It's really the bad clients that force you to become a take-no-prisoners mercenary consultant. Other fun things (none of which is legal advice!): - Never, eve

It's really the bad clients that force you to become a take-no-prisoners mercenary consultant. Other fun things (none of which is legal advice!): - Never, ever, ever, sign an indemnity clause. That's basically an agreement to go bankrupt if anyone ever sues them over your work. (If they can't budge on it, due to an evil legal dept, you should research whether indemnity clauses are enforceable against employees (not contractors) in your area. If not, you can mention that they can always hire you as an employee for the duration of the project -- at your consulting rate!) - Only fixed-bid for fixed-scope (change orders should always be hourly, and fixed bids should have at least a 100% fudge factor in your favor (same with calendar estimates). No, you do NOT mention that part to the clients. Some people recommend more than just doubling, but it's worked for me so far). - For jobs you don't really want, try quoting a higher rate, and see if they take it! (Eventually, you'll find out what your market rate is). Pad your rate proportionally to how much you DON'T want the job. :) - Never bid on a job from a position of weakness: there should never be a job that you NEED to have, otherwise you will get screwed. - Bill weekly. (Never call it a bill, always an "invoice"). - Do not continue work when the client has more than a couple thousand dollars in delinquent balance due, until you're paid, or unless the client is a really good client, and you know they're good for it. - Never subcontract for someone who's friends with the client. They will be unable to maintain the naturally adversarial relationship between consultant and client, and they'll let things slide (such as late or delinquent payments) that they shouldn't. - More generally, avoid situations where you can't bill the client directly. - When logging your hours, always keep good notes of what you're doing. Clients like knowing what they're paying for. - If the client likes to call outside of normal working hours, institute a minimum 3-hours-billable for each off-hours call. Now, you can sleep at night! - Always be professional and courteous. Never burn bridges, no matter how tempting. - Emotion and drama are your enemies. Both your own, and your clients'. Especially keep emotion out of the picture when negotiating about money. - Go the extra mile to keep your best clients. Weed out the bad ones. - Don't put up with abuse. - Always negotiate in good faith. - Always under-promise and over-deliver! NEVER over-promise and under-deliver!