Re: FW: Hours available for billing

Personally, for me it's always been less about how many hours a week I work
and more about how long does it take to get the job done, whatever it is. If
I can get the job done with 20 hours programming, and then have the rest of
the week off, I'm all for it. I've ALWAYS got plenty of stuff to do around
home to keep me busy when I'm not working. On the other hand, if the job
requires me to work 80 hours in one week to meet a deadline, I'll do that
too without giving it a second thought.

I might be wrong on this and if I am, I know that I'll get blasted here for
it, but, as I see it, there are two kinds of consultants/contractors:

First, there's the kind who goes into a project and they find out what is
needed and they put in the time, no matter how short or how long it takes,
to get the job done, and then they move on to the next project. They don't
pad their hours/quotes, instead they do a thorough analysis up front to find
out what it's going to take to get the job done and they work from that
timeline.

Then there's the contractor who goes in to a project with the intent to drag
it out as long as humanly possible. In my experience, this is usually
someone going in for a government-type project because a)- those projects
are notorious for cost overruns b)- there is rarely any actual work getting
done, instead it's 90% meetings to talk about what needs to get done. This
is usually a person who learned to program in one language, say MVS Cobol,
and who does not want to learn to do anything else and whose only interest
in being at the client is to bring home a paycheck.

I have nothing but respect for the first type and no use whatsoever for the
second. 

I don't believe there is anyone on who monitors Midrange.com on a regular
basis who falls into the second category. If they did, they wouldn't have
time to monitor Midrange.com anyway. They'd be in a meeting. :-) 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: consult400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:consult400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of rick baird
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 10:10 PM
To: Consulting on the iSeries / AS400
Subject: Re: [Consult400] FW: Hours available for billing

loaded question - it depends on a lot of things.

If you're a solo, you don't need but a couple hours a week for admin. 
if you're not married and/or can work from home, you can pile up the
hours.

I do some of my best work between 4am and 8am.  that pretty much
excludes nights for working - for me anyway.  when I'm doing early
morning hours, I'm asleep by 9pm.

I'm old and can't do what I used to be able to do.  a really good week
for me is 60 hours, split between two customers.  a typical week is
about 45.

my weekends are my own.  It's rare that I think about working till
about 6pm on sunday.

On 1/30/06, Steven Keil <skeil@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Sorry to get off topic, but this comment ties into a conversation I was
> having tonight with another new solo contactor.
>
> How many hours can one realistically bill in a week as a solo?
>
> Also, I've read the books, but prefer to see how others maximize their
> billable time and minimize the administration/marketing time.  Any ideas?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Steve
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: consult400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:consult400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Booth Martin
> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 3:28 PM
> To: Consulting on the iSeries / AS400
> Subject: Re: [Consult400] Senior Developer Available for Contracting
>
> Well, yes, but that almost means you need to bill 35+ hours a week, and
> if you are in business for yourself that is nearly impossible.  Your own
> business needs 8 to 15 hours of your time just to stay open.  Add in a
> few more hours each week for personal growth time and you end up with no
> time left for family & beer.
>
>
>
>
> Shannon ODonnell wrote:
> > Yeah, it's low, I know, compared to what some folks charge, but my needs
> are relatively modest and so I don't mind keeping it at $50 an hour. I'm
not
> out to make a fortune doing this, just a living. :-)
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: consult400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> > [mailto:consult400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Booth Martin
> > Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 1:37 PM
> > To: Consulting on the iSeries / AS400
> > Subject: Re: [Consult400] Senior Developer Available for Contracting
> >
> > That rate seems awfully low for your skill set Shannon.
> >
> >
> > Shannon ODonnell wrote:
> >> List:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I would like to take this opportunity to announce my availability for
> >> contracting/consulting work.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I am a recognized iSeries industry expert, have written/published over
> 300 AS/400 and iSeries "How-To" articles, I am the co-editor of the book,
> "The Desktop Encyclopedia of Tips, Tricks and Programming Practices for
> iSeries and AS/400" from MCPress, I am an IBM Certfied RPGIV Programmer,
and
> I am the author of the RPGIV Certification Test from ReviewNet.net.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I am experienced with Java on iSeries, RPGIV/Java (JNI), MQ Series
> >> interfacing with iSeries, Websphere Application Server, Tomcat
> Application Server, HTTP, TCP/IP, RPG/CGI, VB, Sockets, COBOL, HTML, Java
> Script, and a variety of other iSeries and related technologies.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> In addition, I have iSeries/IT experience in all of the following
> >> industries:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Manufacturing, Public Warehousing, Financial, Distribution, Trucking,
> >> Government, iSeries Software Vendor and many other industries.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I am currently accepting iSeries programming opportunities which can be
> >> performed remotely with limited on-site time required.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> My rate is a very reasonable $50/hr and no job is too big or too small
> for me to consider.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Please give me a call at (618) 836-5515 or email to
> >> sodonnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx if you have any questions or would like to
> > view my full resume.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> In addition, you can view/read a couple hundred of my How-To articles
and
> >> videos at the following URL:  http://www.irish-studios.com/Articles.htm
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Thank you,
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Shannon O'Donnell
> >>
> >> sodonnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>
> >> (618)836-5515
> >>
> >> (217)556-4221
>
> --
> -----------------------------------
> Booth Martin
> http://martinvt.com
> -----------------------------------
> --
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