How can you plan for the future when you don’t know what it’s going to be like?

Not all eggs in one basket, review annually, think back, look ahead.

Of the 14 books I have rolling around in my head, one of them is tentatively titled, “29 Mistakes to Avoid if You’re Starting a Website Design Business.”

Here’s one I dealt with today:

#16: Don’t put clients under your account for licenses. Have them sign up and pay for their own.

Think of the deed to a house. You certainly don’t want your contractor or architect or realtor to have their name on the deed to the house. It’s your house, you want your name on it. Just because they helped get things started doesn’t mean anything should be in their name. They’re going to be quickly out of the picture.

Same goes for website work. If there’s a plugin or a stock photo or a theme or anything that requires a license (especially a paid one), put it in the client’s name.

Here’s a simple rule of thumb and a quick note you can (sort of) tell your client, “What if I, you know, hypothetically, moved to Tahiti next year? Would you really want that license in my name when it came time to renew? So please sign up, pay, and let me know your login information so I can configure it for you.”

The Tahiti part is to let them know that, no, you won’t be around to help them forever and you have your own plans for your future which have absolutely nothing to do with the license key for a dental office in San Francisco.

Get it in their name, on their credit card and be done with it.

Ready for Mistake #17?