I have been doing some independant consulting for several years now. Luckily I have had the luxury of being able to work with a well-established friend of mine. Ultimately you need to remember that you need to provide what your client wants. If you don't provide service or support for your client they will find someone else who will. Before I answer some of your questions in detail, I'd recommend you pick up a copy of "The Computer Consultant's Guide" by Janet Rulh. It does a good job of giving all sorts of suggestions on a broad range of topics that you might encounter. On Fri, 2001-11-16 at 16:16, duncan wrote: > **What sort of response time can i give my clients if they are having > network problems, or any problem for that matter. Do i set thier > expectations that ill call with in 2 hrs, and go from there? Maybe show > up within 24 hrs (presuming metro area clients) Each client will probably have different needs. You need to talk to your customers and determine what they need. If they need immediate service, you need to make sure they know they will have to pay for that kind of response. > **I need to think about my availablity as a consultant. > 1. what hours a day am i avail. > 2. whats my weekend work policy? > 3. Evening policy? > 4. What do i do for vacation Again, all this will depend on the client. If they have a mission critical system that you are maintaining and they want 24x7 support, you need to provide that, but they also need to be willing to pay extra for that kind of support. > 5. What if im sick. I left this one seperate as often there's nothing you can do about illness. If it's a once-in-a-while illness like the flu that just takes you out, they will likely understand. That said, if they are expecting 24x7 support, you have a problem! > If i advise someone on what hardware / software to buy, how much > responsibility do i assuem when it doesnt work, or has problems? prob. > quite a bit. > If you don't take responsibility for it, it's your reputation on the line. > What sort of equipment do i need? > laptop > cell phone Yes. > desk somewhere, with office supplies If you feel the need to work at a desk, then yes. I usually have what I need in my laptop case. If I need a table, Caribou is right around the corner! > computer 'toolkit' [crimper, cat 5 clips, screwdrivers...] Absolutely. > What are other consultant/tech support places around the TC area > charging per hour... This is really subjective. Every project is different. Different clients have different needs. Dave Royer -- David Royer <dave at droyer.org> PGP Key: 0xD2B7F23C PGP Fingerprint: 0467 2A1D 91F9 38AC 78EB 655F 259A A36F D2B7 F23C -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 232 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://shadowknight.real-time.com/pipermail/tclug-list/attachments/20011116/b77adb37/attachment.pgp