[PLUG] Consulting rates and more

[Robert J Squire Jr <rjsquire@ebi-online.com>]

Hello all:

I'm in the process of establishing a small tech support / constulting 
business.  I'm sure that I'm not unique among PLUG members in this 
regard so I'm hoping to draw on the experience of others concerning rate 
structure (and some other things).
I'm currently planning on serving the (very) small business and home 
user market.  The structure that seems best to me is to charge and 
hourly rate for system / network administration for small business 
customers while doing custom software based on a not to excede quote.  
For home users requiring support I thought that a simple ( but detailed 
) menu system would be the best approach to avoid the potential 
uncertainty of hourly charges.
Has anyone else gone through this process and if so do you have any 
reccomendations?  I think that the prices that the market will bear are 
pretty consistent throughout the Delaware Valley so geographic location 
is of little significance.

Also, as a (rather fanatical) Linux user myself, I'd prefer to run my 
business entirely on Linux and am therefore researching accounting 
systems that will allow me to do so.   There are a number of good 
candidates available.  The real problem comes when looking for other 
types of business packages.  For example:  Is there anyone using Linux 
exclusively for running a small business including proposals, quotes, 
invoicing, and billing?  What about marketing publications?
I know that it's possible to develop custom solutions but as my schedule 
grows busier my desire to build from scratch grows smaller and ready 
made solutions running on widows get really attractive.  It's only 
principle holding me back from utilizing them and I don't think that's a 
smart way to run a business.

And one last thing.  I have no reservations about implimenting server 
side Linux solutions for customers.  This is a long proven arena for 
Linux and typically such installations require little or no interaction 
from novice computer users so there's no reason to select a system with 
which a customer is more familiar.  However I have a customer running a 
point of sale system written in BASIC 17 years ago and still running on 
DOS.  He has some problem with it and wants to upgrade.  I want to 
provide him with a solution that will function as closely to what he has 
as possible without breaking the bank.  A windows solution adds 
significant cost right from the start so I'm considering Linux.  The app 
itself will be in Python so the o.s. choice makes little difference.  My 
question is this:  Do the other small business consultants on the list 
have any reservations about putting a Linux system in front of a novice 
user?  Please give some detail about factors used when making the o.s. 
choice.



Thanks in advance:

Rob Squire

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