I think I've posted along these lines before, but it's important to reiterate:
1) Working for yourself is a great idea. It provides flexibility that no employer can offer. You set the hours, you decide which clients to work with, you decide which projects to accept, you decide how much to charge, and you decide how much to pay yourself. 2) It's NOT EASY. I can't stress this enough. Between filing regulatory paperwork, keeping up with accounting, doing all marketing, going to sales meetings, etc., you'll find yourself working some very long hours...especially if you've got enough clients to stay busy. 3) Don't expect that you're going to work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. My experience is that 25 hours of billable is a FULL work week when coupled with all the other tasks of keeping a small business afloat. Certain long-term projects will be the exception to this rule. 4) Make sure you've got enough cash to cover receivable cycles. Some clients will pay on time...others will take 60-90 days. Don't underestimate expenses...they'll come back to bite you when it's least convenient. There's been more than once when I've had a AmEx payment due of many thousands of dollars and a big customer check was late arriving. Trust me...it'll make you sweat if you don't have the cash on hand to cover. 5) Don't ever stop marketing, networking, and selling. Since sales cycles can typically take 60-90 days, the time to find your next gig is while you're working on your current one. 6) Treat your customers well. If they trust and respect you, they'll come to you first when they need assistance. This repeat business is vital to staying afloat financially. 7) Refer to number 2. It's NOT EASY. When you work for yourself, the buck stops with you. When there's a problem, you have to deal with it. When there's a decision to be made, you have to deal with it. When a customer complains, you have to deal with it. If you're not prepared to deal with all aspects of running a business, you're not ready to go out on your own. 8) If you've read all of the above and you still have the entrepreneurial bug, I recommend that you go for it. Working for yourself can be a huge hassle, but it's also tremendously rewarding. Good luck! Craig At 03:29 PM 2/4/2003 +0000, you wrote: >Along the same lines, how does one find such clients? Any services you use, >techniques for finding potential clients? > >Hal >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Mike Schlenger" >To: "'Sam Munzani'" ; "steve r" ; >"Jay Greenberg" ; ; > >Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 5:42 PM >Subject: RE: CCIE Self-Employment > > > > Really? WHERE DO I SIGN?????? :) > > > > Mike > > Chicagoland CCIE #7079 > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Sam Munzani [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 4:12 PM > > To: steve r; Jay Greenberg; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: Re: CCIE Self-Employment > > > > > > Rate depends on who is paying and how much do they have? :-) > > > > In chicago area $125/Hr is considered normal with 1 way travel time. If >you > > got a fortune 500 client, you can easily bump it up to $175/Hr. and they > > will not argue about it. > > > > Sam > > > > > > > CCIE self employed, > > > well if you find another CCIE to partner with you can get silver partner > > > status, (and some other requirements too) > > > > > > If you are in the biz you should know...pix...vpn and some other stuff >the > > > hourly work is great but it depends on the clients locations...and the > > > billing rate.. > > > Good luck in this market it may be better then being out of work like my > > > friend is (and he is a CCIE too) > > > Bill at what you can get $100 to $200 an hour or more > > > or less if its cash.. > > > > > > Stephen > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Jay Greenberg" > > > To: ; > > > Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 12:14 PM > > > Subject: CCIE Self-Employment > > > > > > > > > > Any CCIEs on the list in business for themselves? What's the money > > > > like, what sort of companies do you work for? Do you do short-term or > > > > long term contracts? Hourly work? > > > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Jason Greenberg, CCIE #11021 > > > > > > > > . > > > . > > . > > . Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=62451&t=62442 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
