Learning Curves and Pileups on the Indie Startup Road

As I was waiting for a client today, a flood of thoughts about the learning curves and pileups I've had on the indie startup road came to mind.  I couldn't resist the urge to share to hopefully save other newbie indies from the rough road of curves that can lay ahead.

Scheduling
When you sign a client, make sure you address scheduling and time frames.  Working more organically aka not setting deadlines or addressing potential scheduling issues can cause deadline deflation.  I've had timeframes in my head for project end dates and then down the road, a client springs that they are going to be out of town for awhile, and it really puts a chink in my timeframe for project completion.  Addressing schedules ahead of time can save you from tripping over that pothole!

Trade for Services
Trading for services is a great way to get your business going when your funds are low as a start-up.  Just don't forget to treat it like a paying gig. Set your agreement in writing so each party knows what is expected of them and is clear on what is being traded. 

I did a trade early on that I ended up feeling very disappointed with in the long run, as I didn't get the quantity of services in return that I wanted. Our initial agreement was very general so when it later came to quantity and precision of what I was receiving, I found it wasn't suiting to my needs and ultimately, have ended up not partaking of the return services.  Call this experience a mechanical malfunction in business communication!

Gift Certificates
When you are donating your time for a charital cause, make sure you don't give away TOO much.  Figure out what would be of good use to the purchaser without going overboard...something that gives them quality without giving away too much time so that if they like your "teaser" they might be inclined to hire you for more!

Never underestimate the power of reminding clients, your network, family and friends the power of a gift certificate.  They are great ways of saying thank you, welcome, and otherwise expressing appreciation for a person in one's life.  Make sure your website mentions this option, as it can be an missed great deal all too often.

Cross-trades:  Consider offering GC's to people who's services you want to trade for that may not need your services.  They can give the certificate to someone who's services they need...or as a thank you, etc.

Travel and Admin:  Don't forget to budget that in to your certificate time - or record those hours so you can write them off as a gift, charital time, etc.  Another pothole I fell into along the way - forgetting to do that.

Payment
Screwing up in this deparment can lead to major pileups on the biz road.  Oye vey!  This is one of the most painful learning curves of all. 
Include a late charge fee clause in your agreement for overdue balances or figure how you are going to manage this possible issue and put it in writing for your client. 

If you are booking clients forward in time, charge a booking fee towards the project.  This secures their committment to you.  If they
cancel prior to project, you can take the cancellation fee out of the booking fee.  Nothing talks like money and people are less likely to flake if they have an investment with you already.  Not having a vesting interest in the project, they are like the hit and run person on the road.  No problem for them as they flee the scene...all kinds of problem for you because you saved time for them that could have been booked for another paying client.

Inform them of your cancellation fee.  Figure out what it will be depending on when the canceling is:  Prior to commencement, mid-project, etc. 

Contractor Referrals
Only bring contractors into your project who have been referred to you or if you are bringing an unknown into the project, make sure to mention that to your client so they can chose to go with said person or not.  Sometimes there is a need and the only available contractor is one that is not a referral.  Hopefully, they work out just fine, but sometimes they can cause a pileup too.  At least if you give a disclaimer to your client and a roadblock happens with the contractor, your client can't get too irritated with you, as they knew that you had no prior reference with said contractor.

If you refer a lot of contractors for your clients, this can be a good source of additional income for you.  Figure out if you are going to charge your client for finding them the service or if you are going to have the referral fee paid to you by the contractor.  If it's an especially large project for the contractor, and especially if you plan to do on-going business with them, consider setting up a referral contract with the contractor.

Learning Curves and start up pileups can be really rough. Sharing them with each other can save other newbie indies from some of these road hazards.  Being an indie startup is hard enough as it is, without the huge learning curves!

What curves have you experienced and what have you done to make sure the problem doesn't happen again?