Comments on: 5 Steps for Taking on Something New

By: Maor

Maor — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:42:08 +0000

Thanks a lot for sharing! I’ve ran into such circumstances in the past and managed to get along with them. A great article!

By: Vladimir

Vladimir — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:57:50 +0000

Thanks for these 5 awesome and easy tips :)

By: Panos

Panos — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:44:05 +0000

i agree +1

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:54:37 +0000

Well, I can’t see charging a client to learn something as fair. For those that have programmed we can all agree, because you have just learned something and it “works”, doesn’t mean that it is the best/most efficient way of doing it. Sometimes half-ass is okay and sometimes it isn’t.

By: Floricel

Floricel — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 08:24:46 +0000

You said it right! This article is not only significant for the world wide web but this could certainly be useful in all aspects of ones work.

Plus going through all the learning process just takes so much of the time. But fact is: it’s just part of the whole process and which we just have to accept and do.

Great insight! And thanks for sharing it.

Floricel

By: Phil Zelnar

Phil Zelnar — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:26:32 +0000

Abid –

Funny you mentioned that. I struggled with whether or not to speak to the billing issues in this article.

When it comes to asking the client to pay for learning, I’ve heard plenty of arguments both ways. Some folks think that because you wouldn’t be learning the skill if you weren’t working on the project, the client should cover the time. Others think that if you can continue to market the skill beyond the initial project, it’s unreasonable to ask the client to pay for the hours spent developing it.

Personally, I think it depends a lot on the scenario and relationship with the client. In my experience, it usually turns out to be a bit of a compromise, it’s just a matter of finding what feels right for both sides.

By: Kyson Kane

Kyson Kane — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 02:27:11 +0000

yep, always be upfront if you can do it–I learned that the hard way. lol. Thanks for the great article, this was interesting.

By: Abid Omar

Abid Omar — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:44:39 +0000

This is really something problematic. Are you going to charge the client for learning the new technology? I don’t think, at least of myself, learning something new (say Ruby On Rails) and becoming good at it, in less than 100 hours. If you are billing $70/hour, that’s $7000. This is not a trivial amount of money, and may get for the client half of the project.

You need to stick to your skills. If, one day, they don’t pay the bills, go and find the new skills that do and invest in them.

By: Tao

Tao — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:47:28 +0000

I totally approve of this. +1 confirm.

By: Mohammad Raihan Mazumder

Mohammad Raihan Mazumder — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:52:03 +0000

Oisum..useful info.