> A consulting company I have a light relationship wants me to help them work > on an RFP. > This will take about 2 days of my time. > They said that they would give me a job on the project if it gets approved. > How do I deal with the fact that they want 2 days of my time � for free. > Should I charge to help write an RFP?
The way I look at it, you have to ask yourself a question: `If I do this work and the project isn't approved, will I feel like a chump?' If the answer is yes, don't do it. It's -obvious- that you don't want to give your services away. On the other hand, if you're not doing anything else (i.e., you're just job-hunting and you don't have a bunch of other consulting gigs queued up waiting), I don't see how wagering two days of your time against getting a gig on the project is inherently bad. Perhaps I'm biased---I have a fair amount of experience with startups, starting from the pre-funding phase. In a lot of cases, you end up throwing a lot of effort down a hole, to no visible effect. Of course you always end up a little more experienced, you know a few more people, and you have a couple more contacts. But you can't write a check against any of that. If you're willing to accept a risk on those terms, and are able to shrug it off if it doesn't pan out, then it's probably worth it. That all being said, I'm inherently suspicious of anyone who wants me to put forth a substantial amount of effort up front without any commitment on their part. If you've done business with these people before, know them personally, or have a good feeling about it and trust your instincts then this may mitigate your suspicion. My hunch, however, is that you have a bad feeling about the situation. Otherwise, why the heck would you be asking a mailing list about it? And if you do have a bad feeling about it, don't do it. -spb
pgp00000.pgp
Description: PGP signature
