Consulting Part - Time 4

[mot98]

Hi All,

For the last 6 years I have been working for a company doing all of their I.T administration.

On the side I also have my own company where I do home networking and pc troubleshooting. Over the last few months I have been approached by 2 companies that want me to do their I.T support contracts, they are both small and would fit nicely into my plans of eventually going full time with my own company.

I am attempting to put together proposals for the companies and was wondering if anyone had any good web sites that contained example contracts for the I.T industry.

I just want to make sure I cover all my legal bases, and make sure I get it right the first time.

Thanks for any input.

mot98

"I'd rather be dead and cool..then alive and uncool."
---Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man

 

[EBGreen]

I'll be the first to give you what is usually the first two pieces of advice along these lines:
1) Talk to a CPA.
2) Read this forum: forum1248

[blue]"Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences,...but the other head of science is BAD! Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur; it bites!!" - The Tick[/blue]

 

[GlenJohnson]

TomThumbKP is correct. You may also want to look into
thread1248-795486

Good luck.

Glen A. Johnson
If you're from Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin feel free to join the Tek-Tips in Chicago, Illinois Forum.

TTinChicago
Johnson Computers

 

[chiph]

Second (or is it third?) the advice about talking to a CPA. He may not know the answer himself, but he'll be able to put you in contact with someone who does. Plus he'll give you good advice on structuring your business.

BTW: Does your current employer know about your after-hours work? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble over an employee-contract.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[mot98]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the input. I have a friend who is a CPA, so I will contact them to see if they can guide me in the right direction.

chiph: My current employer is aware of my after hours job. In fact, I have sold and configured most of the employees computers.

Like I said before, I am hoping to go full time with my consulting business in the future, but just need to get enough business going before I can give up my reliable source of income.

Thanks again..

mot98

"Is it friday yet?"

 

[mdwmail]

Greetings,

Some advice from an old fart who has been around the block more times than I care to count.

Talk to several CPA's as well as a lawyer or two about setting up the business. Also, find some local vendors who sell to people like you (or like you want to be) and see what the market is and the competition and what type of profit margins are out there.

When you do choose to get your business going, consider not using your friend as cpa or lawyer. When something goes wrong, and something always does, it is better to keep your friends and get a new lawyer or accountant. Also find an accountant who has owned his own business or has real world experience. Just seems to work better.

Buy quickbooks and learn how to use it. Then find a bookkeeper. Do what makes you money and pay someone to do the other stuff.

Read the E-myth by Michael Gerber. He describes you to a T... and then tells you what to do about it.

Be smart enough to admit that you only think you know it all. I know what I know, and I know what I don't know. I am smart enough most times to say that I don't know something, and my clients appreciate that. Don't take on a project that you haven't a clue about how to do it, it will bite you in the butt every time...

Never, Never, Never, butt heads with anyone. You don't have to prove that you are the smartest person it the room, even though in your area of expertise, you are. You'll always lose. Listen twice then talk. Don't have an agenda. Make things work and explain what you are doing and document everything you do especially password and setups.

I used to tell my clients that I wanted them to know what I knew so that they didn't need me anymore. Guess what, they didn't want to know or do it and the need me even more. But the all have a book that tells them what I've done, so they are not tied to me. What this actually does is build customer loyalty.

The last thing a small business wants,in my opinion, is a part time guru who has a day job. The serious problems happen when the guy is a work and usually they can't wait til 5 or 6 to get it fixed. One of my largest and most profitable clients, a law firm, used to have a guy that worked for the county and only could come in on his days off or in the evening. The month before they met me they experience 15 days of down time. They had 8 employees unable to access the database almost every other day. The guy had them spend 15 thousand dollars to upgrade software and then another 5 thousand to configure it (Novell 5 with more bells and whistles that you'd ever imagine.) I came in on January 5th 2000 and dumped everthing, put in a win98 system as the "server" and reconfigured all workstations. Took an half day, about $1000 profit and they haven't lost more than an hour of productivity due to equiment in 4 and a half years. The pay me $1000 a month to answer the phone and walk them through problems. I go on site once or twice a week, mostly for pr or to pick up a check. But, I am always available to be on site in case of an emergency or virus attack or employee stupidity.

They no longer view me as the computer fixer, but as a trusted resource.

Just my 2 cents. Sorry if I bored anyone. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Marc

 

[rosieb]

My partner's in a similar situation, ignoring the legal stuff (different countries so unlikely to be applicable).

Remember, the best way to get business is word of mouth, a small job for a client's legal advisor has brought in 2 new clients this month, all his work is via contacts, and after 18 months, he has enough to keep him (and occasionally me) busy full time.

Don't be greedy and don't over-sell your capabilities, never be afraid to say that something is outside your skillset. Clients value honesty. (And chase up your invoices, no more work if one goes over your set payment period.)

Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[mmorancbt]

Mot98,

I started consulting part-time many years ago. Now I am have been nearly unemployable since 1995 - and like it that way.

Personally, I think it is a great way to start. The challenge is to ensure that:

1) it does not impact on the job performance;
2) you do not start to assimilate new income into old;

If you do the latter, you will find you cannot leave your current employer when you are at or near the income level they provide. Suddenly, you will find you have two jobs.

Regarding sample contracts, they are all over the Internet. However, a proposal is less about the legal verbage and more about accurately identifying a scope of work that your client buys into.

If you have a client that you feel will be difficult to work with - legally or in billing - do not work for them. The rule of thumb I use is, if I feel comfortable working for them on a hand-shake or a phone call, I'll take them as a client. No amount of legal verbage will make a bad client a good one.

I am not saying that you disregard having your due diligence completed - contracts are fine. But I have done plenty of work for clients based on an email. They trust me and I trust them.

In 15 years of consulting, the clients that were highly detailed on the contract and the level of detail in a proposal were always the most difficult, so I don't work with them.

It is easier to find good clients that chase bad ones.

Check techrepublic's download area for sample contracts and proposals.

Matthew Moran

http://www.cbtoolkit.com