Just read a great post by Ian Lurie over at Conversation Marketing: 10 Rules for Setting Your Internet Marketing Budget. Ian said he was a bit grumpy when he wrote it but hey, it needs to be said! Too many small business owners have unrealistic expectations on how much it costs to create and promote a professional web site.
I have talked about this before: Monthly Spending by Small Business and Small Business Wake Up I really enjoy helping small business owners but I have to agree with Ian I do get tired at times of folks questioning fees. The take away message, as always it takes money to make money. Ok I am getting off my soapbox..back to work. 🙂
A quick update (9/8/08): found a nice post at Greg Sterlings website today on SMB Ad Spending Data, check it out.
Thanks for linking to that post, Larry. I appreciate the frustration expressed in it.
It’s an odd coincidence, but I was just talking about the problem at Cre8asite of lost time creating quotes for SMBs who are simply oblivious to the idea that a real website requires a real investment. I spend hours every week researching the needs of businesses who then never sign a contract because their investment expectations are so unrealistic. For a small shop like ours, that’s actually a real problem, but one I’ve been unable to find a solution to.
I’m thinking of blogging about this, and your link to Ian Lurie’s post is helpful!
Miriam
Thanks Miriam-
Lost time is a biggie for any small business. I have spent many days trying to track down clients, get approvals on things, etc and in the end probably losing money. I have decided that I need to stop chasing folks down. They have my contact info. Yes I might lose some work but I can use that on other facets of the business.