Freelance Heroes

Daniel, you helped me think of another issue I'd like to quantify. I'd love to know how many hours, on average, it takes for you to "bring in" your projects. And what work you do/how many hours of real work you give away in order to bring in a project.

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As for needs analysis, it depends on how long I've been with a client. If the client is new, I likely spend a LOT more time than if I've been with them a long time. (And this is yet another reason for having a good, long-term relationship with a client. Subsequent work is faster and easier.) It also depends on the project. Many projects for me are all needs analysis because it's one of my specialties. They'll ask me to figure out what the problems are before helping their own teams fix them. But on many projects, we do some overall needs analysis, then some prototyping, during which time we find out more issues (which is really more needs analysis), then move into the design/develop work and so on.

I tend to find that needs analysis permeates the entire process and is iterative so I'd say it's about 30%, even though I wouldn't necessarily call it that. I'm just saying that all along the way we keep find out things that iteratively inform the process and I call it needs analysis even if it isn't "formal."

I'm loving the questions about how long we allocate to various parts of a project...  I'm focused this year on putting in place more processes for myself, and tracking things so i can make better business decisions.  I've started tracking ALL my work time,both billable and non-billable, but I've only been doing it 6 weeks.  So right now my answer to both Daniel's and Patti's questions is "I don't know" but I think in a few months I'll have a very accurate answer!

Here's what I know so far:  I've spent 10 hours on phone calls and writing/revising/discussing proposal for a potential new client (to develop 2 courses) and nothing has come of it yet.  But there are two other, bigger projects I got after only an hour or two of time; those were both with existing clients, and of course that's very different.

Here's something else interesting/depressing: Month to date, about 25% of my tracked time is for non-billable stuff - getting business, settling up processes, billing/accounting, etc.

I'll add something to Andrew's great post about contracts:  I think they're like anything else we do, in that we have to keep refining and tweaking as we get more experience and learn some thing.  My contract language is a LOT stronger now than it was when I started 5 years ago.  And for me at least, it's not "one size fits all" - I use or discard various pieces based on the client and the project.  Every once in a while I have it reviewed by an attorney, and if I have an important new item to put in, I usually ask him to write it, or to at east review what I've written .

Exactly, Sheila--I maintain a set of templates for my business, and they're just that: blueprints that I fill in and adapt as needed to suit the specific project and the specific client.  Sometimes I need to add a section, sometimes a section can be removed.  And I absolutely agree that it's always worth taking a fresh look at your template when filling it out for each new project, to see if there is something that can be improved/tightened up.  There's almost always room for improvement, even if it's just a little tweak.

I've said this before in this group, but I think it bears repeating: if you are asked to work with a client's template for the SOW or other agreement documentation, go through it with a fine-tooth comb, or have a lawyer friend do it for you.  And if there is something in the client's language that doesn't apply (which I find is always the case), then graciously point out to the client's Finance/Purchasing rep what language specifically needs to be rewritten or even removed.  The easiest way is to send back the proposed agreement draft redlined to show the proposed changes; that way they can have their lawyers review the wording and make a counter-proposal, if needed.  We should never assume that the client's wording is gospel; I have gone to the mat (politely) with some very big companies, and I have always found that if I make it abundantly clear why their boilerplate language doesn't apply to this type of project, or needs to be revised for specific reasons, the client makes the necessary changes so that I'm comfortable signing the agreement.

Bottom line: whether it's your language or the client's, never sign unless and until all parties understand and agree to all of the wording in the contract.  Once it's countersigned, any changes would require the client's agreement and would entail more paperwork, which you want to avoid.  

Patti: Thanks for the response and the rough percentage. So far based on the responses, it seems like the analysis stage might be something between 15 and 30%. That feels right given my experience. And you are right in saying that the "analysis" phase is recursive.

As far as bringing in potential clients, it's not uncommon for me to spend three days or so (24 hrs my time) to bring them in. If I can get them to come in. It takes a bloody long time to figure out what type of training would likely be successful and then what it would cost for me to build that type of training, if I can build it. It helps if they have some experience with e-learning and a feel for what they like and don't like. Clients of course want a "ballpark" at the very outset, but I put that off till I know sort of know what might work. 

Daniel, I got a laugh at "Clients of course want a "ballpark" at the very outset...." because like you, there's often no way to answer this. I explain to them it's like asking a builder what it costs to build a house.What kind of house? How big? What kind of finishes? And so on. They think we're skirting the answer but it's impossible to answer until we get much further in.

I like the house building metaphor. That will help my clients understand (well, you know, sort of understand).

I use the "building-a-house" metaphor all the time with clients and it does seem to help. I also  tell them when they make changes when the house is almost done it's like moving the windows after we've framed the windows and put on the siding... very expensive indeed. (We did a large home building learning project so my metaphors are pretty good.)

I think what might help more is if I worked with some folks to put these metaphors into infographics. Anyone game to so that with me and them co-own them?

I'm wondering - when you're on a project with a client, how often or at what stages do you invoice your client so that you're not left waiting for payment at the end of the project?

Hi XAn,  If it's a project that's going to take longer than two months, I invoice monthly.  If it's going to be a short project that finishes up in two months or less, I just invoice at the end of the project.  Whatever invoicing structure I use is included in the scope of work that's agreed upon by both parties, so there are no surprises in terms of invoicing.

What about billing at the end of "milestones"?  I (when I developed websites) asked for 30% upfront to make sure they are commited, then I would ask for 10% - 20% after different milestones, like initial design approved, a working prototype, and then finished product. This way you dont get left holding the bag at the end if they decide to change their mind.  You have been paid for the work done if the project ends up being cancelled due to "priority changes".

Like Jerson, I bill at milestones for fixed fee work, with an initial payment billed as soon as the contract is signed.  I also make those contracts non-cancellable, and if the project is cancelled, put on hold, or delayed for more than 2 weeks (or 4 weeks, or whatever), the entire remaining fee is billed at that time.  I usually set it up with three or four payments.

For hourly work, I bill at the end of each month, although - like Jeanne - if it's a short project I'll just wait and bill it all at once.  And actually, for pretty small fixed-fee projects I'll do that, too.

XAn, in my case I bill at the end of the project, unless the client uses to pay late or the project lasts more than 2 months, as Jeanne does. In this last case, I ask for a 30% downpayment in advance, and sometimes I set a milestone in the midle of the 50% left, and another one at the delivery of the project.

What do you do?

In my case I've done invoicing both ways. But invoicing 100% at the end of the project never works out and nobody like waiting to get paid. I prefer invoicing based on milestones... 

Sheila, can you share the wording of your non-cancellable clause in your contracts? I like that approach!

I know we all have to develop our contracts customized for each client - but does anyone have a boilerplate contract template they can share or point me to? I'm really eager to improve this area...

Sheila: Do you bill for the full amount if a project gets cancelled half-way through? I'm not sure I would do that, but I like the sound of it.

It's pretty simple, usually something like this (right after I outline the invoicing schedule):  Should [client] delay project completion for more than 14 days, or terminate this agreement prior to project completion, the full fee amount will be invoiced at that time

There's often another clause earlier that says something like "This agreement is non-cancellable, except under the circumstances described in the Termination clause below."  That termination clause bascially says either party can cancel the contract for cause.

There are lots of boilerplate contracts on the internet, good place to start if you want to write your own.  I personally believe it's a good idea to get an attorney to review it and/or help you write it, but I know lots of people just do their own.  (And just for the record: I am obviously not an attorney and am in no way giving legal advice, just sharing what I do!   

You could check out http://www.lawdepot.com/ - they have boilerplate contracts that you can use for small fee. There are others out there, too. My limited experience has been good - have others have good/bad experiences?

Daniel, I actually have done that a couple of times.  In those cases, the project was almost done (I hadn't reached the final milestone but I was 95% there).  In another case, a client kept delaying getting their edits to me, and the timeline kept pushing out, so I went ahead and billed them for the rest of the fee, and that motivated them to get the project moving again.

Those have been the exception , though.  Mostly that language is just in there to protect myself, so I have that option (on fixed fee only, of course).  In a lot of cases a lot of work is done before a milestone is reached.  And for big projects I'm blocking out time (and sometimes turning down other work), so if it suddenly gets cancelled there's an opportunity cost. 

But I do try to be fair.  If a project gets cancelled at a point where I've already invoiced for all the work I've done (e.g., I turn in a deliverable that's a milestone, bill for it, then the project gets put on hold, then cancelled, and I haven't done any additional work) I probably wouldn't charge the entire fee.  For example, I had a project to create an ILT andhten convert it to e-learning.  The ILT got completed, and they decided they weren't ready to do the e-learning after all but i hadn't even started on it.  I only billed for the ILT part of the contract. 

I've heard Legal Zoom is good, although I haven't tried it myself...

@Sheila. LOVE it. It's going in my contracts. How many times have you had to use it and how many times have they paid?

My contracts say that I own the intellectual property until "all contracted fees are paid in full" but I'm wondering if your wording is easier. Or maybe some combination?

I'm not sure if it was in this forum or not, but someone also put in a clause that stated if the client missed an appointment the would be charged an additional $50, after 3 missed appointments it would go up to $100. They said they never had a client miss more then 1 appointment (or be late)