One day I’ll write a book about how the experience of selling cars should be a precursor to becoming an entrepreneur.

In fact, I’ve put some thoughts together on that topic before. There’s no better training than working with cold calls, negotiations and rejection that the car lot affords you. After a few years, you just “get it.”

Our guest James Dalman gets it.

In this conversation we’ll cover his journey as a freelancer, to working at WebDesign.com with Cory Miller and his latest launch HappyJoe.co. Here’s a service poised to disrupt recruiting and education of US Veterans looking for a career in web design/development.

James Dalman of HappyJoe.co

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What matters at the end of the day

We talk a lot about pricing in this interview.

* Value based

* Hourly

* Project based

James reminds us to gut check our work at the end of the day. No matter how much or how little you charged, do you feel happy with your work? Did you deliver with integrity? Are your clients happy?

So often we overlook this simple formula in place of pricing strategies and negotiation concepts for better returns. If you’re happy with the work you did and your client is high fiving you — you done good.

Real good.

Forming a strong bond and trust with your client will pay off in the long run. It might not come in the form of immediate dollars, but referrals or strong positive reviews. Word of mouth is still the most powerful form of marketing.

Disrupting the freelancing industry

We rely on the generous contributions of corporations and individuals to offset the costs of training and mentoring veterans who make it through a tough and strict application process. Veterans who are accepted into our program are provided with these resources for free.

Remember when I said James gets it?

His latest business HappyJoe.co is pairing up veterans with web tech mentoring and providing services for businesses. Oh, and it’s non-profit.

In this interview you will learn how he ended up during his long journey in the web design space. This new form of mentorship and collaboration is sure to be a massive success and I wish him all the best.

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