Hunter or Huntee
In the mist of Covid-19 (Corona Virus), we at JDS WebDesign are hoping everyone is safe, washing your hands frequently, sneezing and coughing in your elbow, and practicing social distancing. Over the next several weeks, we are planning on blogging about how to make your website more business friendly. We will have some tutorials on our favorite plugins and features, which will make your site more efficient.
Recently, I spoke to a web designer about how to get more clients. She wanted to grow her business (not sure why everyone feels like more clients mean growth, but that is another blog post for the future). I asked her if she was a hunter or huntee? Silence (not sure if it was from the questions or term “huntee”, which is not an actual word).
What is a hunter?
A hunter is a web designer, who looks for work. He is on all the social media platforms, looking for the latest project. He has memberships to all the job boards. He sends out hundreds of leads for upcoming projects. He hunts for the next project or job.
Nathan Ello is an expert hunter. He has random post about how he secured six (6) figure salary using hunter methods. Hunters are rare breeds, but you can check out Nathan’s latest blog post. He discusses how he made over $168k in the past 12 months. Nathan is truly a beast!!!
What is a huntee?
I stand corrected huntee is an actual word. It is a noun, according to wiki.
A huntee is a web designer, who projects look for … She does not look for work on social media platform. She does not review job boards. She works on her brand. She works on her search engine optimization numbers. She is very active in her community. Her projects are refers from existing clients. Her latest project is from a client looking for a designer with her experience and expertise. Projects hunt for her !!!
Can you be a hunter and huntee?
Yes!!! Most designers are hunters and huntees. They look for work, and work looks for them. They will send out proposal, while some secured projects ask them for proposals. They find themselves in bidding wars, and they receive projects without any competition. They are competing with another designer, who might be able to quote a lot lower price, while sometimes they do not quote any price. They demand certain dollar amounts for each project, and other times they are involved in a bidding war. This is the world a lot of web designers exist in, and while it is not an ideal situations it is what some designer signed up for…not us!
When I started my web design agency over 11 years ago. I had a prospective asked me to match a fellow designers price point. It was $250.00 for a WordPress site with membership plugin, buddy press features and unlimited forms. I had researched the cost of the plugins and theme for the project, it was going to cost around $200. This project was going to take at least 40 – 50 hours to completed. I had quoted the project at $2,000.00, which was low. I thought long and hard about lowering my price to $250.00, but realize that I would be working for $1/hour to finish to project. While my agency could have used the money, it was during my early stages, it could have financial cripple me and my agency. I offer to split the differences at $1,300.00. My offer was decline. The other designer was awarded the project. I felt horrible. About two months later, I received a call. The designer could not complete the project. I was asked if I could completed it for $500.00. I told the client that the tools needed for the project would cost $250.00 and it would take 40 – 50 hours to complete. I could not work for $4 an hour. My price was $2,500.00. My counteroffer was off the table. This was truly a blessing and story, which has been shared with many web designers.
I had a hunter mentality!!! Are you a hunter or huntee?
Image courtesy of Julian O’hayon.
JDS WebDesign is a Web Design and Brand Marketing Agency located in Marietta, Georgia. We create AWESOME on line presence for Start-ups and Influential People/Organizations. To learn more about us or how we can help you and your organization, you can contact us or schedule a meeting.
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