Hi everyone, I had a small, local business owner call me today regarding my services. He stated that he wanted to get his website converted to WordPress and also have SEO elements implemented into it. He said he wanted to pay me on an hourly basis and that the job wouldn't take longer than about 20 hours. The thing that is most concerning to me, is that he wants me to use his computers at his office while I do the work. I'm uncomfortable moving forward with this just because all of the past work I have done I have placed on my own server, and I only transfer everything to the client once I've been paid in full. I was also a bit uncomfortable speaking with him on the phone, because he wasn't friendly at all and seemed to be demanding rather than asking. He also complained to me about his current web developer, which I really didn't like or think was necessary for me to hear. My hands are tied this week and the next with two clients and an upcoming meeting, and when I was honest about it, he seemed to get more flustered and simply said, "How about you just give me your number and I'll call you?" Meanwhile, he already has my number and called me this morning. I dunno... Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I immediately had a red flag with this guy, but I can't put my finger on it. So here are my questions: Would you proceed with this task? How would you go about managing this specific task? How would you ensure that you get paid properly for hourly work? I always charge clients on a per-project basis and work from home, so this is new to me and it sounds a bit weird as well. Any advice/direction would be appreciated. Thanks!
I would suggest advising him how you ordinarily work, maybe he will be ok with it? This would also raise flags for me, it's weird that someone would actually force you to work locally on his computer rather than use your own. Maybe you can explain to him on a friendly level that your computer has all the necessary tools to do your job well and efficiently, and perhaps all the time wasted on travel and getting a feel of his computers might just lead to more time + more money for him? In any case, I would be careful as this sounds a little weird to me.