When I go to a butcher, all variables involved in the transaction are known. The butcher knows the wholesale price of meat, the overhead she/he carries, and the

When I go to a butcher, all variables involved in the transaction are known. The butcher knows the wholesale price of meat, the overhead she/he carries, and the expected margins that must be maintained for the business to be profitable. I know what I want, or at least how much I am willing or able to spend. The meat itself is known to the both of us - its properties are in no way mysterious or unknowable. Most notably, my purpose and/or intentions in purchasing this known quantity are entirely irrelevant to the transaction. (I can't speak to butcher shops, but I can tell you for a fact that the margins for a bakery [and the grocery sector in general]are razor thin, and anyone doing it on a less-than-industrial scale is in it for the love more than the money.) I would venture that more comparable model would be that of the general contractor (project manager), with programmers acting as independent subcontractors. In this model, the ability to bid jobs is the difference between financial success and ruin. I have know several highly skilled craftsmen that have lost their ass trying to strike out on their own, as estimating costs, administering a business, juggling workers, legal compliance, etc., are an entirely different skill set than doing the actual work. As an independent contractor, you the project manager/contractor are paying for my time. If you are not ready for me to work, you are paying for my continued availability, or I am seeking work elsewhere. As an independent contractor, it is not my concern if the house is ever finished. I am paid for what I do. If no one was ever paid until the last nail was driven and someone moved in, we would probably all still live in caves.