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Part Two: Technical Self-Employment For All
MoNickels writes "I've posted
part two of the article series encouraging the unemployed to take up freelance technical support, including advice on knowing if this work is right for you, marketing yourself, learning on the job, handling and educating clients, managing the business, the temperament required, and the negative aspects of the work." See part one if you missed it.
Blue Cross of California. works fine for me. cheap.
I once knew somebody in that position. He went to a company and offered to work free. They took him up on the offer, and after 3 months, he said, 'hire me or I'm going,' so they hired him. Not the easiest way to break in, but it showed real initiative.
This reminds me of the glamorous lifestyle that so many people 'enjoyed' in the late 1990s. It sounds as though he is simply piecing together most of his life in a way that respresents success. I wouldn't see it that way. It seems he knows how to talk to people, not engineer things. The way this person writes tells me that he doesn't know much more about computers than his 'clients'. He is simply a person who enjoys talking with people, and is relatively intelligent so he can learn the things his clients dont bother to read about.
I dont think this person describes most of the people who regularly read slashdot, the scientists, engineers and people who like to solve problems and learn technical things. He is more describing the ideal world than something that can actually be attained. And, this is something that very few people can actually do to make a living.
http://github.com/gbook/nidb
It depends on the client. Some don't mind. Some view incomplete mastery of a trade as laziness and/or ignorance.
Afterall, they all know that they could always find someone else.
I've done side work for years. Never made much at it. My parents told me to never talk about money, and so I feel uncomforable at billing time doing something I enjoy.
I really need to know how much to bill grandma.
$30/hr for a not related grandma?
$45/hr for others?
$90/hr for PHBs?
Of course it'll vary depending on the work and the client, bit some pricing structure would be of great help to me!
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Why do you think it is UNAMERICAN getting someone to do a substandard job for less money?
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
... you insensitive clod!
Seriously though, I am so glad I no longer have to worry about health coverage. I moved to Canada a few years ago, and it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm happy to pay for it via my taxes. I think we get good value for money. I don't have to worry about not being given the best insurance deal because I'm an individual and not a huge corporation looking to cover thousands of people. I also know I won't see any of the doctors bills if I get hurt reminding me that I'm ultimately responsible even though my insurer has also received a copy. I don't have to worry about my or my family's health should I unexpectedly lose my job/contract.
Maybe you don't understand what tech support may entail?
I worked for myself for about 8 years doing freelance computer work (more or less "tech support"). It's amazing how knowing what the computer is capable can expand the scope of solutions. My "tech support" over 8 years involved installing and setting up networks for many small businesses, writing and debugging scripts to automate catalog updates from the mainframe that held pricing info to the PC that held the catalog layout, custom programming in Borland C++, some (but very little) custom microprocessor hardware design which I thought would be the biggest seller and a whole lot of other things. All in all, some of it was building very cool shit; certainly a helluva lot more rewarding than laying brick. Some of it was grunt work to pay the bills.
BTW, I should also mention that I got out and took a "real job" because I got tired of the feast or famine nature of the business; I was either flush and frantically busy with too much to do OR broke and bored because there was nuthin' to do!
I work from 50 to 70 hours a week.
This isn't anything to brag about, nor is it something to write articles about.
Nobody becomes financially self-sufficient by trading their time for a monetary equivalent. Who wants to work 50-70 hours workweeks? The proper way to do it is to spend a little money up front starting your own corporation, then hire someone else to do the work for you, such as the author of this article. Use the time you save by hiring someone else to do stuff meaningful to you. After all, no one wants "Worked 70-hour workweeks" on their tombstone when they die.
He's in good company. That's how John D. Rockefeller got started. Well almost -- he did get paid at the end of the 3 months but he had no clue what his pay, if any, would be.
Actually, I get lower rates as an individual than I do if I work for a corporation because I am a healthy male in his 30's. The corporate rate includes a cost for all of the more costly coworkers. I've set up insurance for myself as an individual and set up insurance while working for a corporation.
That said, insurance is a better deal as a corporate entity because:
corporations can deduct the costs from their taxes (you can too if you set things up correctly)
corporations get better coverage depending on the state. In the state I now live in, individual coverage for my family does not cover maternity, although life saving surgery such as C-sections are covered. Beyond that, everything is covered and my coverage is equivalent to what I would get working for most corporations. Better way to say this is "if you are a female of child-bearing age you will get screwed with higher premiums and stranger restrictions." My wife's portion of the premium is 3 times mine; my kids are 80% of mine. When I was in California there was little difference between what was covered (there the state specifies that maternity is covered for all policies); and because Blue Cross knew my age and health history they could offer me a lower rate in comparison to the equivalent coverage I had when I was working for a corporation.
you are screwed if you have existing conditions (corporations have existing conditions factored into their premiums; hence their higher costs in comparison to me)
Dental insurance, however, sucks. There is no decent individual plan in any of the states I've lived in. It's cheaper to pay it out of pocket.
but 'From Serf to Surfer: Becoming a Network Consultant' by Matthew Strebe gives the same sort of advice on the same topic in great depth. Highly recommended if you want more information. Also recommended 'The Secrets of Consulting' by Gerald Weinberg, great for understanding pricing and the value of your time among many other things.
I was self-employeed for 1.5 years after the internet consultancy I worked for folded... I made as much money and had more free time (some of it spent biting my nails about when the next gig would start). In my experience the advice in the articles and these books is pretty solid.
But since I have that "catastrophic-only" insurance from a medical insurance company who negotiates the same way places like Blue Cross/Blue Shield does, I get those insurance-company adjustments, even for the money I pay (because that money is considered a "deductible"), so the end result for me is win-win. I have only the coverage I want, and I don't pay single-buyer prices for what I pay for.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
I was in that situation....decided that working for a corn seed research company in 100 degree weather while supervising 15-30 14-17 year olds wasn't a real cool gig. Most companies didn't trust the offer...one did. 3 months later the web designer flaked out (technically much better than I but couldn't show up to work) and I had a full time job. And yes...I just did admit to being a web designer on Slashdot. I would say that I do know a thing or two technically, but now no one will believe me...so just ignore this post. Sig? What's a Sig?