Yes, I probably should've said "inexpensive" instead of cheap. :)
Regards, Michael B. Smith Consultant and Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com From: Don Ely [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 6:03 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Resources for consultants But she's NOT easy!!! :) On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 5:12 PM, Michael B. Smith <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Gosh, lady, you are CHEAP! :) Regards, Michael B. Smith Consultant and Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com From: Kat Aylward Langan [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2011 3:34 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Resources for consultants I have sent this before but will share again as it is relevant: I have been asked a number of times recently by people moving from being an FTE to new Contracting gigs how I come up with a Contracting Rate. I decided to write down my process. This has been fine tuned over 20 year of contracting, and works pretty well. Feel free to use or forward as you see fit. I figure there are 2080 working hours in a normal year (2088 in a Leap year but I just use 2080) exclude 320 hours a year for "vacations, sick leave, holidays, and other days you are not working due to kid stuff and mental health days" exclude 320 hours a year for "training, education, testing new stuff in the home lab, etc" exclude 320 hours a year for "job hunting, interview time, networking, etc" exclude 320 hours a year for "just plain I can't find any kind of work time" Now you have 1000 hours left in the year that you will actually "work". I normally worked as a W2 worker so that the contracting agency took care of paying my taxes, worker's comp, and other stuff that can impact you later (like unemployment insurance). This is a VERY good thing!! Figure out how much you need to make in a year to pay your bills as your low end number. I usually started with a Gross Income number because I knew what my previous income was and I could figure a percentage of what I needed to pay bills. So... Gross income of 60,000/yr equals $60/hr W2 Takehome income of 60,000/yr equals $85-90/hr W2 because the agency will take about 25-30% for taxes etc. The good thing about doing it this way is that if you work more than 1000 hours in a calendar year, you are good to go. You have figured out what you NEED to pay the bills, and anything else I think of as a Bonus. In the Bay Area, I usually could get between 60-65/hour W2 as a PM, and about the same for an Exchange Geek. Always quote a higher rate for a shorter contract and you can go lower on a longer contract. If they offer you a 12 month contract, and you dont have to worry about these two time blocks, you can ask for a slightly lower rate: exclude 320 hours a year for "job hunting, interview time, networking, etc" exclude 320 hours a year for "just plain I can't find any kind of work time" In this case, I might ask for 65 and drop to a 59 rate as a "goodwill gesture" to the agency. They can sometimes give you an idea of what the client is willing to pay, and I usually know up front if it is a rate I could work with. If you are going 1099, all this changes... I then usually tack on 40% onto the W2 rate, so if it was a 60/W2, it would be $100 on a 1099 contract. You are then responsible for paying all your taxes and you HAVE to make sure you are working with an accountant to make sure you are holding enough $ aside during the year. I didnt like 1099 because with all that $ coming in, I paid off a lot of bills and had to come up with the tax money the following April. I will never do that again without an accountant telling me what to make payments on during the year. This is why I now go only W2 for contracts. On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 10:56 AM, Michael B. Smith <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Don't know your rate structure, but when I was starting out I used guru.com<http://guru.com> quite a bit, and a little later, crossloop.com<http://crossloop.com>. Regards, Michael B. Smith Consultant and Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 9:06 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: OT: Resources for consultants Been getting a few bits of consultancy work recently, and am getting a bit keen to develop this a bit more. Are there any online resources or groups where you can get more leads or openings for bits of consultancy work? Obviously I am in contact with former workplaces and colleagues, using LinkedIn and similar resources, just wondering if there are any more useful sites or groups that might help me develop this side of things a bit? I know most of you out there are US-based but any tips or hints would all be appreciated. Just done an AppSense cert this morning so I am most interested in work around that and citrix, but I am pretty wide in the scope of stuff I will have a look at. Cheers, JR Sent from my POS BlackBerry wireless device, which may wipe itself at any moment ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin -- Kat Aylward Langan ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
