Why I sometimes turn down the opportunity to submit a proposal

I turned down the opportunity to prepare a proposal for two different clients yesterday, so I thought I'd write about that today.

This isn't unusual for me, and I definitely don't think it's a bad thing. But to some who are just starting out as small-business/independent web developers, it might sound strange. If I stated this on the online forums I frequent, I can almost promise that there would be a post or two from people eagerly asking that the clients be referred to them.

Some of my readers may be of a mind to turn down potential web development jobs as well; if you are, you already understand. But for those who don't, here's my explanation.

First and foremost is the fact that, after ten years in this business, I have found that I spend a lot of time talking to potential clients, gathering information, "selling" my services, preparing proposals and figuring estimates. I find this to be hard work, and it isn't my favorite type of work by any means.

Some of this work results in paying jobs, sometimes in good paying jobs. But the percentage that do result in good paying jobs is too low for my liking. Whether or not I could improve that percentage is a subject I'm not ready to tackle here, but I will say that I do the very best I can to get every single contract that I can, assuming that it's appropriate for my skills and strengths.

But, appropriate for my skills and strengths - that's crucial, at least to me. I don't enjoy being in the position of having "won" a contract, and finding myself faced with work that I need to subcontract out to others. I find that a lot of web developers seem to think that subcontracting is the answer to all potential problems with a web development project, and that there's no reason to shy away from any contract, since the talent to complete it is undoubtedly readily available for hire.

But I don't want to supervise web projects. I don't want to be the one whose job is to constantly interface between the client and the people who are having all the fun doing the design and coding. Again, in the immortal words of Sly Stone, different strokes for different folks, and that might be somebody else's idea of a fun job, but it isn't mine.

So, when it becomes obvious to me that I'm not likely to be able to handle all, or at least most. of the actual web development work myself, that's one time when I am likely to pass on submitting a proposal.

There are other reasons I sometimes pass on a project as well. Another is when a client, and/or his project, set off warning lights for me. This might be because the potential client sounds like he is not serious about hiring a web developer at reasonable rates, or it might be because I can tell that the web site production process will be "managed" by a committee, which I've found to be a formula for an unhappy project. Unfortunately, not-for-profit organizations frequently fall into one or both of the above categories.

There are other types of potential clients I've learned to pick out from a distance and avoid as well, for example, the get-rick-quick-on-the-Internet-wannabe. These are people who think that a web site plus a small amount of fiddling with search engine positioning will create for them a goose that will begin laying golden eggs into their bank account shortly after I launch their site.

The truth is, I've found that by sorting through potential clients carefully, I can put my energy into the potential projects which actually have potential for both the client and me, and avoid wasting time on those which don't.