Client FAQ
Before embarking on our work together, you may well have a few questions. I've rounded up the most frequently asked below, which I hope you'll find helpful. It covers everything from the services I offer to pricing and billing.
If you find your question unanswered, please get in touch, and I'll get right back to you.
I work as an independent consultant, and generally speaking, engagements take one of three forms:
My clients all have one thing in common — Shopify. The last decade of my working life has focused on Shopify (7 years at the company itself and three years as an independent consultant). I know the ecosystem, the companies, the people, and the challenges. I'm one of a handful of consultants specialising in helping Shopify focused businesses — if that's you, let's talk!
To help us work this out, I'll ask you to complete a short survey before your free initial consultation. This will help me understand more about you, your business, and your challenges. Being as open and honest as possible in your replies will help me determine if I can help you move forward.
After our initial conversation and assuming a good fit, I'll present 2‐3 options for you to choose from.
I'll act as your strategic advisor. I'll ask the hard questions to help you make the most informed decisions and invest in moving you and your business forward.
We'll meet weekly for online working sessions during our engagement, and you'll have 24/7 access to me via Slack/IM/email. We can get into the meaty topics on our calls — in-between, I'm available for feedback and to answer those burning questions.
The moment we agree to work together is one day closer to the inevitable break up conversation! For some clients, this point is a year away — for others, it's a few months.
There's a reason you hire me at this moment in your businesses existence. I offer something you need today — that need will change as you grow and develop. It's entirely natural.
Having tried various approaches to ongoing engagements, I now offer fixed term and fixed price agreements — for example, six months. At the outset, we'll set the objectives and measures and work towards these during our time together.
During our fifth month of collaboration, we'll meet to discuss the current situation and work out the best way to proceed together.
From here we can go one of two ways:
It's all good!
My current service offerings do not involve tactical execution. However, I am fortunate to know a lot of talented practitioners who I will happily introduce to you.
To respect relationships, I do not offer introductions as part of my service offering. However, I am happy to make connections when it's highly relevant to the project, and I believe the recipient will be very interested.
Of course, please get in touch and I'll join the dots.
I live and work from the city of Bath in the South West of the UK (GMT+1).
Absolutely. I currently work with clients in Europe, the USA (EST & PST), Canada and beyond. Some early starts and late finishes on either side may be required, but we usually make it work!
Yes! I'm happy to be added to one or two dedicated channels in your Slack workspace and make myself available via email in-between sessions. I can't promise I'll reply within 2 minutes or even 2 hours, but I will get back to you within 24 hours.
For consultancy, absolutely. I politely ask that you share who will be on the call and their role in the project in advance of our session. Coaching tends to be 1-1, but I am open to small group work too.
It's not unusual for team members to initially feel threatened by the presence of an external consultant — I get it. However, your team mustn't see me as the "competition" but rather as someone who is fully invested in helping your business improve. If there are concerns, I will, of course, raise them with you.
I understand that the Shopify ecosystem is relatively small and well connected. We'll likely know the same people. However, my reputation rests on the fact that I keep our conversations private. If you would like me to sign an NDA/confidentiality agreement, please let me know in my initial survey.
Every engagement is tailored to your exact requirements, and as such, prices will vary. Factors including your investment, the scope of work, your timescale, and the delivery method influence the cost. I'd be happy to share more about costs during a free consultation.
Yes. I politely ask that we agree to a three-month initial engagement — here's why.
The first few sessions together can feel a bit messy and unstructured. It takes time to get to know each other and dig into the issue(s). Experience has shown me that the really good work starts 4-6 weeks in. Neither of us wins if we quit early — great work takes time. A three-month initial engagement ensures we are both invested in the success of the project.
Politely, no. Our agreement will cover a fixed time period and will account for the eventuality of you, and occasionally me, taking time away from our businesses. I'll ensure we recognise this at the outset, so neither of us feels hard done by!
I have a short and easy to understand agreement that I provide for us to both sign. Put simply, it covers how we work together, IP and confidentiality, and that I am responsible for paying my taxes!
For project work, I invoice in advance for 100% of the agreed fee.
For "fixed term fixed price" ongoing consultancy agreements, I invoice on the 1st of the month for "1x" of the total cost. For example, if we agree to a six-month term, I will invoice 1/6 of the total value each month. Alternatively, you can pay 100% upfront and benefit from a 5% reduction in total cost.
As a small business, I kindly ask you to settle invoices within seven days.
Whilst direct wire transfer is preferred I am happy to accept payment by credit/debit card and as a last resort PayPal.
I do. My invoice will include full details for international bank transfer. If this is a concern, let's talk about it.
I own and run a registered UK limited company which was incorporated in 2004. It's listed as Metro 55 Limited #05243642 and I trade as "Keir Whitaker" for simplicity.
Yes, my UK VAT registration number is #177672955. If applicable VAT will be charged at 20% and clearly stated on the invoice.
Editor's Note: Travel, remember that? This section was, of course, written when we were partying like it was 2019. Alas, times have changed but let's look forward to the day we can happily convene in a room together once again.
I love to travel and am happy to get on a train or plane to meet you in person. All reasonable travel expenses will be agreed in advance and I will pass on copies of all receipts with my invoice.
UK meetings outside of the South–West generally require train fare and a single nights accommodation. For longer trips, I respectfully request flights and a minimum of two nights accommodation (i.e. the night before the meeting and the night of our meeting. This means we can get the most from our time together).
Last Updated: Monday 29th November 2021
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any further questions or would like to discuss a consulting and/or coaching engagement.