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I've tried fixed bid. However, whenever I do a fixed big project it takes longer than I expected and it ends up costing me. Obviously that means I'm under-estim

I've tried fixed bid. However, whenever I do a fixed big project it takes longer than I expected and it ends up costing me. Obviously that means I'm under-estimating and/or not charging enough. Or perhaps it means the way I come up with the fixed cost is wrong. Generally, I break the project down into a list of tasks. Estimate liberally for each task, then multiply the final number of hours times 2 then multiply by my hourly rate. To your second point, as a small 1-2 person company, how could I afford a sales person? Are there sales people out there who would purely work on commission?

richardknop 9y ago
Try daily rate. Say you charge $800 per day. Minimum charge is one day. If you do work in 2 hours it doesn't matter because you'll charge full day as it's inefficient use of your time to split it into minuscule hourly chunks. And don't do small projects which take couple of days or weeks to finish. Try to get commitment from clients for at least 3-6 months of work. So get a written contract which defines your pay to be 22 * daily rate * number of months, billed weekly let's say. You'll have much less stress and waste less time looking for new clients. Basically I'm suggesting you become a contractor with a daily rate, work on projects which last around 6 months on average per project. You can then slowly transition from this to more niche or specialised consulting. And you'll have a decent Rolodex of clients and references after contracting for couple of years.