Interns sell, developers build

Skillhancer Labs builds websites, mobile apps, custom software and automation for growing businesses. Two groups of people make that happen.

Two jobs

Interns find businesses, run discovery calls, and pitch and close projects. You are the client's first contact, and you look after them from the first message to handover.

Developers design, build and launch each project. They also confirm the scope, the timeline and the price before anything is promised to a client.

Keeping the two jobs separate is deliberate. You can give a client your full attention without having to write code, and the client gets a price and a timeline set by the people who will do the work.

How every project runs

Every project follows the same four steps. Learn them well: clients ask "what happens next?" on almost every call.

1. Call. A scoping call about the business, who the project is for, what it needs to do and what can wait. The client gets notes on what we heard, so they can correct anything before the proposal.
2. Proposal. A written proposal with the scope, a fixed price, the timeline and what we need from the client. Nothing starts until the client accepts it.
3. Build. Our developers build in stages. Every week the client gets an update with what was done, what is next and anything they need to decide, plus a preview link they can click through.
4. Launch. We launch on the client's own accounts, check everything works in the real world, then walk them through running it themselves.

What a client receives at handover

• The live website, app or tool, running on accounts in their name
• Admin logins, transferred to them and their team
• The source code, in a repository they control
• Domain, hosting and third-party services listed, with who pays for what
• A written guide for everyday changes, and a handover call to go through it
• A list of what was built, and ideas left for later

These are strong reasons to choose us. Some small businesses have been left by a previous supplier without their own logins or code. You can tell them plainly that everything is handed over in their name.

How we behave

Four values guide how we work with clients:

• Specific. We say what we will build, by when and for how much, in writing.
• Fair. Clients pay for what they receive. Interns earn on what they sell.
• Fast. Short calls, prompt proposals and progress the client can see every week.
• Honest. If a project is not a good fit, or a date is at risk, we say so early and plainly.

Exercise

Explain the four steps of a project out loud in under a minute, as if a business owner had just asked "so how does this work?". Then write down the two handover items you think a small business owner would care about most, and why.