Having been a full time consultant since 1978 I know the pain. I have been very fortunate, I have only had a few periods of extended droughts. This last year has been the worst, but you have to learn to save and rat hole money for the bad times, learn to market even when you are so busy you can not see the light of day, and then enjoy the slow time to their fullest to offset the months or years without a vacation. Welcome to the world of peaks and valleys.
Tom Dodds [EMAIL PROTECTED] 630-235-2975 Cell 708-482-4510 Office -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Johnson Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 8:23 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [U2] [UD] running a subroutine I could write a book on that topic. I have around 9-12 clients in MV (and 3 in MS Access) and the 'eat when you work' aspect is very true. I'm making more $ than when I worked full-time at a 100 user MCD end user 13 years ago. But I'm also working much harder and more concentratedly being under the magnifying glass of these many clients. Factoring in paying for my own health care, zero vacation/sick days and the other financial aspects of it, it is like two jobs. I get the jitters when I have one or 2 days in a quarter that i don't have booked. I can't imagine being a full-time contract programmer (8hrs x 5 days x 12 weeks) and then bam, cold turkey having to get the next assignment. I guess my diversity allows me to ebb & flo with the separate biorhythms of my client's business cycles. Some are up while others are down. It's very busy when they all are up and I want to hang myself when they all are down. One would need a strong stomach to endure this environment. It's like a lot of businesses. You should lot live too large when the times are high because there will be lean times. Farmers, Ice Cream people, Santa Claus and others endure this uneven business cycle. My 1 cent. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Allen E. Elwood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 3:43 PM Subject: RE: [U2] [UD] running a subroutine > Mark Wrote: > Am I the only programmer with multiple environments (clients) that continues > to follow in the footsteps of prior sloppy programmers. It appears > that most > on this forum are full-time programmers for a specific software > company or large end user. Just curious. > > Thanks > > My Reply: > > I'm a "eat when you work" programmer that takes clients of all sizes > and types and languages, whenever possible. Used to work for ROI > Systems before > Epicor bought them and replaced the talent with trained monkeys > (kidding, well, somewhat kidding, somewhat serious). Now I'm working > less, enjoying it more and making about the same to boot. Who says > you can't have it all!!!! > > **For those thinking of going independent, please do not be encouraged > to do > so by this message. When you're busy, it's great, but much MUCH > harder than > working for one client/one package. In addition, the first time > you're setting there for a month (or two, or three) waiting for the > phone that never rings can/will reek havoc on your subconscious. I > have been incredibly lucky so far, but there is always the nagging > doubt in the back of my mind, so I never spend a penny unless I > absolutely have to. Sometimes > the "ploddingly certain but safe future" job has much to offer. Like > you can plan vacations, and new purchases, and don't mind spending a > lot on a nice meal at a restaurant. All that changes............. > > *=aee=* > ------- > u2-users mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ ------- u2-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ ------- u2-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
