Sé Reed is this episodes Web Development Pro.  Sé is a regulr contributor of the WP Watercooler and helps small businesses with amazing Wordpress Website.

Sé talks to us about her craft but also talks about women in web development and even gets in GamerGate.  Sé is definitely full of energy and we are so happy she shared that energy with us here!

Doug Yuen is has a successful Wordpress consulting business, growing podcast and all while traveling the world!

In this podcast, Doug Yuen talks about his dream of being free to travel the world and doing what he loves.  His web business allows him to do just that.  We discuss his experience with clients and the websites he designs on the fly, his attending and speaking at local Wordcamps and travels through Thailand for months at a time.  If you wanted to have the freedom to travel and do something awesome like building websites, listen to this episode!

 

Links:

http://wpcast.fm

http://podwp.com

http://efficientwp.com

In this episode, Troy Dean talks about how he started building wordpress websites and then elevated his consulting business. Troy not only gives the steps he's taken to get better clients and projects but he gives awesome advice for any web developer. Learn about the WP Elevation and how it can specifically help consultants improve their business. If you want to eleavate your website development business, check out the WP Elevation.

WP Elevation - http://www.wpelevation.com/

In this episode, NY Attorney Dan Depasquale talks to me about web development contracts, what to have in them and more.   We talk about the importance of force majeure in our contract which is basically a clause protecting you from "acts of God."  We discuss copyrights and who would own them at the end of the project.  Also, Dan mentions several times the importance of communication from both web developer and web client in the contract to prevent scope creep.

Make sure to listen to this amazing episode with Dan!

 

Resources:

AIGA - http://www.aiga.org/

AIGA is a resource for web development/design contract templates.

DGDPC.com - http://dgdpc.com/

Make sure you visit Dan's website to learn more about Dan's legal services or even just to thank him for the awesome information he shared with us.

What is Scope Creep? Scope creep is also known as feature creep. That’s when a client may ask you to do more work than expected. Sometimes it happens because the client wants more features while you are working on a project. This will happen in many cases and has happened to me on many projects.

Strategies to prevent scope creep.

Clearly understand their needs for the project but also their pain point if it doesn’t get done. Find out the why behind the project as well as the details they will give you for the project.

Work with them on the solution. Involve them in the solution that you are suggesting for the project. Make sure they are aware of the steps that you want to take to complete their creative project.

Clearly define the entire scope of the project. Put all the critical details of what you are going to do and what you are going to use to get there. Now you don’t have to include plugins or extensions if you are building a website project but get detailed and put it all in the contract that they need to agree to.

Offer a price that is good for you. I recommend adding a 10%, 15% or 20% buffer into the price for the unexpected. Clients always have additional requests and even hand-holding to get through the project. Having the extra buffer protects you and ensures that you get paid on the work that you’ve done.

Complete and have your clients sign a detailed contract that clearly states what you are going to do, what they are required to do and what happens if those things don’t happen. These details are super important for protecting you.

In the podcast, I talk about a few examples of how I prevent scope creep in my client projects.

Thanks for listening and hopefully subscribing!

Welcome to the NEW Going Pro Podcast Episode 1.  In this podcast you'll get tips, tactics and strategies to help you take your consulting business to the next level.  You'll find valuable resources and advice regardless if you are a web developer, designer or any type of creative.  We will cover topics that consultants struggle with like working with clients, keep clients on track and way more!  Along the way, we will share our own tips but we'll also interview industry experts to share their experiences and knowledge on how they worked to become a professional in their market.  Stick around and make sure to subscribe to catch all the future weekly episodes.