On 06/12/13 09:36, Rachel Polanskis wrote: > Hi Linkers, > I have finally accepted a redundancy from my job at <some uni> and my last > day is just on the new year.
Congratulations (?) - it'll be worth it :) > I have put together a little business plan, getting an ABN and putting > together > a little website we will host on our NBN FTTH connection, hopefully making > a small business out of it. > > What I am planning is to go into IT consulting, for various projects, > big and small. I am studying a diploma in Project Management, so hopefully > that will go well with (what I believe are) my extensive technical skills. > > I plan to work out of my home office, programming iOS apps and so on, > when I don't have other things on to hopefully keep going that way as well. A similar thing happened to me almost 2 years ago. I had been working for the man for most of my life (30+ years) relying on a constant and consistent wage each fortnight (or sometimes monthly) to put food on the table. Then the IT support company (aptly named itsupportcompany.com.au) that I was working for went under due to bad management. It was decision time - go with another IT support company, or start my own. Over the 6 years I was working for them, I had built up quite a rapport with my clients, and seeing how they weren't going to be its clients anymore, I talked with them and asked if it would be ok to continue supporting them under my own company name. They gladly accepted the proposition and I continue to support most of them today. I guess I was quite lucky in this regard as I had guaranteed work and did not have to actively seek clients. I haven't looked back since. > But I am at odds a bit at what to charge. I foresee doing anything from > small jobs/projects like getting a doctor's VPN working and getting him > off Win XP onto something better, or tweaking someone's Linux stack > or setting up a backup system for a small company, etc etc. These kinds of jobs are always there. Its the variety that makes it interesting. > Or I could work for a SME to put together a security plan or design > a directory, or email service. Hardly ever comes up. SME's don't plan for security :) > Or do forensics on a hacked system. etc etc. In general, anything IT related > that does not involve fixing clapped out PC's full of dust bunnies or similar! > > I have a lot of skills across UNIX/Mac in all sorts of areas, from > Enterprise to small business... > > But how do we charge for this? I don't foresee giving a small corner > shop a corporate charge to fix their web security cams for example, but > should I be engaged for 3 months to build an Identity Manager, > or some other kind of system for a corporate, I would have to supply some > kind of rate. In my case the clients were used to paying the charged rate and so I just kept it the same. The beauty of this is that *all* the money now goes into my pocket and not into the 30/30/30/10 split that companies generally tend to use. > I started with a figure of about $70ph but I have been told this is not > enough, that I need to increase it, but I also do not want to price > myself out. If anyone who already does this, that doesn't mind sharing > to some degree some ideas to help a consulting newbie out, please > reply off Link! Yes, $70 is too low. I'll reply off-list. > I am taking a great leap of faith in quitting my job, but I need to do this > for myself as much as anything. There is never a good time to start a > business > especially in this climate of ideologically driven austerity and the > defeat of commonsense over the NBN but I am going to give it a go. I have > been offered many jobs as a line sysadmin, but I think I am beyond that now, > I think I have the experience to pick and choose my jobs and try to earn > a little more. > > Any advice, please! > > > rachel > Working from home is awsome. A lot of work can be done remotely. I have several clients 200+kms away. I have one client that is 2 states away! (QLD -> VIC). I do envy your FTTP, I'm stuck on ADSL1 (1500/256) and it can be quite frustrating sometimes. Bundaberg was completely wiped from the NBN maps whereas before we were in the 'construction commenced' stage! Grrrr. <fttp vs fttn rant suppressed> I will say I do feel a bit guilty charging little old ladies the same rate as my SME clients, but I let them know before hand how much it will cost and they are willing to pay. And call me back when something else goes wrong :) It also helps to become a reseller of both hardware and software. I don't put any markup on items I resell - you make the money installing and supporting afterwards. In conclusion, you will a lot better off, a lot more relaxed, and a lot more happier going your own way. HTH, -andyf _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
