Think Of Me Like Your Bartender

I get a lot of clients who simply hire me to do a job; like a plumber. Don’t get me wrong, that’s completely valid; sometimes you just need a leak plugged. However, if your site is integral to your business, I’m going to suggest that you think of me more like your accountant; or better still? Your favourite bartender.

A good bartender is a guy you can trust. He’s seen it all and keeps his mouth shut. He doesn’t lecture you, but he’ll give you advice if you ask. That’s what I try to do for long-term clients.

Many times, clients approach me with fairly elaborate tasks without asking my opinion. I’m there to make it happen; end of story. If I wrote a book (which I won’t) listing all the hare-brained ideas I’ve been approached with, you would not believe it. After a while, I’ve lost track of all the ‘million dollar’ ideas.

My point is that I’ve probably seen a lot more than you have. I know what works and what doesn’t. But unlike you, I’m not emotionally involved. I’m just workin’ by the hour.

If I had one piece of advice to give to an entrepreneur, it would be to find a web developer with a depth of real-world experience and make that guy a real part of your team. There are a lot of guys who code better than me and draw better than me. But there are not so many who have lived with as many web sites as me. When you’re building a business, you don’t necesarily need the best coder, but you probably do need someone who can tell you if an idea may be too costly, or hasn’t worked well for others.