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Here is proof they aren't mentally all there, thus clearly their idea is probably also half baked: "I mean there isn't that much to it, it's just a website wit

Here is proof they aren't mentally all there, thus clearly their idea is probably also half baked: "I mean there isn't that much to it, it's just a website with a database, I was hoping you could just throw it together as a favor." OP gave an hourly rate.. if their friend really thinks there's nothing to it, it shouldnt be too hard to pay for 3 hours of time and be on your way to business success. So either they don't even have enough money to pay for 3 hours of work, OR they think it's 30 hours of work and they expect you to just do that for free (wtf). We don't even need to go into the fact that really they're asking for 300 hours minimum realistically.

kazinator 3y ago
It also shows they don't understand IP issues. Okay, I will throw it together. Since I'm unpaid, and have no share in the business venture, I will be the sole copyright holder. To test the business idea, I will allow it to be run over 60 day free trial. Then we can talk about what happens next.
safety1st 3y ago
The thing is, one of the stages of the sales process is qualification. That's where you assess whether the prospective customer is an appropriate fit to actually become a customer. Among other things that includes finding out whether they have lots of money which they want to spend now. The OP did a beautiful job of qualification here, he sent one message, and then the prospect revealed that they weren't in the market for spending money on a programmer, and walked away. PERFECTION. This is a moment of joy for anyone in sales because they no longer have to waste a single minute with that useless contact, and they can move on. He should be happy! It's only programmers, artists etc. who seem to get cranky about the sales process and pen long cranky articles about how their craft doesn't get enough respect or whatever. There is clearly a huge market for programming, so there's no need for ruminating, just kick back with a beer, celebrate your newfound freetime, then get back to coding cool stuff.
- talldatethrow 3y ago
  I'm basically a sales veteran, and what you write is totally true. However, it's ignoring that this conversation didn't start as a sales call. These were acquaintances, and the business guy thought he was asking a favor of a 'friend' (however foolishly). If a friend asked me why his car is making a funny noise, I don't quite him my rates.. even though Im also very skilled as a mechanic. If he asked me if I could help him in person change his timing belt, I'd consider. If he asked me to change it at my house while he was off doing other stuff, well.. he better be a good friend and the other stuff better helping his family member deal with cancer. The real question is, was the asker under the impression this is really a 2-3 hour favor, or were they really expecting a weeks worth of help for free? (I've never helped anyone with a task that took 40 hours in my life, and I'm a super helpful person)
  - busterarm 3y ago
    But that's the difference between acquaintances and friends, isn't it? If every acquaintance I ever had hit me up for 2-3 hours of free work, I'd be in trouble.
- busterarm 3y ago
  OP even managed to turn the no-sale, no-contact into a blog post to generate more leads! Ultimate win!
xtiansimon 3y ago
“idea for a business”—which doesn’t pay its workers or value the necessary contributions to get it off the ground by having a respectful, thoughtful discussion? Mental, for sure. Why should the author think about it further than that? It’s not like you can educate them to understand ‘business’.

kazinator 3y ago

It also shows they don't understand IP issues. Okay, I will throw it together. Since I'm unpaid, and have no share in the business venture, I will be the sole copyright holder. To test the business idea, I will allow it to be run over 60 day free trial. Then we can talk about what happens next.

safety1st 3y ago

The thing is, one of the stages of the sales process is qualification. That's where you assess whether the prospective customer is an appropriate fit to actually become a customer. Among other things that includes finding out whether they have lots of money which they want to spend now. The OP did a beautiful job of qualification here, he sent one message, and then the prospect revealed that they weren't in the market for spending money on a programmer, and walked away. PERFECTION. This is a moment of joy for anyone in sales because they no longer have to waste a single minute with that useless contact, and they can move on. He should be happy! It's only programmers, artists etc. who seem to get cranky about the sales process and pen long cranky articles about how their craft doesn't get enough respect or whatever. There is clearly a huge market for programming, so there's no need for ruminating, just kick back with a beer, celebrate your newfound freetime, then get back to coding cool stuff.

talldatethrow 3y ago
I'm basically a sales veteran, and what you write is totally true. However, it's ignoring that this conversation didn't start as a sales call. These were acquaintances, and the business guy thought he was asking a favor of a 'friend' (however foolishly). If a friend asked me why his car is making a funny noise, I don't quite him my rates.. even though Im also very skilled as a mechanic. If he asked me if I could help him in person change his timing belt, I'd consider. If he asked me to change it at my house while he was off doing other stuff, well.. he better be a good friend and the other stuff better helping his family member deal with cancer. The real question is, was the asker under the impression this is really a 2-3 hour favor, or were they really expecting a weeks worth of help for free? (I've never helped anyone with a task that took 40 hours in my life, and I'm a super helpful person)
- busterarm 3y ago
  But that's the difference between acquaintances and friends, isn't it? If every acquaintance I ever had hit me up for 2-3 hours of free work, I'd be in trouble.
busterarm 3y ago
OP even managed to turn the no-sale, no-contact into a blog post to generate more leads! Ultimate win!

xtiansimon 3y ago

“idea for a business”—which doesn’t pay its workers or value the necessary contributions to get it off the ground by having a respectful, thoughtful discussion? Mental, for sure. Why should the author think about it further than that? It’s not like you can educate them to understand ‘business’.