Ask HN: How much to ask for consultancy on-the-side? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How much to ask for consultancy on-the-side?

3 pointsmcv5 comments

I'm a freelancer and I currently have a full time (well, 32 hours/week) gig that'll probably last at least until the end of the year. I've also been asked for some occasional consultancy on the side for another client, which would probably be only a few hours each month. I don't know the details, but it seems to involve checking to see if a (team of) more junior programmer(s) is on the right track, and maybe offering advice or something. Could be interesting, but I have no idea what to charge, and I'd like to have some idea before I speak with the client.

I'm making plenty on my regular gig, and I don't really need something extra, but it might be a nice entry into a different (even better paid?) way of working. I have done something slightly similar a while ago, and then I charged my usual rate (€70/hour), which turned out to be way too little; even for a few hours, it's still a lot of hassle, and ending up with an extra €150 is just not financially interesting. Besides, because I already have a full-time gig, it's basically overtime for me, isn't it?

So should I ask double my usual rate? 1.5 times my rate? More? Less? Way more? I really have no idea.

Also: what do I say to justify this higher rate to the client?

This is in Netherland, in case it matters.

The deal with stuff like this is, you always charge more than you really think you should because the people are going to be difficult and would pay someone else more if you were with a larger firm.

So I'd do an intake meeting with them to get a sense of their needs. Ask lots of questions, do your home work and figure out what they need. Then draw up a scope of work that outlines the work you're going to do and put a quote on that.

Historically all jobs suck equally and they work you just as hard, so you might as well be compensated well for it and if it's too much and they balk, then it's fine.

Someone once gave me advice that said if you really want to work on a project charge a lot and if you don't want to do it, charge more. I don't necessarily employ this advice, but...it's an interesting thinking.

You don't have to justify anything. You're a professional who knows his craft and if you outline your recommendations and what you're going to do in writing -- which is what a firm would do -- then you're going to be fine.

Realize if it's too high they'll go with someone else, so decide if you REALLY want the work or not. If you want the extra money, then decide how big the project is and come up with a total price and then divide that by how many hours you think it'll take realistically (in other words, more hours not less hours) and then quote them based on that hourly rate.

What value do you think is worth your time? If it isn't worth your time, why would you do it?

If it isn't "necessary work" then there is no reason to take a penny less than what you value your time at.

Note that what you value your time at could still be less than what they're willing to pay you for your time. But I find it silly to dwell on that. If I'm being paid what I think my time is worth, I'm content. If I'm being paid less than what they would be willing to pay - they are likely content as well.

If they aren't willing to pay me what my time is worth. Well, I value my time more than money. If the job isn't necessary to pay for food and rent - then I don't need to take the job.

This is kinda my position too. I value my time more than money, so I wouldn't mind if I didn't get the extra consultancy thing. The main reason why I'm interested is that it might lead to a different level of work. More strategic, architectural or advisory than just the coding, perhaps, and that might be interesting, and I would like to taste a bit of that.

So I do see this as a potentially interesting opportunity, and I don't want to waste it, but I also want it to be financially worthwhile. I think it'd help me a lot if I had some idea of what a normal rate for this kind of thing would be. Or even if I knew how or where to figure that out.

>The main reason why I'm interested is that it might lead to a different level of work. More strategic, architectural or advisory than just the coding, perhaps, and that might be interesting, and I would like to taste a bit of that.

Sounds like you're struggling to decide if that experience is worth your time. Seems a personal decision, so I'm not sure how much other people can help.

I was really hoping that people would be listing hourly rates for this. Instead, all the advice focused on the personal stuff.

I'm still interested in answers to that, but it's less relevant to my particular situation now; it's not about a few hours a month at all, it's about joining a collective of freelancers that take on various very interesting projects for a set price, most likely requiring part-time work. Effective hourly rate sounds like it's going to be lower than what I currently make.

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