Kevin Dones is doing something we should all be doing every week. He’s documenting his mistakes and trying his hardest to learn from them. Luckily for us, he’s sharing them.
Dones admits that he didn’t hire the right web developer even though he knew how to hire a good web developer.
He knew he had to state his demands clearly and write out an agreement–but he didn’t. He hired a guy who promised the moon and than dragged his feet. After some back and forth the web developer asked for more money, got it, and went back to doing nothing. Dones learned the following: “When it comes to using what you learn from books and people it’s not the same when you implement it in the real world.”
There’s a disconnect between what we know and what we do. Dones knew the rules–but felt awkward following them. Why bother a web developer with documents and dotted lines when you just had a beautiful conversation?
Dones’ mistake has taught him how to hire help effectively. It has also shown him that rules and advice are there for a reason.
Don’t hire web-developers on a wing and a prayer. Set deadlines and write out contracts. And if it goes bad–do what Dones did: write down what happened and see what went wrong.
Kevin Dones is currently building: http://labortopia.com/
