And now we're a WP contract agency

[andrea_r]

:D I did think about for half a second. Then I remembered we are consistently swamped with work. :-/

[davecoveney]

Ah yes, that old problem :o)

But our rates are good - that's the whole point of an agency... The way I see it is that we become a: a one stop shop and b: a known source of excellence. We've rejected a few people because for WP they'd be no better than many other PHP folk. Well, they can continue to earn normal PHP rates.

What we're trying to do is match the best jobs with the best people. I think you guys would fit in well :o)

[hafiz]

It's the same with everyone I talk to, even me!

Wow, either I've been looking for works on the wrong places, or it doesn't apply to theme design/dev works.

I suspect it's the former.

[davecoveney]

Hafiz - it's a complex thing establishing a name for yourself, getting bigger projects, and giving off an appropriate feeling of competence that leads a large client to trust you with their brand.

It took us nearly three years before we got the big stuff. Once that starts it grows nicely because your reputation precedes you. But it does take time and/or amazing skills.

[andrea_r]

Dave is indeed correct. (Hmm, I seem to agree with you a LOT :D )

I was just telling someone the other day, it took us (Ron & I) pretty much 4 years to get to this point. The last couple with some pretty long days.

[davecoveney]

As I enjoy pointing out to many, for three years I didn't make a living from the company. Now I do, but it's still nothing like as good as I could get working for somebody else.

But the long run is building something with value. I used to invest in other companies, then I realised that maybe I could do better. Didn't work out as straightforward as I hoped, but it's really come together this year.

[wpmuguru]

As I enjoy pointing out to many, for three years I didn't make a living from the company. Now I do, but it's still nothing like as good as I could get working for somebody else.

But the long run is building something with value. I used to invest in other companies, then I realised that maybe I could do better. Didn't work out as straightforward as I hoped, but it's really come together this year.

Same here. I was making quite a bit more at the corporate grind than what we have made since I left. For us (and I expect for most people) there's a learning curve for what works and what doesn't. I did corporate consulting for about 8 years and the business model that I used isn't a great fit for the WP ecosystem. The tradeoff is that I get to work with someone I enjoy working with; I have a *lot* more choice in what work I do; I get to work when I want; take time off when I want; etc.