Don't forget about bartering also. I did some work for my neighbor's auto shop that he owned. In exchange, I got a few free services. Of course. consult your tax attorney for any tax issues. ;-)
From: Steve Ens [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 12:31 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Side work I wouldn't charge someone $10. That cheapens your skillset. Either I do it for free (or exchange for some beer), or I charge reasonable rates (usually $50 per machine or if it is a business $75). My time is definitely worth more than that after many years of gaining special skills. On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 2:27 PM, John Aldrich <[email protected]> wrote: Thanks for the advice. I plan on being a "shade tree" PC tech for home users who can't afford/don't want to spend the money on a new system. They just want their old, spyware loaded system cleaned and sped up. Sometimes I won't be able to do anything and I guess I ought to just plan on like a $10 "diagnostic" fee or something. Any thoughts on a "diagnostic" fee for things you can't do anything about (i.e. extreme example, but someone brings in a P2 and wants to be able to load Windows 7 on it.. <G>) John-AldrichTile-Tools From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 3:09 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Side work One thing I am 100% clear with on my side jobs is contacting me at %DAYJOB% is VERBOTEN unless business-down critical and my availability is limited to after %DAYJOB% hours. OTOH my current %DAYJOB% is aware of my side clients for my biz and it's understood I can take personal time if it's an *extreme* emergency for a client . Over the last 3 years that has worked out to a whopping five hours for one server down incident. If it ever became more than once a year I would likely drop the client to stay in %DAYJOB% good graces. Obviously it's something that can vary from place to place, but they key is setting expectation up front for everyone. As long as side job clients understand %DAYJOB% trumps everything else for priority we're good. My biggest client has 50 employees and understands this limitation but has been happy enough that this month marks 9 years of support. In fact I have never had a client drop me, although I have dropped one and turned down a few. Manage expectations, **know when to turn down clients** and life will be good. David Lum // SYSTEMS ENGINEER NORTHWEST EVALUATION ASSOCIATION (Desk) 971.222.1025 // (Cell) 503.267.9764 From: Jacob [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 11:54 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Side work I did side work, but it became a pain when someone would call during my "normal" job and they wanted me to either come to their house/small office now or walk them over the phone. Was not worth the hassle. From: John Aldrich [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 11:18 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: OT: Side work Anyone here do any side work as a PC Tech? I'm looking at doing some side work to bring in a bit of extra money during tight economic times. I'm curious whether you have customers sign any sort of release of liability for the equipment? I'm just trying to keep from losing money on this by getting sued if I take in a piece of hardware and it ends up that it's unrepairable or gets damaged worse in my custody. John-AldrichTile-Tools No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/> Version: 8.5.425 / Virus Database: 270.14.56/2491 - Release Date: 11/09/09 12:11:00 ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
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