Weekly update - 22nd July to 28th July

In contrast to my usual “not a lot happened” blurb, this week has actually been quite a busy one; I finished up on another job, made a lot of progress on another, and it appears that I’m actually slipping nicely into the weekly routine of a freelance web developer.  Well, it’s only taken me a few months!

The job I’ve made a load of progress on is the one I was moaning about a couple of posts ago, where the client completely tore apart my once beautiful design and made me replace it with a hideous monster.  Even though I knew I was in the right about which was the better design, the entire thing did knock my confidence a little.  Perhaps my judgemental eye isn’t as finely tuned as I’d thought?  Perhaps I’m just not as good as I think I am?  This uncertainty put me on the back foot in a way, because suddenly the client was directing and dictating everything, and I’d gone from using my abilities and professional experience to being a lackey - something which had not yet happened to me.  This was worsened by the fact the client kept checking in on everything, sending through several e-mails a week requesting an update on progress.  This is obviously something he is entitled to do, but it definately reinforced the master/follower “atmosphere” surrounding this project.

Not anymore, however…  This week I not only made a massive amount of progress, but I also got to the stage where I need him to provide images and copy for the site, as well as getting to the point where things get far too technical for him to weigh in - and guess what?  The e-mails have stopped, the tide has turned in conversations, and I am once more back in the driving seat.

I fully understand, appreciate and agree with the fact that, at the end of the day, you’re working for a client and they have every right to prompt you in what they feel is the right direction in order to create what they believe is the appropriate solution for their needs - but I do believe that in order to do your job properly, you need a little room to breathe, and you need to know that your client trusts in your abilities.  Usually the very fact they hired you is indication of this, however your confidence sure does take a knock when that is stripped away.

So anyhow, enough about him!  Quite a lot of other stuff happened this week… past clients re-emerged, a guy who has been dragging his heels on a project finally pulled his thumb out and hired me, my inbox has been filled with enquiries and opportunities, and I made the decision to take out a business loan.

That last area is one I’ve debated with myself for a while now, but I finally came to the decision that I’d rather take the chance now and hopefully switch to another gear with my business than be left wishing I’d done it when it’s too late.  The funds have now cleared, so throughout the course of the next week I’m going to be allocating capital to various areas.  I’ll finally have a marketing budget, and a cash pool for acquiring promotional materials - all of which should hopefully raise my profile and bring in more clients too.

I’m still loving driving too - I can’t express how much easier it has made everything for me - today I’m going to a meeting with an old client who is based around 45 minutes away, but before that I need to drop by another guys offices to help him configure outlook for the email service on the hosting account he’s just opened with me… on the way back from my afternoon meeting, I need to drop in a birthday card to my aunt, and pick up a little bit of shopping… and I need to be back home in time to spend a few hours planning a booklet about existing website revisions before picking my wife up from work…

Now if I wasn’t driving, there is no way I could do all of that in one day, at least not without racking up at least £80 in taxi fares, or leaving the house at 7am to make the round-robin on public transport… I’m sure this isn’t exactly new stuff to those of you who have been driving for years, but honestly, imagine trying to run your business without being able to drive and you might see where all this excitement is coming from!

Until next week…

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