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Working with remote clients and subcontractors. By: Katherine Delorme. Situation.
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Working with remote clients and subcontractors By: Katherine Delorme
Situation • Situation 1: As a designer there may be moments were we will be working from a separate location from the actually company we work with. Have to work with a fellow co-worker who isn't in the same physical location. Or hire some one who is in another location. • Situation 2: The dream of doing web design from the beaches of Hawaii.
Questions to Consider When considering for yourself: • Is there a language barrier? • Will the timezone difference become a obstacle? • Does our technology level match? • How do I document my work and how will pay rate work? by hour, projects completed? Pros: You are not restricted by commutes or a particular geographic area
Questions to Consider When deciding to hire someone: • Does this person speak English well? • Does the person have access to a high speed internet connection and powerful computer? • Is their monetary system the same as ours? Will I have to convert USD or another currency of unequal value? Are there embargoes which will prevent me from paying someone over-seas? • What is the time difference? Will I be able to be online at the same time as them or will they have to work an alternate schedule? • Accountability: How can you make sure your employees are doing their work? • How to deal with and manage workflow *Note with language if you personally know a second or third language really well then hats off to you
Real Story - Jack C. • Has had up to 8 employees ( independent contractors) that worked from him in various locations around the world for several years such as Germany, Argentina, Ecuador and Iran. And has worked with clients from China, Sweden and all over the United States. • "While it's more difficult to work with employees who are in remote locations (telecommuting), it's certainly not impossible. As long as the person(s) you want to work with are quite talented and you know their work ethic is good"
Real World Story/Example Story from Jack C. One of my independent contractors was very talented. However, his English was not great. This meant he could not interact with my clients which was a problem. He also had a hard time understanding some of my requests and performed several tasks incorrectly. On the overall though, his language got better over time and he was a model employee. Unfortunately his access to high speed internet was limited and his government limited access to certain websites and programs. Often he would be unable to connect to skype for a meeting or his internet would be so slow, it would take an entire day to upload files back and fourth. His timezone was also exactly opposite ours by 12 hours. So at 10am here, it was 10pm there. If I wanted to work with him during his daytime hours, I needed to say up all night. When it came time to pay him, it was VERY difficult. I would have to go to the bank and fill out paperwork for 30-45 minutes and file special papers and requests. All in all, this monthly duty cost me around $150 in lost work time + fees. With that said, I was still so impressed with his work, I continued to work with him for a long time despite the difficulties. If the situation were reversed and I was to work for him... all the same problems would still exist! I don't speak Farsi (his language), his technology is so old it's not compatible with my new items, getting USD converted from Iranian Rials (their money) would mean I would earn a lot less after the conversion.
Story Summed Up • It was a bit of a hassle to work with someone whose English was all the way there, technology a bit behind, payment wasn't easy given two different types on monetary value and conversion. • BUT because the person was a great employee, hard working and good at what they did the employer stuck with them. • In time they found a work flow and things such as the persons English improved as well as just understanding each other and being on the same page
Testimony • Testimony of someone who works remotely - Alexandra • "I like it because I don't have to drive anywhere and can wear pajamas all day. I can work whenever and don't have to worry about getting dress" • Con for her personally - "Kind of lonely sometimes. Hard to know when new employees are added on"
Tools You Can Use Aside from the obvious Skype and Email what other tools can you utilize
Asana • asana.com • Tagline: Teamwork Without Email • "Asana puts conversations & tasks together,so you can get more done with less effort." • What it does: Site where all group members can be listed. Projects organized. Individuals assigned certain tasks with due dates, clients themselves can also be added. • Review: Takes a while to get used to, afterwards fairly easy to use. An easy way for your boss to assign you work, vis versa. Send email reminders, lets you know when a task is due or past deadline. 'Check off work you completed' Has a slight to do list vibe.
GoToMeeting • gotomeeting.com • Has Cost - first 30 days free • Review: When creating an account even with free trail you have to enter billing information ehhh."Is good but can be a pain to use sometimes"
GetHavest - Deal with Accountability and Timesheets • getharvest.com • https://katdelorme.harvestapp.com/reports • A way to deal with ACCOUNTABILITY and tracking • Tagline: Time tracking and invoicing for your best work • Has a short interesting video • Has a cost. First 30 days are free • Can create budget, expense, invoice • On site timer and tracker • Review: Easy enough to use.Deals with time sheet for you.
Cage • http://cageapp.com/ • Tagline: Collaboration just got a whole lot easier."A simple way for designers and teams to share, manage and approve their creative work." • Costs: 15 days free trail - followed by packages from personal to premium • Sign up have to add billing information • Review: "straightforward and works well"
WiseMapping • http://wisemapping.com/ • https://app.wisemapping.com/c/maps/3/try • Free online mind mapping editor for individuals and business • Is free, you can also try it without logging in • Review: In short an online brain storm, free form canvas
Project Management A topic Most of us should be familiar with
Options & some most of us may know • Basecamp - https://basecamp.com/ • Some similar to basecamp: • http://www.huddle.com/ • http://www.wrike.com/ • Project Managament with some cost associated • Trello - https://trello.com/ • Git - github, bitbucket • Google Docs • Dropbox • Adobe ConnectNow • BlinkSale - send bills & reminders with out having to hassle client. Cost $15/month
Concept Share http://www.conceptshare.com/ • Can mark what want changed and put notes, see versions and changes. • Helps with clients who don't know terminology, say they want something changed but you don't have a clear understanding of what they mean. • 15 day trail - there is a cost • Can add files, reviews , make folders, add assets, bulk webpage capture - like screenshot, add external links
Payment Options: • PayPal or • Bank Wire Transfer • Dwolla (someone talked about that) Should think about who you pay taxes to
Bit Tax Info (could only get general answer) • You pay where you live verses place of employment. • With taxes there are a LOT of rules, tax issues are very complex, and there might be exceptions • If you work in more than one states and are physically there, you file for each of those states. (example like a basketball player) • General rule: If you earn money in a state, then you have to pay taxes to that state.
Invoicera • http://www.invoicera.com/ • https://katdelorme.invoicera.com/app/dashboard • There is a free option and paid one • Can create invoices, client profile to use in the invoices, staff, vendors, projects, team time sheet • To create invoice, have create client fill in info, create products, • If have information in .xls format you can import it • Review: Once you play around with it and figure things out it's simple and easy to use • " It works great and it's free if you don't use it a lot"
Have a Contract Drawn Up • You can get away with it for a while but a few good and bad experiences may led you to actually having a contract drawn up if one isn't already provided. • Key things it should have: • A detailed scope of work • A list of deliverable • A limit on revisions • A plan for client delays • Payment term
Personal Point of View • For me personal I'd be okay with working offline even with someone of a different timezone. I don't believe in sleep and can naturally stay up really late day. • Past expirence creating a WordPress website for someone I saw only once a week. We communicated through email, Asana, and Skype. Though it was frustrating at first it got done. Somethings we better communicated than others.
Why is this relevant? • You may find yourself in a situation where you'll have to work remotely • With these tools you can recommend to be allowed to work remotely • Can widen your range of customers or employment opportunity. • The sunny beach is calling your name and all you need is your laptop and wi-fi In the end find what works for you
Questions: • What were some options that could be used to create invoices according to this presentation? • What are some disadvantages to working with someone in a different country? • How can a few of the disadvantages of working with someone in a different country be tackled? • What are some features in the site concept share? • What are somethings a contract should address?
