Stranger Danger & People You’ve Never Met
April 3, 2007 Category: Articles 21 Comments 
Over the last several years, I’ve worked with a large number of people that I’ve never actually met. The internet allows us all to work together, no matter how far away we may be. I’ve been hired by people in other countries and contracted work with people across the country or state. I’d say that on the whole it has all worked out pretty well… but there have been some bumps along the way.
This week I had the chance to meet two people I’ve been working with over the past few months. One I met in court and the other I met for some drinks.
Here are 6 Tips for Working with People You Don’t Know
Put it All in Writing
It doesn’t matter if you are just doing a freebie logo for somebody or joining them as a business partner, it is paramount that all parties put their expectations to pen (or keys) so that everyone is on the same page (or scroll). An outline of your expectations with their acknowledgment and a deadline is enough to hold up in court as a contract (in case you ever need it), so take the time to outline things.
Great Expectations
The great part about putting things down in writing is then everyone knows what is expected of them. Often in partnerships or any sort of working relationships, it often feels like we are putting in more time and energy than the other parties… and when all expectations are written there is an easy to find measuring tool to see who is really pulling their fair share.
Be Honest & Clear
Don’t promise something you can’t do and don’t ask for something you don’t want. There are some few billion people in the world, if it doesn’t work out for you two to do something… chances are there is a better fit out there someplace. I’ve met people who I immediately wanted to be partners with, just because of how well we got on, but we had to wait until the right opportunity to test those waters. We realized that if the time and idea wasn’t perfect for the partnership, even our great friendship wasn’t going to hold things together.
Be Professional, Be Punctual
Treat each person you’re working with, with the same level of respect you would want in return. If you set a time for a call or an email… make it to the call. Nobody likes being blown off and nobody likes waiting around. Along the same lines is keeping regular communication, even if there isn’t any updates.
Keep the Lines Open
When working with strangers, there is always an extra bit of worry or confusion about what the other person is doing. A week could go by with no update and while that can feel like they’ve dropped your project… they may in fact be busting their ass, but haven’t emailed or posted anything live. I find that I can’t be updated enough. When I’ve hired somebody to do contract work, I want an update every so often just to let me know how things are progressing… Are we meeting expectations… Any hang-ups that I should know about?… Can I help with anything?… Still happy to be working together?…
Ask Google, or Any of Your Other Close Friends
The world is absolutely huge… but the internet seems to be a pretty small town sometimes. If you’re entering into a project with another person do some quality Google time and look them up. Ask around on the forums you read or other designer / developer / entrepreneur types to see if they have worked with the person in the past. No need to Google Stalk them or anything too in depth… just do the basic who are they and what are they about.
Hopefully with some of this advice you can spend more time meeting partners for drinks and good stories instead of in suits at court.
P.S. It was Travis my Total Stranger Partner here at YGG that I was meeting in Toronto for some good conversation and tasty beverages.
