[Sigia-l] Freelance IA consulting: Discovering the cost of do ing business

[Augustine, Liz]

And once you figure out that minimum amount, does it ever make sense to
undercharge, say, when just getting started and trying to build a portfolio?
Or when the other option is not to bring in any money at all?

-- liz

Liz Augustine
Technical Writer, XPG
   New --> (781) 372-5853
Rational, the software development company

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	David R. Austen [mailto:dausten at hoosier.net] 
Sent:	Friday, June 07, 2002 4:12 PM
To:	'sigia-l'
Subject:	[Sigia-l] Freelance IA consulting: Discovering the cost of
doing business

Greetings, all:

[trimmed]

Do the IAs on this list have any interest in a thread on the cost of
doing business -- what it is an IA needs to bill out each week (for 50
weeks) just to keep ones head above water? When businesses to not hire
us it is usually because they think they cannot afford us. Can we each
afford ourselves, covering expenses for a business that sometimes
brings in little revenue. 

[trimmed]

In my other life, I found that many small business operators just did
not know what kind of weekly revenue was the necessary minimum. And
they actually accepted work on terms that wee below that minimum.

This minimum is a good number to keep in mind the next time--or the
first time--you negotiate any freelance work.
[trimmed]