Howard Development & Consulting

WELCOME TO HOWARD DEVELOPMENT & CONSULTING👋🏾

We’re a web development firm that specializes in partnerships with creative agencies (design, branding, marketing and advertising firms). We provide high-end WordPress and custom PHP solutions to agencies who value communication, responsiveness and integrity in their technology team. We also own and manage the world-renowned Understrap WordPress theme framework trusted by Intel, Harvard, Facebook and more than 100,000 other companies and organizations.

OUR MODEL AND PRACTICES: EQUITABLE ⚖️

Most business owners say they value diversity, but very few put their money where their mouth is by actively seeking more diverse talent pipelines and providing transparent, equal compensation and advancement opportunities to the people who join their team. At Howard Development & Consulting, we value both the spirit of supporting diversity and the practice of creating equal economic opportunities for everyone.

We also actively spread the word, including in our Agency Owner’s Guide to Hiring Web Developers, which we share with all our clients, and we will continue to lead by example as our company grows. Today, 60% of our team members are people of color and 46% are women.

Equity means transparent, predictable and equal pay for everyone who performs the same role. We provide equal pay to everyone on our development team, with a transparent starting rate and a simple formula for career advancement. Everyone on our team receives two revenue-sharing payments per year, based on a transparent formula that is the same for everyone. As the company succeeds, you succeed. And you always know that everyone around you is being treated exactly the same way.

Inclusivity means questioning our “default” ideas of what a work environment should be – and ensuring that we’re not excluding valuable team members and candidates because they work different hours, take a different approach to a challenge, or come from a different background than someone else on the team.

We provide infinite flexibility in schedule and location, so you can contribute to the team on your own terms, without compromising your personal life, your well-being, or your family and other relationships. We make the best of remote work – which means team camaraderie and fun when you want it, and private and focused time when you need it. Our casual and friendly work environment means you can always be comfortable being you, in all forms of communication.

YOUR SAFETY & COMFORT IS A PRIORITY📌

We actively cultivate tolerance, inclusivity and diversity among our existing team, and we strongly value on-the-job training as part of our engagement with every new team member. In other words, we’re here to help you grow so you can contribute to the company and the company can contribute to your wealth and well-being. We view ourselves as being on a journey together, with every team member an active and valuable participant.

OUR CULTURE: TEAM MEMBERS COME FIRST🥇

We view all of our team members as “investors” – which means everyone who works with us contributes to everyone else’s wealth, happiness and well-being. Your work hours are completely flexible, and we encourage you to take time out of your day for your health and personal activities whenever you need it. You’ll never need to answer a late-night e-mail or “put out a fire,” because we ensure that your schedule is always respected and that we’re always working in a way that sets you up for success.

WE'RE INTENTIONAL IN HIRING, COMPENSATION, AND OPPORTUNITY🎯

We don’t do corporate optics or platitudes. We take meaningful, quantifiable action and invest real money, time and resources in leading our industry to a more equitable and inclusive future.

We are building a team of high-end software engineers that leads the industry in terms of both skill and diversity. We have established a system of equal, transparent and systematic compensation. And we’re building a culture where everyone can enjoy themselves and deliver great work in a flexible, relaxed atmosphere.

INTERVIEW PROCESS🚀

We’ll start with an informal 30-minute Zoom interview. If we proceed from there, we'll provide you with a paid trial project (usually 15-30 hours of work). If we both agree that we’re a good fit to work together based on that trial project, we’ll offer you a position based on your schedule goals (full-time or part-time are both available) and based on our transparent equal-pay structure.

BENEFITS🏝

This is a remote, part-time or full-time employee role with exceptional compensation and unconventional benefits. You are 100% in control of your schedule and time, including where you work, when you work, and how many hours per week you work. We expect to provide you with at least 20 hours of work per week, but the details and your schedule and capacity are up to you.

Everyone on our team receives equal pay, including an automatic promotion from the starting rate to the senior rate based solely on your longevity with the company. We also have an “associate” role for developers who show potential but need extra training in the details of WordPress development prior to starting work on client projects.

Everyone on our team receives a revenue-share payment (which we call our “dividend”) every three months, based on a transparent formula that is the same for everyone. This means your income grows automatically as the company succeeds.

Here's a list of our employee benefits. Please note there are some financial and health benefits that require you to average 30 hours a week (i.e. not available to part-time employees), and some that vary between the U.S. and Canada.

• 100% remote; you must reside in the U.S. or Canada

• Simple, guaranteed equal pay

• Profit-sharing for everyone

• Make your own hours, including part-time for full-time, any time of the day, any day of the week

• A relaxed, positive, inclusive atmosphere

• World-class training in every aspect of web development

• Managers who’ll protect your time, energy and health rather than pushing you to the limit

• A company-wide, absolute, uncompromising focus on allowing you to turn off work (and your phone!) at the end of the day and enjoy your life

• 15 paid holidays (all 10 federal holidays plus Juneteenth, Election Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)

• Paid time off (approximately 4 weeks per year for a full-time employee) with no approval requirement. We don’t do “unlimited vacation” because it’s a fake thing.

• Three weeks of paid family and medical leave time off per 12-month period for a new child or medical emergency

• Access to health, dental and vision insurance with employer contribution

• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan

• Access to life insurance, short-term disability insurance and long-term disability insurance

• Employee counseling, legal assistance, financial counseling and other life and family resources

• A guaranteed annual cost-of-living adjustment, based on the percentage change adopted by the Social Security Administration each year

We’re proud to be headquartered in Colorado and support the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. The salary and promotion schedule for each role are published on our full job listing.