John W. Colby
jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com
Thu Aug 19 10:14:27 CDT 2004
If this truly is "once off" then it is better to lose the job than get it and get sucked into a quagmire. Ask them over the phone BEFORE any meetings to get together the data that needs to be looked at, draw up a report structure they would like to see, the list of tables and databases that it comes from. If they know it is "coming from several databases" then they must have some knowledge of this. Schedule a meeting. GIVE them one hour free of charge, plus travel time. Look at what they need and try to nail down in your own mind what is involved. At the end of that hour you should be able to tell them roughly how big a job it is. Tell them. Be prepared BEFORE you go in with what you want on an hourly basis. Then you can tell them X hours times Y dollars. Don't worry if they never call back. If they don't call back you don't want to work for them. The biggest thing to remember is that clients who "don't want to pay much" are a royal PITA with no real concept of what is involved and you are well done with them. John W. Colby www.ColbyConsulting.com -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mitsules, Mark S. (Newport News) Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 9:44 AM To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving' Subject: RE: [AccessD] RE: [dba-OT] Contract Work - Time Sensitive Question : x-posted d ba-OT There are a myriad of potential problems I see going into this...I'm just hoping I don't talk myself out of it before I give it a chance. Primarily, I'm assuming that the work will have to be done on-site due to the sensitive nature of the data. That alone raises time issues...I have a 40-hour job already...are they going to be willing to allow me to work late into the evening or on weekends outside of "their" normal working hours? Mark -----Original Message----- From: Pickering, Stephen [mailto:Stephen.Pickering at caremark.com] Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 9:16 AM To: 'dba-ot at databaseadvisors.com'; [AccessD] Subject: [AccessD] RE: [dba-OT] Contract Work - Time Sensitive Question : x-posted d ba-OT <kidding> Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!! </kidding> I don't know how universal it is, but for me, a good rule of thumb has been this: If the client thinks it should be easy, it will be very complex; if the client thinks it will be really hard to do, it will be very easy, and the client will be easily impressed. I would give them an hourly rate for you to do an analysis of what they need and what the environment is. Take this information to give them an estimate, based on time and materials, for you to complete the task. Provide an additional estimate for your time with beta testing issues and support, if need be. This sounds like a lot, I know, for what seems like a simple task. Sometimes, however, it is the simple tasks that mutate from scope creep, and you find yourself in a never-ending quagmire where you don't get paid for your work, and neither you nor the client is happy. HTH, Steve ----- Mark S. Mitsules' Original Message----- If anyone has 5-10 minutes to spare, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the following scenario. A co-worker has just given my name/number to a small medical office that is looking for some custom work. The 2 second description was "create a report based on data from several databases". Now many of you, I'm sure, have been approached by clients who have received several quotes of hourly rates and were put off at the high prices and no estimation as to time of completion. First question, how do you address the customer's concern knowing full well that without a fairly accurate scope of work, you would most likely have answered similarly to everyone else? At face value, the project seems like a cake walk;) However, the unknown variables have me concerned. I'm sure many of you, when you first began, may have started out this way, without the structure of business licenses, contracts, insurance, etc. What I'm politely asking is, what is an acceptable way for me to approach this? At the moment, this is a one-off situation that I would like to handle in the simplest manner possible. Again, politely, what I'm not asking for is suggestions to hire an attorney, an accountant, set up an LLC, etc. In the short term, many people have worked this way in the past successfully...I'm just hoping to get some idea of best practices. Thank you, Mark -- _______________________________________________ AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com -- _______________________________________________ AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com