Posts

Robert Crain

I’m Retiring* From WordPress

So, it’s been almost 12 months since I last posted here, and hasn’t time flown.

I’ve made several posts, on my website(s), as well as on forums about me thinking about this decision, because there are quite a few things outside of WordPress, that I want to do.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I made the decision to give up Social Media. I still have my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter Accounts ‘active’, although I’ve made changes so I cannot log into them.

The past few years has ‘forced’ me to be a bit more private, and not share things online. I used to enjoy taking photos around the house, be it with my pets, or home improvements that I felt proud of, and publish them, but I am just so much happier not to, now.

I get more enjoyment out of life, from being private. I can get out on the Kubota and mow the strip whenever I want. My partner can get her hands dirty in her acre of gardens that surround the house, which cannot be seen from any direction. We are secluded, yet not far from Mittagong, Berrima and Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. We get more enjoyment from people not knowing anything.

Thankyou, stalker.

WordPress has been good to me, and I’ve enjoyed dealing with some very nice people. I believe there are going to be challenges ahead for newbies entering into this field, purely based on the fact that there are so many competing businesses out there, hoping to get your business. I’m not going to name them, but you know who they are.

I’d rather retire from this now, while I’m still reasonably young, and can enjoy life a bit more. I’d actually considered walking away from WordPress for about the past 4/5 years, but decided to continue with it, at reduced hours and days.

So, today – February 1, 2022*, is my very last day. The funny thing is, I was going to give 4 weeks notice here today, but whilst writing this, it has changed my mind.

Jobs that have come in over the past 2 weeks will be passed onto another developer, and I will no longer be accepting any jobs.

It’s been fun. You will still be able to contact me via this website, until I decide to remove the page, which will probably be in around 6 months.

Here’s to a private life.

/by
Robert Crain

Here we go again – What I charge.

A lot can be said about pandemics.

Some people lose their jobs, others excel. That’s just how it is.

I’ve been questioned, it seems, a million times, about why I charge so much – per hour.

Let’s get this out of the way – again.

For about 15 years now, I’ve specialised in WordPress. I’ve built up my Brand, with theme developers and customers over many years.

The reality is, I could have employed other developers and built a big business, but chose to protect my work and name by doing everything myself. It has worked – Brilliantly. The downside, is that my income is limited to what ‘I’ can do myself.

Just like any business, there is a supply and demand issue that needs to be addressed. I addressed it my way – by increasing my rate, so that ‘demand’ drops to a steady supply. Do my clients wish they’d pay less? Obviously, they would. But, they know they can go elsewhere and pay less, or they can continue paying what I charge, and know their website is in safe hands – because I work when people are sleeping, so their website has no ‘real’ downtime.

I cannot understand why people, after seeing how much I charge (I don’t hide it), they seem to have the time to contact me, complaining about what I charge!

Isn’t it a life goal to get paid what you believe you’re worth? I say it is. People say in their complaints, that they can go elsewhere and pay $25 per hour. Well, do it. Go….it’s simple right? Not so, apparently.

I do provide FREE advice and assistance in some forums, and will continue.

Some clients that had websites built have told me the timeframe and cost of their ‘old’ website – prior to coming to me, and I’ve almost fallen back off my chair. Cheap isn’t always value. Value isn’t always cheap. Some clients have spent $60 per hour for two developers to build them a website, that were billed for about 3 times as many hours as what it would have taken me to build. They paid more, for less.

At the end of the day, if you aren’t happy with my rate – $121 per hour, you are free to go elsewhere. Like I’ve said many times in my blogs, I can get a lot done in an hour – more than most.

I turn 50 this year. and am currently looking at my options, one of which I may decide to give this away, but I’m not sure just yet. I have reduced my hours to around 12 per week, and I am still turning away work.

Demand for my work is not in short supply and I may even increase my hourly rate, if I decide to continue past my 50th.

I am worth what I charge. You may not think so, and that is fine, you don’t have to. To me, I am value for money, and I’m not cheap.

This whole discussion makes me uncomfortable, and will be the last time I write about it. Simply, if you don’t want to pay what I charge, go elsewhere. I really can’t make that any clearer.

/by
Robert Crain

Change Of Hours, and some.

About two months ago, I changed the days and tweaked the hours I dedicate towards CrainWP.com.

My dedication towards the work I do for CrainWP.com hasn’t changed, but I made a promise to myself and my partner, to live a life more balanced than I have in recent years.

I wanted to ‘get out’ more, rather than sit behind a desk for 70+ hours per week. I am also looking forward to studying photography in the new year, and flying my drone [ as a hobby ] a bit more.

Although WordPress has been very good to me, financially, I’ve been doing consistently good elsewhere, with other investments and the time has arrived where I’ve needed to re-evaluate my ‘role’ in life. The age-old question of ‘how much is enough’ has been trickling through my mind for the past few years, so I’ve decided to act on that question.

I love WordPress, so I will not be giving it up. I’ll still be answering emails, helping people via forums, and accepting requests for assistance via theme developers – just less of it.

The time has come to fly more, drive more, and enjoy life more. The past 9 months, have been bliss :)

(Drone Photo via Unsplash.com)

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