Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.lang.java.programmer > #10348

Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed

Show all headers | View raw

Novice wrote:
> Touche! I certainly deserve that for this mistake. 

You have an excellent attitude and you will succeed brilliantly in software development.

As for contracting, you are showing wisdom in doing some research first.  I will add that there are books and articles out there, none of which I can recall at the moment, that specifically address contractor concerns.  Mostly the folks in this thread have already recapitulated the high points, though.

I wouldn't overthink the details of how the other guy will react.  I've done a fair bit of consulting, both successful and unsuccessful contracts.  I've learned that you need to make yourself comfortable with the terms of satisfaction.

How do you know when you've done the job right?  Forget the money - you can charge almost anything, down to telling the guy, "You decide at the end how much I was worth."  Focus on the job - what do you need to accomplish, and by when?

If you cannot succeed at that, the money will either not come to you, or will flow from you to the client.

If you do succeed, the money will flood to you.

So insist on complete disclosure of absofuckinglutely everything you need to know about the task, first (well, after signing an NDA).  Spend the time up front, for free, to understand exactly what "done" will look like.  Don't take the job unless you can do that.  By when they want it.

You may not know how to do it yet.  That's fine.  You just need to know what knowledge you will need.  That is, you need to know what questions to ask, not necessarily their answers at this stage.  But you know how you learn, and depending on the scope of WHAT THE PROJECT NEEDS, about how hard it will be to learn it.  Try not to learn too much for any one project - you should have a pretty good grasp of 75-80% of the technical matters to start.  More is good, but any decent programmer can fill in 25% without having to agonize over, "Should I charge for learning?"

OF COURSE YOU SHOULD CHARGE FOR LEARNING!

Read the passage in /The Bonfire of the Vanities/ where the law partner explains how you bill your client for the minute you thought of them just before you teed off on that fourth hole with the dogleg.

Doesn't matter.  All that matters is that you complete the project on time in a way that your client likes.

So you'd better have a pretty clear idea of what they like before you bid.

-- 
Lew

Back to comp.lang.java.programmer | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 15:41 +0000
  Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Jeff Higgins <jeff@invalid.invalid> - 2011-11-28 11:37 -0500
    Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 17:04 +0000
      Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed markspace <-@.> - 2011-11-28 11:09 -0800
        Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 19:48 +0000
          Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed markspace <-@.> - 2011-11-28 12:14 -0800
            Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Rhino <no.offline.contact.please@example.com> - 2011-11-28 21:28 +0000
              Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed markspace <-@.> - 2011-11-28 14:14 -0800
                Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-29 05:24 +0000
                Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Martin Gregorie <martin@address-in-sig.invalid> - 2011-11-29 20:44 +0000
  Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 17:53 +0000
    Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 19:52 +0000
    Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-11-29 07:20 -0400
      Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-29 16:06 +0000
        Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-29 12:04 -0800
          Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-30 00:12 +0000
            Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-29 22:02 -0800
              Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-30 20:28 +0000
  Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-11-28 10:03 -0800
    Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-11-28 10:44 -0800
      Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 20:13 +0000
        Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-11-28 12:59 -0800
      Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-11-29 14:04 -0800
        Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-11-29 15:07 -0800
    Re: General Consulting Advice Urgently Needed Novice <novice@example..com> - 2011-11-28 19:56 +0000

csiph-web