>> 2. Is roller-coaster pay a problem for you? Boom and bust business? >Not for me too much. But it drives my wife nuts. I've been in business = for >20 years now and (praise God) have never been at a loss for work. Same here - I would often actually prefer to have less work and more = spare time..! >> 3. How about long hours or travel? Does that stress out your family? Travel is not a major issue in my case as most work is done at home - = maybe 3-6 client visits a month. I also have some customers I've never met in person! >It used to. Then I put my foot down and got smarter by learning how to = say >'later' rather than 'yes' to some client requests. Absolutely 'Training' your customers is important! I'm not good at = mornings, and tend to work 10-7ish, and have just about managed to stop people calling at 8:30AM..!=20 >> 4. How do you go about capitalizing the business? pay as you go, = loans, >> a combo? >Pay as you go. >> 5. What specifically does a consultant need to have around besides a >> computer, a scope, some hand tools, a compiler, an Eprom burner and an >> ICE? Pay as I go - after you have the essentials of a good scope, ICE etc., = capital outgoings are relatively low, until I decide to buy myself a new toy...!=20 If startup funds are tight, you can make do with fairly minimal = equipment, or oldie-but-goody testgear (Ebay can be your friend here,,,!) , but a decent digital scope= and ICE are very high on the shopping list as soon as you can afford them. >> 6. Do you have a standard contract? > >No. This is probably a mistake on my part. No - in fact I have never had any written contract with any customer. = However I'm in the UK where things are generally less litigious. What I usually do is write down my = understanding of a customers's spec and get them to agree it. I also have a few standard = terms like I have the right to withold source/object code until invoices are paid.=20 My feeling is that formal contracts can be a 2-edged sword - most of the = time the company you are doing work for has deeper pockets than you, so if there is a formal = contract and you screw up and they threaten lawyers, you can say 'show me where I guaranteed X in = writing' - they can't and the worst outcome is you lose a customer, probably one you don't want to keep= anyhow.=20 If things go bad the other way , the worst case is you have spent time = and don't get paid.=20 >> 7. Do you have a home office or a remote office? Does the remote = office >> allow you to leave the job behind? Workshop at the bottom of the garden - much cheaper, and convenient. = Makes it easier to work when you feel like it (e.g. work over the weekend when you won't be = interrupted by phonecalls, and then go shopping in the week when it's less busy!) >> 8. How many hours a week do you spend working - 50? 70? Almost infinitely variable, depending on what's on, and hopw guilty I = feel about not getting stuff done that's due soon..... I do regular-ish work for about 6 companies. = This is good for variety, steady flow of work etc., but there are times when they suddenly all = decide they need something doing quickly....! >> 9. How do you advertize your business - word of mouth? Long term >> customers? Bingo cards? Ads in Circuit Cellar? Spam to >> alt.suckers.news? ;-) > >Mostly long term customers wanting more work. Some word of mouth. ..and people I've worked with for one company moving to another company. I did some work for company A - someone left there and went to Company B = - I did work for them. Someone else from Company B moved to Company C - I did work for them. His= brother then needed some work doing for his own company....=20 I've found that if you do a good job, people come back for more, and they= keep your number! I've never had to actively advertise. The only other two ways way I've got work are : 1) going to seminars and asking several awkward questions which = incidentally show that I know what I'm talking about, and subsequenctly chatting over lunch. I've found a = few cases of people in small-ish companies going to seminars hoping that it will teach them = everything they need to know about so they can use them themselves, but then = realising that it's not that simple, and instead asking someone else (i.e. me) to do it for them. 2) Being on the list of Microchip consultants. =20 In this, as in most businesses, good people are always busy. Only the = poorer ones have to advertise frequently. I would be very hesitant about giving work to a company who = has a regular ad in the technical press.=20 >> 10. Without divulging salary per se, do you feel you make more or less >> money as a consultant or as an employee? Per year? Per Hour? Regardless of anything else, I've got so used to the flexibility of = working when I want, usually on what I want, that I really don't think I could evr go back to working = for one employer.=20 -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList mailto:piclist-unsubscribe-request@mitvma.mit.edu