You walk into a single stall restroom and find that someone has left a horrible mess. What do you do? You can't leave it, someone may see you and blame the mess on you. You have to clean it up. It's the worst.

This happens with work too, you may not have created the mess, but sometimes you have to clean it up, otherwise, someone may see you leave before finding a giant wad of toilet paper jammed into the toilet.

Let's all agree to just not leave a mess in the restroom.

You can also read this article on Medium.

Being a freelancer is great. I get to set my own hours (I like to be wacky and do a 9am to 5pm thing), work on the projects I want to work on, and pick the team for each project. I also get to be asked, "How much is your hourly rate?" all the time.

If that is the first question you ask, we are starting off on the wrong foot. By asking someone’s hourly rate before anything else, it may seem like you are just looking for someone cheap to work with rather than wanting to work with them.

Here are a few of my thoughts on hourly rates and what they mean.

First Things First

When looking for developers, illustrators, or designers to collaborate with, I first look for someone who does great work, then I make sure they are interested in the project and make sure we understand each other and can communicate well (via phone or in-person). After all of that, I ask them about their hourly rate, just to make sure it is in-line with budgets. If the budget isn't large enough to bring this person on but I believe they are the right person for the job, I try and reduce scope or find the money to bring them on. There is nothing better then feeling like you have the right team for the job.

Higher Hourly Rates Don't (Necessarily) Equal Higher Project Costs

People don't work at the same speed. Someone with experience may be able to complete a task in half the time as someone with less experience, not to mention the potential difference in quality. To assume that higher hourly rates will lead to higher project costs is shortsighted. Quality work saves money. Period.

Appropriate Hourly Rates Allow Freelancers to Focus

You don't want to work with people who have to work 80 hour weeks on a dozen projects just to make a decent living. Working with someone who can give your project the attention it deserves will produce better outcomes.

Last week I started a two to three month contract with the great folks at MindMixer. It will be four days a week so I won't be taking on much other work (but hope to work on some personal projects). I feel lucky that Nathan and Nick (Founders of MindMixer) wanted me to work on their amazing project. With their product team now including Justin Kemerling, Jimmy Winter, Matt Barr, and others; MindMixer's future looks bright and I am glad to be part of it, if only for a little while.

Oh, and the weekly baseball pick-up game I play starts tomorrow. It's going to be a good spring.

I was recently interviewed by Kristin DeKay (of Grain & Mortar) for AIGA Nebraska. The interview focuses on my transition to self-employement over the last 6 months. Doing the interview was fun and a great opportunity for me to think deeply about the last 6 months.

Read the interview

In any profession it's hard for clients to understand why Company A charges more than Company B for the same product or service. Though there are a myriad reasons why prices are inconsistent between companies, the three main ones* are probably Experience, Quality, and Accountability.

Experience

Having experience enables you to complete tasks quicker and with more efficiency, so why would this increase costs? It's simple, experienced professionals know all of the nuances of a project and can accurately estimate the time and costs involved. Those lacking experience cannot be expected to know everything involved in a specific task. This leads to lower time estimates which leads to a lower bid, extended timelines, and stress on both ends; not a recipe for a good project.

Quality

There are two sides to quality: the quality that the client wants/expects, and the quality the company is willing/wanting to provide. Sometimes a client isn't looking for high-quality, and that can be okay, but not all companies (present company included) are willing to produce work that is below their company standards. It is essential that both parties are on the same page in regards to quality.

Accountability

Accountability may not always directly affect price. But it's something to think about when choosing between Company A and Company B. If there are issues with the work, is this company willing and able to resolve them? Does this company have any sort of guarantee on their work?

Or

Are experience, quality, and accountability the three ingredients for a successful project? Hardly.

Experience is nice, but it doesn't necessarily lead to greater outcomes. Tenacity, Vision, and Taste could easily trump experience in the right situations.

There is no substitute for quality. That being said, not all aspects of a project necessarily need to be of high "quality". For instance, sometimes the quality of a design could be much more important than the quality of materials used (or vice versa).

It may not be the case that the Company has the know-how or ability to provide support for the end product, and that can be okay, but they need to be open and honest about this so you know who to go to if an issue arises.

Closing thoughts

All-in-all, weigh the importance of the project, the time-frame available, and the amount of resources you can dedicate to the project; once you take all of those into consideration, the choice should be clear.

*This post does not get into prices that may be inflated due to shady practices or other artificial factors, but beware that those exist in every industry.

Today I worked on finishing up my third quarter tax return. While going through my expenses I evaluated the apps and services I have spent money on. While this did lead me to cancel a few services, it also made me think about the apps and services that I use that help streamline my workflow and business.

Here are a few of the apps that I use on a daily basis to either design and develop, or to streamline the others parts of business so I can do more of the creative stuff.

Desktop Apps

Sublime Text 2

I switched from Coda to Sublime Text after I saw Jerod Santo using it during a meeting. Though I love Coda, ST2 can really sing while developing locally.

Codekit

Codekit is pretty much my utility belt. It handles all of my LESS/SCSS compiling, minifying, javascript debugging, image optimization, and more. Alhough I have only been using it for 4 or 5 months, I can't imagine life without it.

Transmit

The old standby. Transmit is the most solid and beautifully designed FTP clients out there.

Github

Git has been the largest change to my workflow. The piece-of-mind that it provides takes a lot of stress out of my life and it makes collaborating a breeze. The Github for Mac application makes working with Github a cinch.

Things

I recently switched from writing my to-dos on a plethora of notepads, blank sheets of paper, and post-it notes to using Things.

Mou

My preferred Markdown editor (and I have tried a handful). Mou touts itself as "The missing Markdown editor for web developers" but I use it mostly for writing essays or blog posts (like this one). I would recommend it for anyone who prefers writing with Markdown.

Adobe CS6

You know the drill.

Web Apps

IFTTT

If it doesn't take creative thinking, automate it. IFTTT is probably my favorite web service. Have it text message you the weather in the morning, or post your blog posts to LinkedIN, or notify you if the CDC reports a Zombie outbreak.

Harvest

Harvest is how I make sure I am getting paid for the work I do. The time tracker is great and the main use for me (I love how it knows if a timer was left running), but I also use Harvest to send estimates, invoices, and reminders to clients.

Basecamp

Basecamp is still one of the best ways to collaborate with clients and keep everyone accountable.

Google Voice

My business number is powered by Google Voice. It's a super powerful tool and one of the many reasons that I love Google. If you call my business number and leave a message, there is a big chance that I am reading the horrible (but valuable) transcription before returning your call.

Webscript

Webscript just launched today but I already love it. Today I set it up to replace my Pingdom account which will save me $5 a month. It's like IFTTT for developers. I can't wait to make it automate even more of my tasks.

Dropmark

I mentioned Dropmark in my last blog post but wanted to mention it again. The best tool for moodboard collaboration. It has other interesting uses as well.

Note: The title of the post is referencing this book that I once saw at a thrift store.

My first post-agency project was the branding and website for a new software company, Object Lateral. Run by my frequent collaborator, Jerod Santo, Object Lateral develops "thoughtful, custom software". If you are in need of app or software development, Object Lateral gets my recommendation.

Links

• ObjectLateral.com
• My Object Lateral Dribbble shots

The Object Lateral site marks my first use of Symbolsets, which are "semantic symbol fonts" created by the fine folks at Oak. I first became interested in the idea of symbol fonts back in January of 2010 after reading this post by the great Zach Leatherman so it was nice to finally implement the idea.

Oak is also the creator of a wonderful service called Dropmark that I have been using over the last 6 months. I use it for mood-board creation but it has many uses. I will be keeping my eyes on this team.

Links

• Symbolset blog post mentioning Object Lateral
• Oak
• Dropmark

The current responsive design movement is quickly gaining momentum. Responding to device size is a powerful way to ensure device agnostic success on your projects. But we shouldn't stop there.

With iOS, we already have access to those devices' accelerometer & gyroscope, but I would love to see even more data available to developers. For instance, imagine having information about a user's accessibility needs. If you knew a user was color blind you could respond with a higher contrast design. Or, if you knew a user was hard of hearing, you could default your videos to closed captioned.

Now, get in there and use the accelerometer to abridge your content for users reading your blog while going for a run.

The last two weeks have been heads down. I am trying to focus my energy and dedicate myself to as few projects at once as possible. Sure, I will always have ongoing projects (Omahype, Weird Nebraska, etc.), but the day-to-day will be laser focused, because that's what my clients' projects deserve.

Last week I switched from Coda to Sublime Text for my text editor of choice. I absolutely love the Panic team and their products (I still use Transmit daily), but after watching Jerod Santo breeze around on Sublime Text during a recent meeting, I had to try it for myself. I haven't used all of the features yet, but it has speeded up my development time already.

Soundtrack: Townes Van Zandt, Joanna Newsom, Dosh, The Books
Hair Color: Brown
Lunch Food: Veggie Dogs & Ramen

When I decided to leave SecretPenguin and pursue a career as a freelance consultant, I thought it would be best if I didn't look for clients until after my last day at SecretPenguin. This choice resulted in the majority of the week being spent meeting with clients and potential collaborators. There are a couple of really fun projects in the works and I should know sometime in the next few days if I get chosen for them or not.

It was strange having a day off just three days into my first week (the 4th of July) but it was nice to spend it with Esme and Ellen.

When not in meetings or writing proposals I have been working on a new website for Artifact Bag Co., an amazing company created by designer Chris Hughes. Chris hired me to re-imagine the website and store and has been fantastic to work with, he is a really smart dude and is very very hardworking. Our goals are simplicity, speed, and analytics; the three things a web store truly needs.

View a teaser screenshot on my Dribbble page: http://dribbble.com/codyjames

Soundtrack: Lucky Dragons, Beat Happening, Joanna Newsom, Townes Van Zandt, Karl Blau
Mood: Excited
Weight: 204