>As a PHP programmer and COO of a development and consulting shop, the
>emphasis on hourly rate is something that really amazes me. Not all
>programmers are created equal. A lot of clients don't recognize
that. Some
>mistakenly believe that a $120/hr. programmer is 20% more productive than
a
>$100/hr. programmer. Yet others think that a $200/hr. programmer must be
>twice as good as a $100/hr. programmer.
Yes, you`re right about that, you can´t take it that literally. That`s not
the way to decide who you should hire. Even one programmer could make
things for a quite different price for different clients. I know it, I`m
pretty much working this way right now. I`m doing some project based work
for one firm (continuing stuff) and then for separate firms I just set the
price that seems to be acceptable to both of us.
>I find that there is *no*
>correlation between hourly rate and the quality, productivity and value
of a
>programmer.
But here I have to disagree with you. Yes, some guys who charge only $10/h
might sometimes be better than $200/h, but you can´t say that there is
*no* corralation between rates and quality. Sometimes there actually
is. First, when you start with something, let it be php or something else
and when you start then selling your services, you know you`re new, you
just give your hours away for smaller money, you`re productivity is a bit
lower, etc. In the other hand, an experienced guy already knows how much
work it actually takes, he knows he can do it well and because of that, he
charges more. Yes, it`s not always so, but still.
>We've talked to a number of prospective clients who were
>charged $100,000+ for projects we could have done for $5,000. I couldn't
>sleep at night if we gouged clients like that and in the long run I think
>gouging clients will come back to bite you. We try to emphasize the
total
>cost to the client along with the benefits of our proposed solutions. We
>try to state these benefits in terms of time savings, exposure,
value-added
>capabilities, revenue and process improvement. When you can put what you
>can bring to the table in these terms the hourly rate becomes less
critical
>and it makes it easier to compete with inferior competitors that compete
on
>price alone.
I usually don´t charge for hour either, rather per project, but your
example of $5000 and $100,000. Well, what is the purpose of your
doings? Many of us like what we do, but the second reason (if not the
first) for doing it, is money, you can say whatever you want, but this is
true for mosy of the peops. I just read somewhere (maybe from this list
itself), that when setting the price, first think of your own needs, how
much work would it take and how much would you charge for it and then
think about the value of it to your customer (who may sometimes think
bigger is better), what would he be ready to pay for it and then ask the
higher amount. You say you couldn´t sleep at night, but the price you set,
it actually pretty much depends on the country, area, where you live, so
maybe the ones who asked $200/h just had to ask it (probably not, but just
think of the idea for a moment). I could afford making something for
30$/h, maybe even cheaper, lets say you do it for $50 - you can`t say you
charge too much because I charge less and neiter vice versa.
And lets talk about clients just a bit more. A decent firm, before it
starts buying something, it looks on more than one direction, they make
their job on getting to know the prices and services that are being
offered to decide where to order something. Now, the ball is in their
side, it`s totally their choice who,which firm they choose to do the job,
so why should you worry, if your customer feedback was the best, your
marketing guys made great job, why should you worry about charging
$100,000 instead of $5000? You shouldn´t. In some other fields you could
say that they just didn`t have any other candidates to choose from, but
when talking about programming and php, well, you just can`t say it, can
you? Most of the projects can be done even over the internet, no problems.
But yes, when talking about starting, then it might seem quite hard to
find work at first, I was in this situation 6 months ago myself, but right
now I could soon probably give work to a whole team. At first, you
shouldn`t count on all the jobsites available in the internet, rather word
of mouth, this is the best way. Maybe, for some contract work, go to some
company for which you think you could really do something and convince
them as well. And then don´t worry, it might take time, but if try hard,
there`s a green light in the end of the year.
Siim Einfeldt
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