I am very fortunate to have 2 projects to bid on right now. One is a fairly well-funded entity that has made it clear that they have the resources to pay for a quality site upgrade. The other project is for a sole proprietor who was screwed by his previous web developer. This person is already out the money originally budgeted for web development and has little hope of ever getting a refund. Any funds that are to be allocated for additional work on his site are coming directly from what would otherwise be his livelihood.
I have written in the past about the trials and tribulations of putting together bids for projects, but I am now facing a new dilemma. I have personal experience with vendors walking off with my money without delivering what they promised. At the time, I could no more afford it that the guy I am preparing a bid for. As a bleeding heart business owner, I want to give the sole proprietor a huge discount because what happened to him just isn’t very sportsmanlike. As a self-sustaining business owner, I know it’s not my fault that he had bad luck in the past and I really can’t afford to give the sole proprietor a discount.
On the flip side, is it fair to bid at 2 different hourly rates just because one entity can afford it and the other cannot? Am I penalizing the more successful business simply because of their success? Or, is there some karmic imperative to help a business down on his luck in the hope that someday someone will return the favor?
Unfortunately for my bank account, I am not particularly motivated by money, so I know that even if I do charge differential rates, one project won’t get more or less of my attention than the other. Assuming I were to get both projects, the only place I will feel the pinch is the number of hours I will need to put in that month to make enough money to cover my mortgage, health insurance, etc.
But there is really no reason to assume that I will get both projects. Heck, I may not get either, in which case this dilemma is no more than a mental exercise.
I have already made my decision, but I am curious what you think I should do? What is the fairest solution in this situation? I will post my own decision in a day or two. 