buy their way to longevity, gobbling up the innovators, but the historical data rarely ever supports that. If you haven’t read “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, please do. Warm fuzzy feelings will soon replace your outrage. Honestly, I’m encouraged when I see this acquisition pattern take place. I’m not concerned about Intuit, Intuit will either innovate or die, not buy their way to results.

As for the Mint team? Guys, congrats on your acquisition. I’m excited to see what you do next, because the thing that Intuit did not get when they bought the Mint machine was the engine, clearly.

…do you have other recommendations for a mid sized company like my clients that would enable us to grow into the potential we have as a direct to consumer player? A tall order, I know, but love your thoughts.

While I am not a marketing expert, I do feel comfortable speaking from the standpoint of tools and usability. There needs to be a new emphasis on lowering the operational footprint of the tools we provide for clients. After all, the building that a store resides in shouldn’t require the level of attention that marketing, products and customers demand. As a developer, I believe that is the philosophy that we need to emphasize moving forward – the tool needs to be built with a clear emphasis on fitting into existing business processes as much as possible instead of carelessly redefining them, and in the process creating more work on the operational side. In addition, the tools themselves need to serve marketing directives better, which means adding features in that allow marketing departments to test, gather and abstract data into something that can be employed in marketing and operational directives.

In the context of e-commerce, the problem lies in the fact that otherwise decent core e-commerce packages, make it cost prohibitive to make any sort of change to the system, and it doesn’t need to be like that. If designed right, the actual code framework should be able to handle most or all of the customization needs a client has. That way, if something does need to change, less time can be spent customizing and therefore reducing TCO (total cost of ownership) of the tool set.

Generally speaking I see the rising stars in direct to consumer as having expertise with and providing non-invasive, adaptable, (robust, portable) open source tools as well as being experts at converting raw data into real marketing and operational strategies for their clients. These are lofty goals to be sure, but it is time for us, the techies to listen to the marketers and to the users to create tools that work with and serve the clients better.

What do you think?

Oh, and if you, Gary Vaynerchuk read this post and decided you hated it for whatever reason (and took the time to tell me) I would drink that up like grocery-store Egg Nog in July. If I am completely wrong in everything I do today and you notice, I’d consider myself lucky because I’m learning something from a guy who already learned it before me and is willing to share. I’m all over your content now, I actually can’t stop finding more. So, thanks for that. I owe you.

Read This Or Else…

Before we get onto the main course, let me say that this post is an experiment. Instead of me sharing with you some knowledge that I’ve learned and think is worthy of writing about, this post is solely meant ot engage you, the reader in conversation. So, if you are reading, be prepared to throw your two cents in!

Do What You Love

When all is said and done, you are not going to have any success getting ahead doing something that you aren’t completely fascinated (and subsequently rewarded) by on a daily basis. I’m not even 100% sure that I know what that is yet. It could be innovating web applications. Despite the fact that the tools (hardware and software) still get in the way of how I think and produce solutions, I still love discovering the solution. That one split second when the light bulb goes on is for me the most special feeling I get when doing what I do.

I’m a LAMP developer, but I’m not a great one from the technical standpoint. There are plenty of guys out there faster than I, know more language and syntax than I, guys who can just immerse in the code and pump it out line after line. That’s just not me. My value doesn’t lie in my speed or technical points though. It is in my ability to solve the problem. If you give me the parameters and the resources to craft the solution, I will do the rest. That is what I have come to love when I’m working.

Enough about me, what about you? What does the most simple concept boil down to for you?

Okay, let’s say the client is a perfect client in the sense that they never challenge the limit of what the quote ecompasses in terms of project scope. How often have any of you had a client who doesn’t challenge those boundaries in passive-aggressive ways if not directly? I’m going to guess the answer is “rarely”. Feel free to correct me on that assumption.

So, we all are trying to build strong working relationships with these clients, but whether they know it or not, they always have a bigger picture in mind no matter how clearly defined the project’s tasks are. At some point, its just not worth it to spell it out due to time constraints anyway, right?

So, if that is the challenge, how do we try to mitigate the risk of overruns while keeping a client happy? Here are a few improved uses of your quoting time to ensure you get a fair price and minimize the risk of going over on the quote.

Tip 1: Ask more questions, ask relevant questions, and ask follow-up questions

The golden rule should be “assume nothing and ask everything” when in the discovery process. Don’t just find out what the tool is for, ask how they execute in real life. This will give you a much better understanding of the operational side that you are most likely being paid to automate to a certain extent. If you can’t visualize yourself doing a given task then ask more questions until you feel like you could go in and do the task or process yourself with minimal guidance. Sure, you may be committing more time at this stage than usual, but you are reducing the potential for massive time drainers later that come when you have to change something already built.

Tip 2: Put the cost in context – justify your price with a cost analysis

The more information about the current cost of doing whatever it is you are going to assist them with, the better off you are. If you present them with a $5000 quote out of context, the first question they will have is “why so much?” But if you find out that the only alternative is a 3rd-party system that charges a setup fee and a monthly fee, you can show them savings over time instead of the initial investment. What is even better is that when you come back with a slightly lower quote, you can mention the savings you are giving them when compared to the other option they are considering. If they are not aware of an alternative, be bold – find that alternative, figure out a 3-year cost for them, and then you can show them how they will save money by working with you instead.

Tip 3: Present the draft quote to the potential client and eliminate the uncertainties as much as possible

When I started freelancing, in my eagerness to get started on a project I would hand off a quote as a final quote and then say something like “we can tackle the unknowns as they come”, which is amazingly reckless and of course, I was sinking my own ship. I had no defense when the client would remember an 11th-hour feature that needed to be there, and to keep them happy, I would just throw it in. After a while I realized I needed to slow down, and approach the situation from in a much more careful, thorough manner. That isn’t to say I don’t still have quotes where I underestimate, but it happens a lot less than it used to.

Tip 4: If you can, build in a financial safety net

If you think you can squeak in a percentage of the total quote as a financial safety net, you should. Although I would recommend a 10% buffer, anything helps. You also reduce headaches for your client by not needing to get additional funds approved for the little stuff.

Of course, there are many other ways to refine your quoting process, but my personal experience has shown that emphasizing these four things has helped smooth out the process, keep the client satisfied, and keep the value of the project from becoming an issue. If you have other tips or techniques, I’d love to hear about them. Thanks for reading!

Tip 1: Take stock of your current client base

You probably already feel you have a pretty good handle on your clients, but what about in a general sense? Who is giving you work, who stopped, who is demanding the most of your time, who doesn’t pay on time well? Asking some broader questions and then evaluating your client base along that line of questioning will help you determine who could be hurting – rather than helping your business stay healthy.

Tip 2: Stop Relying on “that one, or those two or three key clients”

Think of clients as being legs. The more legs you have, the more chance there is your business will stand, even when you lose one. I’ve seen friends lose their business because that all-important huge client went out of business or else simply cut costs by stopping all work with them. The trick here is to find a way to gain more clients while staying profitable and not over-extending you and/or your staff. In another post I’ll cover some of the ways to tackle this particular problem, lowering your overhead on projects by choosing the right tools and reusing what you can from previous projects.

Tip 3: Invest some time in figuring out how to streamline your project development and operational processes

You might have a pretty great position with your business, perhaps you’ve narrowed down your strengths and weaknesses and have already started shifting towards a more streamlined business model, or perhaps you are capitalizing on the hottest new trend or opportunity out there, but at the end of the day, those extra 1 or 2 hours you spend sorting through emails, figuring out problems, talking on the phone with clients (and not billing the time), etc. might be costing you money better spent on other internal endeavors.

We all do this to a certain extent, it is the nature of the business we’re in. Most of what we do is provide service and as a result, there are many intangible factors that can add time to our daily workload but don’t actually generate real revenue. As a result, we’re essentially paying out our valuable time when we could be using it more effectively. The key is to be aware of these facts and to commit some time to finding solutions.

So, what solutions have you found? What steps have you taken to shore up your business so that you can gain when others struggle?