Re:Ask HN: Anyone interested in working for clients, not jus...
by billroberts on Tuesday March 31, 2009 @05:18PM
(#540851)
You're absolutely right that that's how it ought to work. And when you have a good relationship with your clients you can sometimes get close to that. In practice it won't always work like that, but you can try to pick and choose your assignments and 'train' your clients to move in that direction.
Such a service agency should position itself as an industry expert, one that clients turn to for solutions, not products. That is, if a client -- let's say, a chain of local gyms -- comes to you and needs a website built, it shouldn't be turnkey and you should expect to contribute your thinking to the end product, not just the code that creates that.
Not code monkeys. Inform and shape the final product, because you know more than your client. They need you for a reason. They don't know the best answer, you do. That's why they hired you.