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Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

The Freelance Client Lifecycle - Part 1

Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

Wes Bos

Tech News, News, Technology

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2019

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode Scott and Wes talk about the freelance client lifecycle—from gathering requirements, to project hand-off, and everything in between. Techmeme Ride Home Podcast From Techmeme.com, Silicon Valley’s most-read news source, The Techmeme Ride Home podcast is a short daily podcast about the day’s tech news. Mark Zuckerberg called Techmeme the one news source he definitely follows. New episodes are published every day at 5p.m. You can check out the show here, or search for “Techmeme Ride Home” in your favorite podcast player. LogRocket - Sponsor LogRocket lets you replay what users do on your site, helping you reproduce bugs and fix issues faster. It’s an exception tracker, a session replayer and a performance monitor. Get 14 days free at https://logrocket.com/syntax. Show Notes 03:29 - Gathering Requirements Probably the most important part of the process. If you botch this, you’ll be dealing with change orders and scope-creep throughout the entire project. Poor planning is why agencies have project managers and why many freelancers hate their clients. Ask lots of questions Get lots of examples Break down each page into functionality Ask about budget Clarify who will be updating the site Do this in person if possible 17:00 - Quote Figuring out the quote Break it down into major functional areas that don’t necessarily depend on each other. Multi-staged quotes are great because if it’s too expensive, the client knows they can add additional features later in the project. Explain the tech you will use in relation to how it will help their business, or how easy it will be for them to manage. Presenting the quote List what will be included List what won’t be included Make your quote valid for two weeks Create a template that looks professional Our agency had a professional template, printed on heavy paper in an embossed folder with our logo on it. You don’t have to go this far, but experience matters. Think Apple. You can quote more if you have a higher perception of quality. 30:20 - Timelines Timelines should include hard dates. You should have a “hard on” and and “hard off”. Assume 24-hour turnaround on questions Be generous with your estimates. Under promise, over deliver. Quoting time is a huge skill 35:58 - Contract You best have one Spell out what the client is getting (from quote) At the very least, have the client sign your quote Clear communication and a good relationship is extremely important Use online templates, or have a lawyer create something specific 41:09 - Setting Expectations Don’t make yourself available 24/7 Establish a professional environment by not being too casual Your choices will set the course for your relationship Don’t be too quick to reply to email Schedule emails for 10a.m. Links Syntax 036: Hasty Treat - Freelancing Hot Tips docracy Boomerang for Gmail ××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ××× Scott: The Great Suspender Wes: Food Busker YouTube Channel Shameless Plugs Scott’s Level 1 Styled Components Course Wes’ Courses Tweet us your tasty treats! Scott’s Instagram LevelUpTutorials Instagram Wes’ Instagram Wes’ Twitter Wes’ Facebook Scott’s Twitter Make sure to include @SyntaxFM in your tweets

Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to Syntax. The podcast with the tastiest web development treats out there.

0:06.0

Strap yourself in and get ready. Here is Scott Telinsky and West Boss.

0:10.4

Welcome to Syntax, this is a web development podcast. My name is West Boss. With me as always is Scott Tlensky. How you doing today, Scott? Hey, I am doing super good. I'm feeling really good in my office right now. I've been con marrying everything and everything feels very like open and free.

0:27.2

We just did our entire kitchen and we just donated like half of our entire kitchen.

0:32.3

So, oh man. Everything in this house. like half of our entire kitchen.

0:32.5

So, oh man.

0:33.8

Everything in this house feels great.

0:36.1

And when you work from home, it is really important

0:38.6

to have your workspace, your home life, your home space,

0:41.4

everything feels so good. So I'm feeling good I'm ready to go I'm

0:44.0

feeling nice and refreshed how about you?

0:46.0

Awesome I'm feeling good as well I'm and he still clean up my office but we've

0:50.7

definitely been feeling the Con mary as well.

0:53.6

Yeah, in our house here.

0:55.6

Today's episode is called the freelance client life cycle,

0:58.3

and I think we're gonna actually break this up into two episodes,

1:01.0

and we're basically going to talk through all of the steps from like meeting

1:05.4

your client and gathering requirements all the way through to deploying the

1:09.8

website and handing it off to the client and fixing any bugs.

1:13.4

And we're going to go through each of those steps

1:15.1

and sort of explain what it is that you do here.

1:18.4

Because we got a lot of questions about freelance,

...

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