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Subject:Guesstimates & working independently From:Michael Andrew Uhl <uhl -at- VISLAB -dot- EPA -dot- GOV> Date:Wed, 7 Apr 1999 11:32:25 -0400
TECHWR-Lers:
When I was an independent contractor, most of my clients insisted on an
hourly billing structure with a maximum total. In the negotiation
process, I had only to determine whether or not I could do the job for
less than the maximum. My clients were happy because I never hit the
maximum. I was happy because I was certain to always make a profit.
The exception to this billing structure was for business-to-business
video scripts I wrote. I wrote those on a fixed amount, based on the
number of minutes and complexity of the presentation. For some scripts,
I made as much as $75/hr, and for others, as little as $10/hr. In the
end, it was a wash; I might just as well have charged by the hour--had
the customer allowed this.
Cheers.
-Mike
--
Michael Andrew Uhl (mailto:uhl -at- vislab -dot- epa -dot- gov)
Lockheed Martin - U.S. EPA Scientific Visualization Center
Ph. (office) 919.541.4283; 919.541.3716 (lab)
P.O. Box 14365 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709