Re: Questions - Going from Hourly to Per Project Basis

[Goober Writer <gooberwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> For the past 7 months I?ve been working for a
> company
> as an hourly consultant. A few weeks ago, the CFO
> told
> me that it was costing them too much, so they want
> to
> engage my services on a per project basis.

Don't do it! Project-based consulting is extremely
tricky to manage! You'd need to draw up a contract per
project and make that contract so rock-solid and so
detailed that you'd be doing just as much work on the
contract as on the project that the contract is for.
You'll also need to keep a lawyer handy, as
per-project billing tends to lead to nickel and
diming, so to speak. Your client has an opportunity to
say "well, this wasn't done just so, and that wasn't
done right, and this really wasn't done but was
assumed by that..."

Trust me, you do NOT want that headache! And, you want
to get PAID for the time you put in. A project that is
flat-rate billed at $5000 *could* take you 2 weeks to
do and you'd be happy as a clam. On the other hand,
should the client feel it was "too expensive" (you've
heard this from them already), they could come back
with more "assumed" work for you under that same
contract; you do the work and it's assumed under that
same $5000 - free labor, so to speak.

No, flat rate assignments are tricky. Stick with
hourly, and ask them why they think they're paying too
much. After all, you're adding value to their
products, right? And, they're not paying you salary
and benefits and such, right? You're already cheaper
for them than a full-time employee.



=====
Goober Writer
(because life is too short to be inept)

"As soon as you hear the phrase "studies show",
immediately put a hand on your wallet and cover your groin."
      -- Geoff Hart

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