Ask HN: Any franchise for starting a web development consultancy? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Any franchise for starting a web development consultancy?

13 pointsstreakerbee8 comments

I want to start my own web development consultancy. I was wondering if there was a franchise model I could pursue to get started?

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I don't know of any franchises per se, but Thoughtbot, a well known Ruby on Rails consultancy, publishes a "Playbook"[0] that outlines how they run their consultancy. I find it to be a good guide to consult from time to time. It covers everything from the development process to sales. It's written from the point of view of a new Thoughtbot employee, which makes it an interesting read.

0 - http://playbook.thoughtbot.com/

WSI (www.wsicorporate.com) is still around. But I really don't understand the point of a franchise for a web development business. A web development business is one or more people with a computer, some skills and the ability to deal with customers. You don't need a consumer brand, a supply chain, specialist equipment and training or a stylish bricks & mortar store, so I'm really not sure what value you'd expect to get from a franchise fee.

If you need help getting customers, offer your services to other agencies for which they pay you

Well people don't know if you are competent, if your prices are reasonable, if you are honest, if you follow some standard business practices, if you document your work, and so on. The point of the brand is to promise all that to them.

Bar None: The best authority on the broader subject of consulting in general is Alan Weiss. Only wish I discovered and read his stuff when I started out. Here's recommended book for you> http://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Launch-Kick-start-Succe...

Why not start small?

Get one client and go from here. The hardest parts will be learning how to manage your time, saying no to your clients, and figuring out how to take an idea from a client and transferring it directly to code.

How do you get that first client?

Go meet people. It's amazing how many people are out there searching for talent. If they can't hire a full time, they often resort to contractors. That's you.

There are some franchises at entrepeneur.com/franchises/

you can do a search for marketing agencies.

hope that helps

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