CSS Wizardry referral scheme

Written by Harry Roberts on CSS Wizardry.

N.B. All code can now be licensed under the permissive MIT license. Read more about licensing CSS Wizardry code samples…

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!

N.B. All code can now be licensed under the permissive MIT license. Read more about licensing CSS Wizardry code samples…

By Harry Roberts

Harry Roberts is an independent consultant web performance engineer. He helps companies of all shapes and sizes find and fix site speed issues.