4 August, 2014

Written by Harry Roberts on CSS Wizardry.

Since I began working for myself late last year, one thing has been very
apparent: the majority of my work with companies comes about because of
individuals within that company. Designers or developers who follow my work, my
articles, or my talks, who then go and suggest to their boss(es) that they get
me in to run a workshop, or help out on an initial sprint or two’s work, etc.

I’ve always been very grateful of this, and as a result, I’m setting up a (very
informal) referral scheme. Any individual within a company directly
responsible for that company hiring me will receive a $50 (USD) Amazon
voucher. Not a huge amount, but a simple, small thank you.

Terms

Terms and conditions will be very informal, because that’s just how I prefer to
do things. I want this to remain a nice, simple way to say thank you to people
who help me out, so I’d rather it didn’t become a formal, rule-based system to
be gamed. Loosely, they will be along the lines of:

• Only one gift voucher per engagement: only one person can receive one, not
  a whole team.
• There won’t be any online booking system or referral code: just ask the
  person who emails me to mention that you sent them.
• Vouchers will be paid once an invoice has cleared: for hopefully obvious
  reasons.
• It only works if the engagement comes off: no vouchers for introductions
  that lead nowhere, naturally.
• It should work for most types of engagements: but any oddities or
  exceptions will be dealt with as best as I can. For a workshop or development
  project, sure; for an hour of advice over Skype, probably not.
• Referrals cannot be back-dated: I’m sorry, but it’s for engagements from
  here on in only.
• Things are subject to change: within reason. If USD50 all of a sudden
  becomes worth GBP1,000, I will have to go back to the drawing board.
• Any unusual circumstances will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis: if
  there are any grey areas, we will discuss them together.

But if you have any questions, please just fire me an email:
csswizardry@gmail.com.

An example of a cut and
dried introduction
eligible for a referral reward:

Hi Harry,

Sarah, one of our front-end engineers, has asked about getting you in to run a
workshop with our team. Have you got any availability over the next two
months?

Thanks,
Josef

Yay, go Sarah! You may have just earned yourself a $50 Amazon voucher.

I really hope this works out, as it exists to say a genuine, grateful thank you
to the individuals responsible for me having such a varied and fun job!