managemet suggestion needed!

[archiebolo]

Hi YEers
i would like to hear your suggestion to the below situation

currently i am setting up a e-commerce site. it was scedualed to launch at the end of march, however due to bad website designer, it draged out till Jun and i was forced to fire that designer and find a new one.

and due to bad jugment i guess, i found another incompetent designer who draged out the process till now (end of july).

now my investers are pressuring me to have everything up and running asap, or they are going to back out on the investment.

The investers "suggested" (more like ordered me) to just set up a basic site that would take orders. but the problem with that is, the product require a high end image, because is being charged luxury pricing. and if i release a poorly made site, i fear that no one will purches or, come back.

I am currently not quite sure how much longer this current designer is going to take to finish the site. he promised to deliever before Aug, but he also promised manything before and never honored it.

The investers also "suggested" that i find someone else to do the site, however, so far i have spend $500 on the first designer, $300 on this current designer, and if i find someone else it will probabaly put me up another $300-$500, which will be well over budget.

What do you guys suggest i should do? i am desperatly in need of pointers

[Antdizzle]

Maybe you should try a web design company that has positive feedback.

Where did you find the other two designers?

[archiebolo]

The other two designers were private designers I got recommended from friends,
however like i mentioned, looking for a web design company at this moment in time will be over budget.

[Antdizzle]

Offer a designer a small percentage of your sales to design your site.

They'll probably do a better job if there is a chance to make a lot of money.

[akula]

Offer a designer a small percentage of your sales to design your site.

They'll probably do a better job if there is a chance to make a lot of money.

no, tell them if they don't get their shit together, you're not gonna pay them for the site, and then you're gonna sue them for damages, because you were relying on them to get the site done on time, and through their negligence you've suffered detriment.

[spyro]

First off, $500 for a premium site is pocket change. You get what you pay for in the long run. Since you are in a time crunch it might be time to get your hands dirty. If you have the right hosting you can setup your own ecommerce site in 20 minutes and download a good template. That will satify your investors. Then you can worry about making up for lost time.

I don't really agree with Antdizzle just because most quality designers have tried to do profit sharing once or twice and were most likely burned. I know I don't do it anymore no matter what i'm working on.

[F360]

What akula said - ring the designer and tell him to get his arse into gear and that you are loosing sales. He needs to make it his #1 priority to get the site made for you, even if it means working longer hours.

Or maybe he just doesn't think like me - and looks down on his customers as if the are just a annoyance that can be replaced.

[Antdizzle]

no, tell them if they don't get their shit together, you're not gonna pay them for the site, and then you're gonna sue them for damages, because you were relying on them to get the site done on time, and through their negligence you've suffered detriment.

I wasn't talking about the current designer, but if he needed a new designer without money. But I guess threatning them with legal action might work.

If they don't finish the job, take them to one of those TV court shows.

[Outta Hand]

I deal with designers, developers and the lot and i've got to tell you there is nothing worse for a project then an unresponsive developer.

Probably why i put in a good bit of time in when recruiting developers, coders, etc.

$800 for a budget is nothing though... sounds as though you are in a bad spot. Best of luck