CompuServe Messages

It is tough. customers want to know what it will cost before they give you a PO. but they generaly don;t know what they want! what I do is spend a few (non billed )hours with the customer getting a feel for what it is they want, then go home and wip up a proposal, based on how much time i estimate job will take. this is a "not to exceed $XXXX." quote with lots of excape fine print, incase they have changes, and they always seem to. Proposal has place for us both to sign… this becomes paper for start of buisnee. I try to finish work for just slightly less than proposal, but never can tell. most of work I do is billed at $60/hr , and several associates are in the $45 – 75 /hr range depending on skill level and investment in iron/software, and hubris. anybody who thinks 'tooning is a get rich quick scheam – WAYS&WCIGS? (What Are You Smoking and Where Can I Get Some?) Lots of Hard wwork and giving customer fair value is probably the most demanding part. Most of the smaller business Ive dealt with so far seem to choke on anything more than $5k-$10k. If you can find out how much they have in theirt budget you can sugest what they can get for that amount – laarger companies can come up with $20-50K no problem, but expect a lot for their money. hope this helps some, and bon chance! Dr Dave – Wyeknot inc