Post by thread:Rollercoaster

Ok, thoughts on how to level out the Consulting Rollercoaster. Ideally, without damaging the peaks too much :) What happens with me, and I suspect everyone else as well, is that I get work in spurts, with "dry spells"... I'm thinking of implementing something similar to what PCB shops do, where delivery by X date is $, and 2 weeks sooner is 2$, and so on. The objective being to keep the pipe filled, offering the option of lower rate in exchange for the ability to schedule the job into "whenever" hours. (within reason) So, any thoughts on this, or other approaches? -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

At 01:17 PM 7/22/2004 -0500, you wrote: >Ok, thoughts on how to level out the Consulting Rollercoaster. >Ideally, without damaging the peaks too much :) > >What happens with me, and I suspect everyone else as well, is that I get >work in spurts, with "dry spells"... > >I'm thinking of implementing something similar to what PCB shops do, where >delivery by X date is $, and 2 weeks sooner is 2$, and so on. > >The objective being to keep the pipe filled, offering the option of lower >rate in exchange for the ability to schedule the job into "whenever" >hours. (within reason) > >So, any thoughts on this, or other approaches? Farm out some work to others that you know/respect for a modest markup when you are too busy. Use that opportunity to shed some of the most unprofitable customers- the ones that always want stuff without paying for it, the ones that take too long to pay (or never pay), the ones that require you to do things in ways that limit you, the ones with work that isn't going in a direction that you want to go. Let someone else have a go at them. But you have to be there for your core customers, one way or the other, and you want to be on good terms with all, even when you must part ways. Best regards, Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" spam_OUTspeffTakeThisOuTinterlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

> >Farm out some work to others that you know/respect for a modest markup >when you are too busy. I generally don't rev it up that far, so I'm only rarely in conflict. Maybe I should do more promotion. Being a one man show, I like to concentrate on one project at a time, where possible. >Use that opportunity to shed some of the most >unprofitable customers- the ones that always want stuff without paying for >it, the ones that take too long to pay (or never pay), the ones that require >you to do things in ways that limit you, the ones with work that isn't going >in a direction that you want to go. Let someone else have a go at them. I hear you there. There are customers that you DON'T want. >But you have to be there for your core customers, one way or the other, and >you want to be on good terms with all, even when you must part ways. That's always best. So far, so good. :) -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Spehro Pefhany <.....PICLISTKILLspam@spam@mitvma.mit.edu> wrote: > Farm out some work to others that you know/respect for a modest > markup when you are too busy. Use that opportunity to shed some of > the most unprofitable customers- the ones that always want stuff > without paying for it, the ones that take too long to pay (or never > pay) .... I'm sure I misread this; you aren't suggesting that Dave ask other consultants to pay him for sending them non-paying customers, are you? -Andy === Andrew Warren -- aiwKILLspamcypress.com === Principal Design Engineer === Cypress Semiconductor Corporation === === Opinions expressed above do not === necessarily represent those of === Cypress Semiconductor Corporation -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

At 02:32 PM 7/22/2004 -0700, you wrote: >Spehro Pefhany <.....PICLISTKILLspam.....mitvma.mit.edu> wrote: > > > Farm out some work to others that you know/respect for a modest > > markup when you are too busy. Use that opportunity to shed some of > > the most unprofitable customers- the ones that always want stuff > > without paying for it, the ones that take too long to pay (or never > > pay) .... > > I'm sure I misread this; you aren't suggesting that Dave ask > other consultants to pay him for sending them non-paying > customers, are you? > > -Andy It's two separate thoughts! The "that opportunity" refers to being too busy, not to farming work out. Bad writing, sorry- I was rushing out to the airport for a pickup of human cargo. Actually the best ones to farm out would be jobs in which you are not a specialist and don't care to learn. For example, I might take on something involving instrumentation or temperature control, but might want to farm out the part that would be written in Labview or Python and run on a PC. Best regards, Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" EraseMEspeffspam_OUTTakeThisOuTinterlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

At 02:32 PM 7/22/2004 -0700, Andrew Warren wrote: >Spehro Pefhany <PICLISTspam_OUTmitvma.mit.edu> wrote: > >> Farm out some work to others that you know/respect for a modest >> markup when you are too busy. Use that opportunity to shed some of >> the most unprofitable customers- the ones that always want stuff >> without paying for it, the ones that take too long to pay (or never >> pay) .... > > I'm sure I misread this; you aren't suggesting that Dave ask > other consultants to pay him for sending them non-paying > customers, are you? Hmm.. Perhaps he meant "customers that do not mesh well with your particular style". :) -- Dave's Engineering Page: http://www.dvanhorn.org If we can put a man on the moon, then why can't we put a man on the moon? -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Microeconomics says that during a downturn you might consider training. The time must be spent somehow, so you might as well work during the lulls so that the up times are more productive. You might consider, for instance, getting to that personal project you've been wanting to do forever. Maybe you can actually get around to overhauling the whole billing/contracting/adminstrating side of the business so it takes up less time in the future. Perhaps you can come up with a few projects that you can sell, or ready made modules which accomplish some function that seem to be commonly desired in your contracts. Could also be time for a vacation. Or marketting. As far as keeping your pipeline full - that depends on how you gain most of your contracts. If people hear about you by word of mouth or are referred by others then you want to spend a little time shoring up those areas, but you probably want to spend more time developing new opportunities. Clean up/refurbish your website, and check out how it appears in search engines. Spend time writing a few informative articles for your site. For instance, someone found me by searching "rotary encoders" on google - apparently my old page on the topic is third in google's list (or was). Make several pages with basic information or short tutorials on several subjects which you are familiar with - people will consider you an expert. It will also familiarize others with your ability to communicate - the more they get to know you, the more likely they are to use you. Branding probably comes into play here a little bit. Also be aware that the high the lows, the higher the highs. Don't burn yourself out - if you want to be busy all the time you're simply going to have to turn down projects. Get acquainted with others who you feel comfortable giving customers to. When you are busy and the customer can't wait (I never actually turn them down, I simply tell them that I won't be able to start on their project until date X, but if they were in a hurry I can suggest a few other consultants who I trust) then hand one or two other consultants (don't give them too many - for a variety of reasons). Ask who they go with, and let the other consultant know that you referred them - no cost, but they'll be more likely to refer you in their busy times. Just some random thoughts - I enjoy threads like this, it gets me thinking and there are always wonderful ideas which I hadn't thought of before suggested by others. -Adam David VanHorn wrote: {Quote hidden}>Ok, thoughts on how to level out the Consulting Rollercoaster. >Ideally, without damaging the peaks too much :) > >What happens with me, and I suspect everyone else as well, is that I get work in spurts, with "dry spells"... > >I'm thinking of implementing something similar to what PCB shops do, where delivery by X date is $, and 2 weeks sooner is 2$, and so on. > >The objective being to keep the pipe filled, offering the option of lower rate in exchange for the ability to schedule the job into "whenever" hours. (within reason) > >So, any thoughts on this, or other approaches? > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different >ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > >. > > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.