money for pixels

In order to make a living recycling pixels, it is important to get paid.

There are a number of methods for doing this.

1. mask and gun (this method carries a number of hazards)
2. Handshake (good to the point you wind up in court)
3. Work for someone else (your reading this is kinda pointless)
4. A contract ( helps in court, should it come to that)

You need a contract so you are protected and your clients understand that you are in business, and not doing this as a hobby. You can probably find something on the web as a starting point. I am not giving you a contract to cut and paste as I conduct business in Arizona. You will probably do it somewhere else. Besides, my attorney has told me that a contract is only as good as it's first court test.

Find a Contract Lawyer, who is familiar with the web if you can. The reasoning for this is that a lawyer exposed to the web is far more likely to understand your business and can craft you a contract that will save your butt.

Contracts come in all sizes and price ranges. How you choose to conduct your business will determine what kind of contract you will want.

I do Work for Hire. I take the clients materials and build websites. I retain the right to link the site and to display it in my portfolio. I do not reserve the rights to ever letter and punctuation mark. I do not drag my clients into court because they use the images I create for them that they use for other marketing efforts, such as print or CD Rom Presentations. As a matter of fact, I encourage these activities and in most cases, create the master copies of these materials.