When you know you need to hire someone for a skill that you don’t posses in order to make a business goal happen, it can be a perplexing process!
Whether it’s for a one-time contract project or a long-term partnership, it can feel like you’re in a detective role, searching for clues as to how well you’ll work together with this person and if she’ll actually be able to do what she says she can do.
That can be murky territory—just ask Nancy Drew, who would surely tell you that fumbling around in the dark is part of the job.
It’s no wonder that many business owners turn to the one factor that feels tangible to make a hiring decision—price!
But cheaper isn’t always better.
Do You Want It Fast, Cheap, or Good?
You’ve heard the maxim about the factors that go into a creative project, right? There’s the time is takes to do the work, there’s the cost of the work, and there’s the quality of the work.
Fast, cheap, or good.
You can only pick two.
You can’t have all three, and if you’ve decided to make a decision about a creative professional based on price, that automatically means that you need to compromise on either speed—how fast the project gets done—or quality—how good the final product is.
Being the smart business woman that you are, you can probably figure out what this means for your business.
Fixating on Cost Hurts Your Business Goals
There are business owners who put together a website and publish it because they know they have to have an online presence in this era. But they don’t have a purpose with the website other than doing what someone told them they “had” to do.
That’s not you, is it?
You know your business requires a new online presence for a reason. There are goals you want to reach. You have a guiding intention that you’re working toward.
You want to build your email list. You want to reach new clients and customers. You want to position your brand better in the marketplace. You have an updated set of offerings or products that require more robust digital support.
You’ve got goals, baby. And when you’re evaluating a web designer (or any other creative professional) based on price alone, your fixation on cost can overshadow those goals.
Building a Website That Grows With You
One reason you may be fixated on price is that you know, you just know, that you’re going to have to redo your website in a year. It’s been your experience from the cheap designers you’ve hired in the past and you’ve seen colleagues pay for websites that need a complete overhaul every time they add a service or product.
You don’t want that to be your experience and I get it.
That’s why it’s important to talk with your potential website designer (or any other creative professional) about scalability.
Scalability simply means that your website is built to grow with you. As you grow (and you will grow), your website should support that growth. Unless you change your business model completely, a website designed by a pro will not need a complete re-do in six months.
Take a look at your business plan and even show it to the professionals you’re evaluating. Ask them how they will design (or write or code) for growth.
Getting clear on what you need your website to do for you—and why it matters that you reach those bodacious goals you’ve set for yourself—can completely shift the way you evaluate service professionals (particularly when comparing price alone!).
Is it time to get a website that grows with you? Enter your name and email below to instantly download my Getting Started Guide; delve into my process and schedule a free chat with me!
