Online Businesses On ‘The Cheap’ - RANT
I feel motivated to write this post following another message, on another startup businesses forum from another graduate who thinks they can build something like Monster for a few hundred quid and has the audacity to be ‘put out’ when several web developers they contact tell them that it will in fact cost them several thousand.
What qualifies someone who isn’t a web development graduate to decide that “They are making it sound like this is way more complicated than it actually is.” HOW ON EARTH DO THEY KNOW WHAT IS COMPLICATED in terms of web development and what is not!! 
Ok, I’m not a web developer, but this attitude grates non the less as it’s an attitude to professional services related to ‘the Internet’ that is commonplace, and I’m recognising that there is somewhat of a presumption that if one is starting an ‘online business’ one can do this on the cheap.
Graduates, and any one else for that matter who thinks they can start an online business on the cheap simply because it’s ‘online’ …think again.
There are very few businesses that can be launched on limited funds, most businesses types involve a substantial financial investment and if you haven’t got this - go away and take your head out of the clouds, save up, or get a grant, and come back when you do have it.
Putting up a website ‘designed‘ and ‘coded‘ by your aunties best friends cousin is not the ideal foundation for a successful business and chances are your ‘online business’ will limp along slowly until you do get it designed and coded properly.
Interestingly enough I happened on another recent blog on this subject matter, which very nicely illustrates exactly how quickly a web developers time mounts up over even what appears to be a ’simple project’ and that unless one expects them to work sweat shop wages, that well built websites just aren’t cheap.
What do you think? Can your aunties, best friends cousins design and build help you launch a successful business?
January 25th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Ah yes, it seems that the son of my next door neighbour is highly skilled in many design disciplines. It’s an old chestnut that isn’t about to go away, sadly.
Keep your chin up Amanda!
January 30th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
My husband showed me his friends business card yesterday, I nearly threw up on it it was so bad.
Even worse the paper wasn’t even card, which I’ve never seen before even on the worst cards, it was like 100gms paper or something!
To note, this is a guy that has been complaining about the Polish stealing his trade (he’s a very high quality plasterer) - well what does he expect with rank attention to his image like this.
If you want to price higher and attract those that appreciate high quality work from very experienced craftsman, you’ve got to look different from those that aren’t experienced craftsmen, whereas at the moment on first appearance who can tell the difference between him and them?
It’s not rocket science is it.
Amanda
February 11th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Amanda
Well done for writing this blog,,,it is one of the most frustrating things that happens all the time in the web design industry. People want to set up a business on the web but don’t want to put the money into the project to get a proper job done. I wrote a blog about one of our similar experiences back last summer:
You Get What You Pay For
Cheers
Toni
June 20th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I haven’t yet had a client that has been discontent with a quote come back to me in the future after having suffered poor service from going the cheap route. They are probably too embarressed to risk facing the ‘I told you so’ scenario to come back to the same person.
However I have had them come to me for the first time after trying out someone else’s poor customer service and standard of design - that has happened to me (and every other designer I should imagine) umpteen times.