Paying for a developer

[killerdog]

Morning everyone
Wanting to start a telephone service and have no idea how to write the telephone code or websites but I know what I want and it can be done. Got some quotes from two people, both in america, and just wondering if it is the best option to go down the road of having somebody else develop the whole system for me remotely. Or should I buy some books in telephoney, linux web servers, etc to try and learn.
Also is it safe to use developers? Can they come back after a few years and claim money for their program?

 

[DavoL]

Hi
My suggestion is that you get a good project manager first, having a good project manager helps negotiate obstacles that could have you stuck for months! Start with the end result in mind and hire by the hour 3 project managers to discuss your plans with. Pick the one you are most comfortable working with. Use a site like elance to find people and KillerDog, remember paying double will get you x10 times the results - pay cheap and you get half the results if you lucky

 

[pdhulme]

Agree with Davol, Have used Elance many times. Pay for good quality though and be specific in your specifications

 

[SuitNTie]

If you don't know how to do it, it would not serve you very well to pick up books and attempt it yourself. You'll spend twice as long just trying to fix it and probably more money.

With sites like elance, Digital Point, Freelancers etc you can find reputable and highly qualified developers. I've done quite a bit of freelance development myself. So I trust these sites, when you know what to look for.

 

[sirbrandy]

I totally agree with DavoL's point on the pay. If you try looking for cheap ones (or you haggle for one), you'll end up for poor quality.

Also, looks like this is a long term project. Elance, odesk, freelancer are more for contract workers. If you are seeking for full time developers, I suggest you go to Staff.com. It should be a better option.

 

[Talay]

If you know absolutely nothing about how the project would be put together then you have no yardstick by which to judge any price.

A bloke could tell me an engine costs £50k but because I know the whole car only costs £25k, I know he is telling porkies. However, if he said it cost £5k or £10k or even 15k, how on earth would I know without doing some research and getting to grips with the basics of the subject matter.

 

[pdhulme]

Haven't tried Elance yet. Is it really good?...

Yes I have been really pleased. Used it for Market research, Keywords checking, and some ecommerce stuff. Just be VERY clear with what you want.

As other posts have said pay a little more for specialist with great feedback and look at their portfolio's

 

[Jet Virtual]

Morning everyone
Wanting to start a telephone service and have no idea how to write the telephone code or websites

What do you mean by 'write the telephone code'?

 

[killerdog]

What do you mean by 'write the telephone code'?

You know, the code for telephones.
Thank you all for the info and I did think its better than if i try and do it mysellf, but what is stopping the developer copying my idea?
The person I being speaking to is in Canada and is asking for £1700 for the whole system, which is the telephone/ivr bit, web site and servers. Is that the going rate?

 

[garyk]

What are you looking to do? twilio.com will cover what you need to do if you are looking to offer some form of voip/telephony.

 

[Deleted member 27344]

You know, the code for telephones.

Best. Brief. Ever.

 

[aussiecameras]

Surely in this day and age a contract can be written which protects what you want to have developed. You just need a good contract. Where are the legal guys on this post?

 

[Christine Hough]

You could talk to dotsquares.com I have used them in the past and their T&C give you the copyright. I hope you can explain what you want in a bit more detail than you have on the forum. Seriously you need to be specific to subcontract work.

 

[SuitNTie]

You know, the code for telephones.
Thank you all for the info and I did think its better than if i try and do it mysellf, but what is stopping the developer copying my idea?
The person I being speaking to is in Canada and is asking for £1700 for the whole system, which is the telephone/ivr bit, web site and servers. Is that the going rate?

When you say codes for the telephone, are you talking about like.. a mobile phone app/site?

Also, the thing is, there is no "going rate" because every deal is different. And the way you protect your idea, is with an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). Barring the developer from speaking of or using your idea outside of the agreement.

 

[killerdog]

Im talking about Asterisk.
Thanks for the info, from an earlier thread of mine, I think it was said that I cant patent my service. Can I still use a NDA?

 

[JElder]

Yes, although an NDA is pretty hard to enforce.

The biggest thing to look into for you is assignment of copyrights. You may want to talk to a solicitors as well when setting up the contract.

 

[SuitNTie]

NDA's can be a bit difficult to enforce, unless you make sure they are worded correctly and tightly. And often times, the act of having them sign an NDA will deter them from trying to back out of things etc

 

[drdes]

Quick Q for OP - can you tell us more specifically what you are trying to do? Are you setting up a VoiP carrier (a la Skype) or a reseller type company?

 

[killerdog]

just setting up a service using voip. so need someone to set up the ivr system and wot not.

dont want to be too specific cuz turns out I cant protect it

 

[drdes]

I am currently going though a process of lookig for a web design firm. This is how I did it/will do it:

1. I scoured the internet for websites that were similar to mine, or websites I liked the look of and found out who designed it (usually at the bottom).
2. I got a list of about 30 web design companies in this way. I then went on each of their websites and looked at the quality of their own website and the quality of their projects (including going on the websites themselves to see how fast they loaded etc...)
3. I whittled this list down to 15 - i sent each of them a short email (2-3 paragraphs) providing a very generic decsription of my website (e.g. an online dating website similar to Match.com which will be database driven and built with responsive web design etc.. etc.). I asked if this was something that they would be interested in doing and asked (but not demanded) if they could provide a very rough guide to cost (stating that i wouldn't hold them to it but looking for indication).
4. I heard back from 10 of them. Of these, I selected 3 that I liked and sent them NDAs to sign and return.
5. Upon recei[pt of NDA, I sent each of them a DETAILED Request for Proposal document - I told each of them that I was getting quotes from 3 firms in total and gave them 4 weeks to get back to me with a detailed document with quotes and how they would design it etc...

This is theh stage I am at. Once I get them back, I will call each of them and discuss their proposal and select one.

If your project is smaller, then you can make the process a little more streamlined than above but hopefully you get an idea.

 

[drdes]

dont want to be too specific cuz turns out I cant protect it

One piece of advice - first make sure you cant protect it.

If you can't think carefully about the pros and cons of keeping it a secret. At the end of the day if the idea is any good, someone will copy it (which in a way is good since it validates your business model) - the question is will you be able to execute better than them? Will being in "stealth mode" allow you to build a sticky customer base that will give you an unsurmountable lead? If not, you might be better opening up a bit more because you might get some good ideas/advice from people.

Ideas are worth nothing - its only execution that matters. - look at the Facebook and Myspace story for a great example of this.

 

[killerdog]

I found one bloke in Canada who is going to do the phone system and website for me, he will be doing everything I need. I want to use a NDA template from google but becuase he is in a different country is there a special NDA agreement I need?

Asked on this forum about the protection and turns out I cant. Its like 0800 reverse or 118 118, just a phone service.