Jerry and Steve each operate
their own web services company. Strictly speaking they are each a company of
just one and the bulk of their work involves coding, formatting, updating and
maintaining the functionality of various websites. They are about the same age,
have a similar education and work experience, and provide essentially the same
services regarding each of their clients as completely separate contracts. The
only real difference is that Jerry calls himself a freelance web developer
whereas Steve has given himself the title of “Consultant” for his firm Omni-Global
Web.
Candice, Rachel, and
Tamara are the support staff for a new surgical clinic operating in a ritzy
part of town and, with a particular budget, they’ve been asked to set up the
website that will represent the clinic on the web. Since none of them have the
requisite skillset to do the job themselves, they sit down and hash out what
they are looking for and promptly place an ad seeking a Webmaster which
outlines what the job entails and what demonstrable skills the applicants
should have. Both Jerry and Steve apply with a concise and well thought out
email along with links to various samples of their work. Jerry applies as
himself, but Steve applies as Omni-Global Web and offers his own personal
information merely as a point of contact. Both quote the same price.
When reviewing the various
applicants, Candice, Rachel and Tamara describe their feelings about Jerry and
Steve:
Candice (about Jerry): “I
like his work, I’m just concerned that as a freelancer he may not be able to
give our project the time and care that it requires. These Guys that work as
agents for hire, I just find they’re grabbing at every job out there and don’t
put their full effort into their contracts the way real professionals do.”
Rachel and Tamara feel
that Candice makes a very compelling argument.
Tamara (about Steve and
Omni-Global Web): “I’m really impressed. There’s something neat and tidy about
this company’s work. I think they should be our first call and hopefully
they’ll be willing to take us on.”
Rachel nods her head in
agreement, and Candice assumes control grabbing the phone.
“Omni-Global Web! Steve
speaking.”
“Hello Steve, my name is
Candice and your company got in touch with us recently about providing us with services
for our website and we were wondering if Omni-Global Web might still be able to
help us out?”
“I imagine that will be
possible, how about we set up a time to talk about what you need?”
Steve eventually got the
job without any referral or previous business with anyone involved with the
clinic, and Jerry never received so much as a phone call back. Even Steve will
tell you that it wasn’t his finest work, but the clients were happy and they
paid well and on time.
The Moral of the Story
The reason why Steve got
the job (and subsequently paid) and Jerry didn’t is pretty simple, but says a
lot about the people that hire contract workers and how they think.
First, Candice had a
negative impression about what it means to be a freelancer, and her bias, no
matter how unfounded, still earned merit with her peers as being valid. Second,
the fact that it was a company, and not just an individual, planted the
expectation in Tamara’s mind that there was a larger degree of legitimacy to
the work coming from Steve. It didn’t matter who’s work was actually better, as
both were capable of doing the job that was asked, but Steve and his title of
consultant created a more acceptable framework in the minds of Candice, Rachel
and Tamara. Lastly, the way Candice, Rachel and Tamara viewed how both Jerry
and Steve might accept being offered the work was completely different. Candice
had an image of Jerry attempting to gather up any work he could get as though,
working for himself, he was just happy to have something to work on to pay the
next few bills. When she finally called and spoke to Steve it was almost as
though she hoped Steve would accept them as clients. To Candice, Rachel, and
Tamara it would have been a privilege for Jerry to work for them, but with the
way they viewed Steve it was a privilege for them to have him work on their
website.
If you are a small
business owner and you work for yourself it’s important to make these nuanced
considerations to have any chance of competing in a market place where
contractors are consistently bringing more and more diversified skills to the
table. Never forget that how to market and promote one’s self is itself a skill,
and the difference between freelancer and consultant, however slight in
practice, can be profound in light of the expectation it creates in the minds
of potential clients.
