Jojet has been running for 10 years in 2011. And that's something I'm quite proud of; in this day and age small businesses such as mine can find it quite tough so you've got to roll up your sleeves if you intend to be around for a while.

In fairness 10 years is a bit of a stretch because for the first couple of years I was a traditional contractor; Jojet Ltd existed solely as a tax vessel because that's how companies/agencies needed to employ me.

Jojet, in fact, was my second company. I had had a previous one which I used for contracting as well - that company was called, wait for it, "MicroBrain Ltd"...I thought the name was hysterical at the time (for thirty seconds) and it was created safe in the knowledge that I never had to embrace any real clients. After a brief spell of permie work (shudder!) I went back to contracting and had to set up a new company, however, this time I knew that this company would turn into something would have a life post contracting and would need to service traditional clients; so I was a little more choosy with the name!

After a few more years of traditional contracting/freelancing I took the wheel of HMS Jojet, turning my back on the traditional contracting market and setting sail into the stormier seas of a running traditional small business (note to self, stop it with the nautical imagery). That's when the real fun began! 

Selling

Coming from an agency background and working with very talented people, I wanted to offer the same level of service to every day, small to medium enterprises and micro businesses.

The problem with this though is that approach was based on a very much a bespoke mentality; everything was completely greenfield. This is great because, creatively/technically etc, you have complete freedom - however, this is tricky for the client to grasp as it is not an approach which allows you to quickly answer the key "how much will this cost?" question...and that will crop out. Simply saying "it depends" can sound evasive (even if correct).

Packages

This has slowly led me to the conclusion that I need to package my services better. Make it easier for business to buy from me. Make it easier for business to grasp the concepts and the elements which are key to healthy websites and Internet strategy. Allow them to feel their way through my products working out what is a best fit for them and giving them the most appropriate options.

Don't get it me wrong; this has been a hard and soul searching journey but it makes sense:

• clients are happy; they get to see prices quickly and can see a road map to problems they want solved
• I'm happy. I don't pour more into projects where the budget is not available. You get what you can afford and I'll make sure that client's money is spent wisely.
• Clients with bespoke requirements (after all, I can write social networking sites) can still be catered for

Packaging

So, I'm still currently working on the packages. Unwinding my thinking of what goes into good web projects and Internet strategies and seeing where those ingredients can be packaged up into easy-to-understand boxes. What goes into core packages and what are optional extras and upgrades.

The packages will be rolled out onto my website (obviously) and I'll be putting together a key brochure with drop in sheets relating to different services. The rough working copies of that can be seen in the photo at the top...and the talented chaps from Autografik will breath graphic design life into them.

I'm very excited about this and see it as a great platform to grow the company and to take on 2011 with. It's good news for me and good news for my market :)

This isn't a complete post about how the packages will work etc but I wanted to get something out there anyway. Speak soon.

Joel