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Ask SN: Should I Charge More For Software Consulting?
Due to my recent homelessness I stopped responding to consulting inquiries received through my business website [soggywizards.com]. I'm getting more - potential - business by targeting drivers and embedded work, but being homeless had nowhere to put the prototype gadgets.
I have an apartment now, care of Vancouver's Community Services Northwest [communityservicesnw.org]. I don't have Internet yet but figure I can pay for that by singing on the street [soggywizards.com] - until I get a client, than I don't have to busk anymore.
I've had a brief email exchange with a potential client that told me that he sent me his first inquiry, but got no response from me until after the work was done by a competitor. That competitor had extensive experience with the hardware involved, but charged $150/hour.
It was an OS X driver, I have extensive experience with OS X but none with that board. However there are other kinds of devices - primarily storage - that I do have extensive experience with.
This leads me to speculate that $65/hour is charging too little. Maybe the reason I don't get the work is that potential clients figure the $150/hour consultants must be worth the pay.
When I sing on the street [soggywizards.com] I make about $5/hour on average. (Sometimes I make nothing at all, sometimes I make $10/hour.). But it is important to me to get back to regular coding work; I'm courting a lady who knows I was homeless.
Usually I'm happy with my "workday" if I can buy a couple coffees so I can Troll The Series Of Tubes from a wifi spot.
In asking "as much" as $65, I feel that I'm asking for far, far more than I really need. For quite a long time I was really low-balling my requested pay - also for perm jobs - but got no offers.
The most I've ever made was $120. That particular job permitted me to work as many hours as I wanted.
(I commonly do fixed-bid work, but my bid is based on the $65 rate.)
