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    Time Management

    Since school has started I have had less time for well, a lot of things. Most things, as it turns out. However, the thing about being a small business owner who is still in school is that you still have a client base you need to keep- no matter what obligations you have. To keep it professional, you must still meet deadlines, keep in contact and NOT use school as an excuse. This semester most of all, I have had to learn how to balance school (and along with school, extracurriculars, etc.) and business (and along with business, side projects, etc.).

    The first thing you have to do is be straight with your client. Tell them that you are in school and let them know when you are available. Most will be understanding of that. If they aren’t, they probably aren’t the greatest to work with anyway. Once you have done that, see what services you want and give yourself plenty of time to complete them. Over at AlexKing.Org Alex writes about The Engineering Estimate, which explains that engineers (programmers, etc.) usually grossly underestimate the time they need for a project. Alex says that you should take the estimate and: Multiple the integer value by two, Increment the type of time used in the estimate (IE 2 hours = 4 days). If you are doing this type of work in school, you should take that estimate and at least multiply the integer value by 4, along with increment the type of time. This allots you not only enough time for the project, but also unforeseen school work, study time, etc.

    I know the money will seem tempting, but don’t take up too many clients at the same time- especially while school is in session. You will find that you will get very overwhelmed very fast, and you will cut corners on all of your projects to find more time. Then your grades and your work will suffer. I find that with my level of involvement (17 credits, Student Government, 2 positions on USPB, a number of other clubs) I should max out at 2 clients a month. Anything else will be too stressful, and bad for business. On that same note, don’t get caught up in too many side projects. I have a hundred ideas bouncing around, but until I have sufficient time for them, I am not going to start any. If I cannot finish them it will have cost me money, and it won’t look so good on my end. Finally, if you know someone else in your field- who can do the same quality of work as you- see if they would be interested in teaming up. Having a helping hand doesn’t hurt as long as they know what they are doing.

    If you can find a good balance between work and school enough to start and keep up with your own business, I say great- go for it. Hopefully these tips will help. However, keep in mind that while this is more than an extracurricular, your should always focus on your school work first. Failing at a side business while you are still in school is something you can bounce back from- it’s a little harder to bounce back from failing at a higher education. Later!

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    Tick Time Tracker

    Tick

    LifeHacker is a resource of infite knowledge. While reading the site today, I came across their write up on a site called Tick. This is a web-based, very AJAXy application that helps you budget your time spent on projects by allowing you to make Clients (or subjects) and then add projects you are doing. You then input an over-all time you think you will spend on the project and you can create tasks for the project. While it is a very nifty program I will be using for my business, You can just as easily use it for school projects. With this along with Stu.dicio.us, you should be all set for the upcoming semester! Later!

  • The Business: Knowing what to charge

    To follow up on a mini-series I started here, I guess the first thing I should write about is what to charge. When I was first starting out, as a HS Sophomore with not to much experience past Microsoft Frontpage, I really did not know what to charge. I also had a small problem with asking for money. My first client site I got a cool $200 for which, at the time, I thought was pretty great. I set my prices pretty low though. $10/hr for for a site, and at the time I wasn’t developing anything ground breaking.

    So how did I know to charge more? Well, honestly, I owe that to a mentor of mine, someone who knows business. He told me I needed to be confident in my work, and that I needed to charge more. This really, is for a couple of reason. Most people looking for a web site now-a-days want something good. I didn’t understand why people weren’t coming to me even though i was the ‘most affordable’. The cheapest. And that is exactly why. If people are going to pay good money for a site, they want to hire someone who knows they can do a good job. That is reflected in how much you charge. At $10/hr, I lacked confidence, and clients. Two- the time I put into it is usually more than what I charge. In web development, it’s tough to gage just how long you will work on a project, and if you tell a client one price, you better stay close to it. I have been phasing in a new way of charging, where it is more of a flat rate, based on what they want. This price comes from me charging $25-35/hr and estimating how much time it will take. I can estimate now, after doing it for a few years.

    I feel at about $30/hr, it is worth my time to develop a nice site. This price will raise steadily over the next year most likely, as I grow closer and closer to graduation. Soon I will need to charge enough to support myself, especially if I want to be a freelancer/business owner. But of-course, I better be able to offer the products people want if I decide im going to charge over $35/hr for a web site. Later.

  • The Business

    I seldom write about JLC Web Design on this site. Really, it’s only when I am doing a write up on a client site. I never really had much to write about. I guess now that it’s starting to take off, along with the fact that (even though it’s only been a week,) I am now working a desk job as a web developer, I see things in a different light.

    I have always known owning a business was right for me. Since I was about 10 I have wanted to, I just never knew in what. In high school I did some computer related work that kind of got me started, then my parish came to me for a website and I had my first web design client.

    Getting started I didn’t really know too much, just the thought that ‘Wow, people will pay me money to do what I love.’ I didn’t know why other firms were charging so much when there was virtually no cost to actually develop a site. I of-course learned in time other web technologies and skills that were a little harder, and that people were willing to pay for someone with that knowledge. Now I see, as I am approaching my senior year in college, that if I do want to run my own business and support myself, I have to charge a certain amount, even if I work from home and have no employees. I have also come to learn that I might want to try to develop a sort of side project for extra income.

    Throughout the summer, I am going to try to talk about some of the trials and tribulations I have experienced being a young man trying to start my web design business on the side. That is on the side of school, summer jobs, extra curriculars. Making time for clients and work while trying to learn the newest stuff, as well as learning what I have to in the class room. Learning that if I want to land a job, sometimes I have to take a hit in the price of the site to get my name out there. I hope that I can pursue this mini-series, and that people will read it and take my advice, as well as offer me some, as I am still a budding entrepreneur. Later.