Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

There's a very thorough discussion of consulting fees and approaches to setting them in the book Rasputin For Hire : An inside look at management consulting between jobs or as a second career.

There are all kinds of consultants and many options for setting fees. The worst of the fee options is per diem or hourly rates. They guarantee that the consultant will be inefficient and the client will be watching the meter as it ticks.

Much better to figure out what the deliverable is, how you're going to approach it, and what it's worth to the client. Then set a fixed fee for the deliverable. It will force both of you (the consultant and the client) to focus on the benefit and the value of a solution.

That's the short answer. For more, read the book. You can get it through Amazon.com, bn.com, most bookstores in the US, or at the website www.rasputinforhire.com .

Good luck.

If it were me, I would begin by working on the "5 hours per month" figure rather than the "$25 per hour" figure...

... I would begin by preparing a list of the various activities which I could potentially do to be of service for my client, and I would list specific deliverables if possible. This will help you discuss your potential client's expectations, and will give you a better idea of just how much time you will need to put in. It may be that once your client sees all you can do for them, and has an idea of specific deliverables, you really need to put in an hour per day, which is 20 hours rather than 5 hours per month.

This "additional" step will give you a clearer idea of your potential client's needs, will help you estimate the time required, will help position you as an expert, may (depending on what is required) help you to justify both the hours that you need and your rate, and will hopefully help you from spreading yourself too thin.

I would be very careful if it turns out the potential client just wants to buy your contact list. If so, what will you do for them the second month?