Yesterday I talked about business New Year’s resolutions. Things we’re going to do better next year. (Because we’ve run out of time to do them better this year.)

2. Info Packets Post-Launch. Over the past couple of years, the Web sites we’ve been called upon to develop have become much more complex on average. Online commerce, real time credit card processing, database driven membership pages, search forms that track user queries, bulletin board systems, you name it.

As we launch these new sites, we need to put together an info packet, or cheat sheet, for our clients. Give them all the info they need on one (or two) pages, even if they plan on having flyte manage the site forever. FTP info, store login info, traffic report URL’s, etc.

This way, if the gov’t ever catches up with me for liberating elephants from the circus, my clients will still be able to manage their sites.

It will accomplish a number of things.

1. Clients will see a complete list of all the tools they have working for them on their site.
2. If clients take jobs in house, or, God Forbid!, to a different Web developer, they’ll be able to easily continue working on the Web site w/no hiccups.
3. It will counter the concern that some people have after spending money on something as ephemeral as a Web site…that they finally have something tangible to hold in their hands.
4. We’ll be able to package it with some other tools and advice for clients to help them succeed.
5. It will be branded with the flyte logo.

Well, that’s it. Today’s my last official working day of 2004. I say "official" because when you own your own company you never really have a day off…just days when you check your email less frequently. Hmmm…I sense a personal New Year’s resolution in there somewhere.

If I don’t talk to you tomorrow, have a great New Year’s Eve! We got a baby sitter, so I think we’re going to hit the Breakaway in Portland, ME, to see CatHaüs and have a rocking good time.

Rich Brooks
Rockin’ Web Developer

Hope everyone had a nice holiday season and enjoyed the Patriots beating the Jets on Sunday. I was in New York visiting my in-laws and expecting a large group of Jets fans to be watching with me, but they never showed.

It’s that time of year again, time for New Year’s Resolutions. As a business owner, I always set up goals for the coming year. I plan on making $X in gross income…I’m going to bring on X number of new clients…I’m going to replace that fire-hazard of a toaster over with a new model. (Note to my insurance agency: I’m only kidding about the fire hazard. The toaster oven is actually made of asbestos, so there’s nothing to worry about.)

Although I’m still putting together those types of business goals, I’m thinking back on ’04 on where we "fell down" as a company. I know exposing "warts and all" in a public blog might not be in flyte’s best interests, but I want to be upfront on how we can improve as a company.

1. No "Invoice Surprise". Don’t you hate when you get an invoice from a company and it’s a (bad) surprise? Well, it’s even more painful to send one. This past year, a few clients requested out-of-scope changes during the development process. We made the changes, letting the client know it was going to be outside the original scope and got their approval. However, in a couple cases the changes were very involved and there wasn’t a clear understanding of how much work it would take.

I’ve found that in the service industry, when material costs are generally low (people pay for your time and expertise,) there’s confusion over why certain items are so costly. I’d be interested in hearing from other service providers–be it Web-based or not–to find out what their experiences have been.

Lisa Fernandes of The Hibernia Group, a fellow entrepreneur and regular lunch pal, suggested that I write up a special addendum with a set estimate and ask the client to sign off on it. She does this and requires the client to fax it back to her. As the 2-D Guinness guy says, "Brilliant."

This way there’s no surprise when the final bill comes. And so much of business is about client expectations. The only surprises should be good ones, like the mugs we send once the site is launched. (Oops, did I just say that out loud?)

More resolutions tomorrow, if I think of any.

Rich Brooks
He Says He Wants a Resolution

This is advice that some people will say, "well, duh," while others will be surprised.

If you’re running your own business (or planning to) and you’re not subscribing to Inc. magazine you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Until I started reading it, I assume it was something like Fortune, a magazine for rich people looking to get richer. Instead, every month there’s articles on how to deal with hiring, firing, business strategies, etc. There’s never been a month where it wasn’t worth ten (or one hundred) times the cover price.

Another magazine I find helpful to the entrepreneur, although less surprising due to it’s name, is Entrepreneur. And as long as we’re talking about entrepreneurial and small business resources, have you checked out Entreworld.org?

Well, have you?

Rich Brooks
Entrepreneur