If I'd have stumbled upon that shady-looking website (https://training.kalzumeus.com) anywhere other than HN, I wouldn't have spent a minute on there.
How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
91–100 of 495 posts
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#92This is by a wide margin the most bourgeois shit I've heard on here apart from the constant cryptocurrency posts. "Make disgusting amounts of money by doing nothing instead of your actual job!"
You’ll probably find your comment downvoted because you expressed yourself using language which isn’t kosher in the HN community, and you aren’t praising the writing of HNs most well known and well liked member, but I generally agree with your sentiment. I felt gross and kind of disappointed while reading the article. I need more time to think deeply about why that is and communicate it in an effective way.
You feel the worker should give more of their value to the employer for free?
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#93To this day, I'm still not quite clear about what a consultant actually does. I mean, beyond some vague idea ("goes to some company, talks with people, gives some recommendation"). I'd really love for someone to give some example or describe in a tangible way what the work of a consultant entails, what skills one typically needs and actually employs, what a typical gig looks like from beginning to end and so on. If a…
I think a consultant in this context means a programmer with valuable experience in a particular domain. In Patrick's case it's sales funnel optimization. I do a lot of fisheries data work. The work done is usually based around a deliverable, and that can be anything from a written recommendation to a turn-key, green field system. You're a contractor with some specialized experience that somebody values more highly t…
What is the value of the deliverable? Can you easily leverage your value?
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#94To this day, I'm still not quite clear about what a consultant actually does. I mean, beyond some vague idea ("goes to some company, talks with people, gives some recommendation"). I'd really love for someone to give some example or describe in a tangible way what the work of a consultant entails, what skills one typically needs and actually employs, what a typical gig looks like from beginning to end and so on. If a…
The two things I found (can be positive or negative), is that the consultant isn't tied to the familial expectation of employees at a company giving them more freedom, and they typically don't have much stake (except fees). This means that given the right consultant and party seeking services, the consultant may provide contrarian point of views that don't hold as much baggage. Probably most important is the the comp…
Were you the consultant in this case?
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#95One of the problems I've always had with patio11's advice is that the skills he brought to a job was something that could easily be measured, e.g. he mainly did sales funnel optimization so it was easy to see the before and after of the direct impact on the bottom line. As somebody who is a skilled backend developer the value I provide is not as measurable. How can I justify charging a large weekly rate, when almost…
I used to be a "skilled backend programmer" but now I "help entrepreneurs start their businesses." See the difference?
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you think new freelancers and consultants get stuck on that limits their success?
The key is to have people you've worked with who can bring you in to their org and vouch for you.
You have never converted a cold client? Has anyone done this before?
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#97Can someone explain to me why when paying weekly people would not turn the discussion on slashing the rate in contrast to paying hourly? I don't see the disconnect between the two and why it shouldn't be possible to also go "My rate is 100$, we need 40 hours, you can only pay 30, okay, what do we slash?" In fact, that is what I am doing right now.
People will compare hourly rates to people's salaries in a way that don't really compare weekly rates.
$200/hr seems rediculously expensive to pay a dev. but a $8k/week will intuitively be compared to the value they get from the project, and 16k to increase wbesite traffic 30% seems like a steal.
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#98A relevant side note: If you're getting into consulting, here are my suggestions for writing a good Statement of Work https://kirubakaran.com/blog/consulting-sow/
Your example reads like a programmer wrote it instead of a consultant. - Would not expect to see a "such as" in statement of work in the locations you used them. - Would not expect typos in statement of work. - Consultant will push commits to source control.. I have other employees to code, I would pay an consultant to consult. Define strategy, architecture, coach. Not type code, you are way too expensive for that. A…
Do consultants never code?
Re: How I went from programming to consulting (2012)
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
What would be the solution you would propose?
I dunno. In principle it's easy to automate the financial stuff but the social stuff wouldn't be automatable and distributing the reward properly is hard there. If a few people are good at communicating they might be tempted to believe that they are the ones bringing in the value, dropping the morale of the engineers doing the concrete work that is the foundation of the value being brought in.
Could you explain that to me like I am dumb? How does it relate to consulting?