[AccessD] Move to C# - last post

>I bet when you became a programmer you did not realize that half your
skills sets were >going to have be standing up in front of clients making
presentations and selling like >a used car salesman.
>
>Jim

Jim - I love that ! Let me add to the above - another key talent to survive
in IT contracting / consulting : ASSESS YOUR CLIENT CAREFULLY.

If you can't do the above very well, you're likely to get drawn into the
proverbial endless pit of fixes and enhancements....all done....for "free".
A reasonable client will understand this is tough work and there are going
to be problems and issues along the way....and that many things are
unexpected...and that estimates are just that.

Here's a good one to avoid:
Customer pulls up in his used Ferrari - it's all banged-up and wants an
estimate for it to look good....and BTW, make sure that it runs OK. No time
for a complete evaluation he says. So you tell him it'll be about a week of
work. After working on the body to make it look good, you then get under the
hood and discover the engine is shot...pistons are burnt and scored. Drive
train bearings are gone as well. Major work is now needed. Customer comes in
and you tell him the bad news and he gets all pissed-off. "This car wasn't
in that bad of shape when I brought it in, you must have done something to
it". You said you were going to "fix it" for a 1000 dollars.

There's all kinds of con-artists out there...trust me....I've run into a lot
of them. Do your homework: Assess your client "up-front"...and don't be
afraid to walk away from the deal...especially in these tough times. There
are a lot of projects out there that quite simply are either landmines or
"tip of iceberg" deals.