Michael,

I think that’s not just with developers, but with contractors in general. If you have to motivate someone to work on a project, then that’s a reactionary position that I wouldn’t want to be in. I’d much rather be in a pro-active position and know what types of projects they enjoy and want to be focused on and do good work in.

However I have a couple of action items that you may be able to take:

1. Talk with past clients of the developer. Ask them how the developer is with delivering things on time and in what form.

2. From being on both sides of the fence, in the initial conversations make sure that they are a fit for you, but also you are a fit for them. Ask them the types of projects that they enjoy working on. Ask them about some of the projects that they are currently working on. Even ask them why they are working on those projects. By doing that, then you can find out what they are passionate about.

By doing these few things, I think you’ll find out quickly that if a developer is just looking for that initial invoice to get paid, or if they will be a partner with you and your projects.

Michael,

I think that’s not just with developers, but with contractors in general. If you have to motivate someone to work on a project, then that’s a reactionary position that I wouldn’t want to be in. I’d much rather be in a pro-active position and know what types of projects they enjoy and want to be focused on and do good work in.

However I have a couple of action items that you may be able to take:

1. Talk with past clients of the developer. Ask them how the developer is with delivering things on time and in what form.

2. From being on both sides of the fence, in the initial conversations make sure that they are a fit for you, but also you are a fit for them. Ask them the types of projects that they enjoy working on. Ask them about some of the projects that they are currently working on. Even ask them why they are working on those projects. By doing that, then you can find out what they are passionate about.

By doing these few things, I think you’ll find out quickly that if a developer is just looking for that initial invoice to get paid, or if they will be a partner with you and your projects.

As a virtual dev agency owner, I outsource a lot of work to freelance developers. My #1 frustration is keeping them motivated to work on my project enough to deliver it on time. Many freelancers are so busy chasing the next job, that it seems their projects that are in-progress suffer. I’ve let many developers go, when I could have given them more work, because they didn’t follow through as promised.

As a virtual dev agency owner, I outsource a lot of work to freelance developers. My #1 frustration is keeping them motivated to work on my project enough to deliver it on time. Many freelancers are so busy chasing the next job, that it seems their projects that are in-progress suffer. I’ve let many developers go, when I could have given them more work, because they didn’t follow through as promised.