[thelist] Re: RE: Re: consulting fees

Diane Soini dianesoini at earthlink.net
Tue Jun 15 23:28:11 CDT 2004


On Monday, June 14, 2004, at 09:12 PM, thelist-request at lists.evolt.org 
wrote:

> RE: Re: consulting fees

I don't recall anything about moonlighting in my employment contract. I 
did sign something that says what I do at work is copyrighted by them, 
but that's about it. I don't intend to use company resources or time to 
do anything on the side as that is clearly wrong. (Even though I 
sometimes use my own equipment at work. I can subsidize them but they 
can't subsidize me.)

I'm not sure how the discussion on writing in a blog has anything to do 
with freelancing. I think what the woman I spoke to was interested in 
was a web site for her church. She asked what my consulting fees were 
but I don't have consulting fees because I've always done web design 
in-house, and wouldn't know what to tell her since:
a) I don't know the going rate in my region or how my current salary 
relates to it (higher or lower?),
b) I don't know if fees are best quoted hourly, by piece, or flat,
c) if I knew the going rate, would I ask for the same for a church web 
site,
d) I did not know or ask what the scope of the project was,
e) I figured it was better not to say anything about money without more 
information,
f) I don't know enough about the paperwork I would need to maintain, or 
about taxes or legal matters involved (which is why I was interested in 
a book or something), and
g) I don't consider myself a graphic designer and so am not sure if 
graphic designer freelancing is the best model for how to go about it, 
or if maybe there is another, better model to follow. I'm not sure how 
to convey that I am not a graphic designer to people who hear the words 
"web designer", either.

As for all that discussion about employers firing you for stuff you do 
on your own time, it seems to me that they usually do that when they 
are wanting to get rid of you but need to make a good case for doing 
so. Once you are on the bad list, people will look for whatever they 
can use. I know because I was once on the giving end of that and I was 
not comfortable with it at all.

***
Don't be afraid to try something new. An amateur built the ark. 
Professionals built the Titanic. -unknown



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