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By rate I think you mean $/day or $/hour. There is a more lucrative approach: Charge for the value you deliver not the time it takes. E.g. you increased the cl

By rate I think you mean $/day or $/hour. There is a more lucrative approach: Charge for the value you deliver not the time it takes. E.g. you increased the client's sales by $500,000 for a net profit of $100,000 - charge $20,000. You saved the client $150,000 by doing something differently - charge $30,000. When you consistently deliver measurable value to clients, you won't be staying in a full-time job for long. Consulting will be far more fun.

brtkdotse 2y ago
Value pricing is just entrepreneurial fan fiction unless you happen to be in a niche where that is possible. Run-of-the-mill dev work is not it.
- porushpuri 2y ago
  Very true
- muzani 2y ago
  Yeah, your rates are set by what the other guys charge. They won't pay $30000 when someone else is happy to do it for $100/hour and get it done by the weekend.
- sloaken 2y ago
  Well spoken. I have had many jobs where they ask "How did you impact the business bottom line?" during annual review process. Usually the only impact will be noticed at least a year after the evaluation.
- philomath_mn 2y ago
  100% my experience. You would need a combination of the right project for the right client where the affect on bottom line is both observable and observed. Most of companies who are considering a consultant are organizationally incapable of telling you how much money is saved or generated. On the other hand, most companies have a sense for how much an hour of work should cost and would be comfortable discussing the project in those terms. So you'd seriously be limiting your options if you focused on the former.
  - b20000 2y ago
    what an hour should cost… in my experience this is based on nothing and might be based on what HR thinks which is irrelevant
    - philomath_mn 2y ago
      Not saying that is how things should work, but that is often the reference point for those making decisions on the client side.
      - b20000 2y ago
        yes and it is incorrect because as a business you need to carry the cost of doing business

brtkdotse 2y ago

Value pricing is just entrepreneurial fan fiction unless you happen to be in a niche where that is possible. Run-of-the-mill dev work is not it.

porushpuri 2y ago
Very true
muzani 2y ago
Yeah, your rates are set by what the other guys charge. They won't pay $30000 when someone else is happy to do it for $100/hour and get it done by the weekend.
sloaken 2y ago
Well spoken. I have had many jobs where they ask "How did you impact the business bottom line?" during annual review process. Usually the only impact will be noticed at least a year after the evaluation.
philomath_mn 2y ago
100% my experience. You would need a combination of the right project for the right client where the affect on bottom line is both observable and observed. Most of companies who are considering a consultant are organizationally incapable of telling you how much money is saved or generated. On the other hand, most companies have a sense for how much an hour of work should cost and would be comfortable discussing the project in those terms. So you'd seriously be limiting your options if you focused on the former.
- b20000 2y ago
  what an hour should cost… in my experience this is based on nothing and might be based on what HR thinks which is irrelevant
  - philomath_mn 2y ago
    Not saying that is how things should work, but that is often the reference point for those making decisions on the client side.
    - b20000 2y ago
      yes and it is incorrect because as a business you need to carry the cost of doing business