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Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

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Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#11

Post by disponsible »

vs2 wrote: post #4

› 2 hours of consulting for $399. Are you for real??

It's a reasonable rate, but it would normally require a better resume presentation than what's there at the moment. Great to know that Kyle did all this stuff, but what's more relevant is what he did exactly. Did he draw the ranger guy for Forrst or did he plan the server hardware allocation or did he just hack on some code... that sort of thing.

I've seen my share of product consultants, and they primarily specialize in invoicing. There are some exceptions, of course, but generally the amount of BS/hour is very depressing. The site needs to do a better job to explain that Kyle is not of their kind.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#12

Post by kylebragger »

whatevers2009 wrote: post #9

languages and db experience?

I thought about adding that but didn't want to emphasize one technology stack over another, at least not on the one-pager.

That being said: PHP, Ruby, some Python; Mysql, Postgres, Mongo.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#13

Post by kylebragger »

jkahn wrote: post #7

Good luck Kyle. It will be interesting to hear if you get any takers. One thing I wonder is if the kind of people that would take up an offer like this have the means to pay for it. As in: do the "idea guys" that can't find technical guys have enough money? One angle you might want to consider is the sanity check - going over the technical merit of an idea/early stage product/architecture. This could be for both the…

Thank you. I actually already have about 15-20 hours scheduled (most prior to launching the actual one page site), plus a couple entries on the MVP form.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to angle this, but my ideal customer is an "idea guy" who does have the means to pay, an interesting idea, and "gets it" with regard to what it actually takes to build a product.

I do like the idea about involving some kind of idea sanity check, though I'm kind of doing that as folks contact me — I'd rather tell them that it's not really a viable idea as is, and spend a little time working through that, vs. take their money for the 2 hours or MVP product just because I can.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#14

Post by kylebragger »

weirdcat wrote: post #10

Simple and clean, both the offer and the site; I like it. You might want to think about some kind of satisfaction guarantee. I for once might have a problem shelling out $400 for a 2h talk with a guy I never worked with without one. I'd actually make it a "money back plus a beer on me" guarantee. If you had a stackoverflow account I'd definitely link to it; too bad it's not possible with Forrst. I'd also publish your…

Thank you. I think that's a great idea — I'll update the site right now. Neat idea re: karma, though not sure how much weight that would have for the types of folks I (think) I'm targeting. Couldn't hurt, either way though!

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#15

Post by kylebragger »

jmarbach wrote: post #5

I like this consulting idea, but wouldn't you agree that the power of collaborative feedback via a question on HN is more powerful than a $200 hour with one person? Just my 2cents.

Thanks. I think that it's likely a combination of both. Also, I'm looking to help so-called idea guys - folks who probably don't use HN, but have an idea with potential, and a little capital to throw at it. FWIW, folks who turn to HN for guidance and feedback probably aren't the target demographic anyway, and they certainly wouldn't need my help :)

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#16

Post by kylebragger »

disponsible wrote: post #11
vs2 wrote: post #4

› 2 hours of consulting for $399. Are you for real??

It's a reasonable rate, but it would normally require a better resume presentation than what's there at the moment. Great to know that Kyle did all this stuff, but what's more relevant is what he did exactly . Did he draw the ranger guy for Forrst or did he plan the server hardware allocation or did he just hack on some code... that sort of thing. I've seen my share of product consultants, and they primarily speciali…

I agree that I'm not exactly selling myself well enough. Wondering if it's worth showing that on this site, or just discussing in more detail with interested parties. I do agree that I'm not doing the best job of setting myself aside from the invoice pros.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#17

Post by kylebragger »

mapster wrote: post #8

I would start out lower. Gain some feedback (testimonials) then ramp up the rate. As it is, I don't know you from adam.

Point certainly taken. I actually (surprisingly?) have a bunch scheduled, so presuming all goes well, I'll have some real feedback and hopefully folks vouching for what I'm doing.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#18

Post by weirdcat »

kylebragger wrote: post #14
weirdcat wrote: post #10

Simple and clean, both the offer and the site; I like it. You might want to think about some kind of satisfaction guarantee. I for once might have a problem shelling out $400 for a 2h talk with a guy I never worked with without one. I'd actually make it a "money back plus a beer on me" guarantee. If you had a stackoverflow account I'd definitely link to it; too bad it's not possible with Forrst. I'd also publish your…

Thank you. I think that's a great idea — I'll update the site right now. Neat idea re: karma, though not sure how much weight that would have for the types of folks I (think) I'm targeting. Couldn't hurt, either way though!

Ah, a good question to ask your non-technical clients then: what community sites like HN do they peruse?

Anyway, I know that if I'd seen a "karma" number over 1k, I'd be impressed even if I had no idea what it meant.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#19

Post by weirdcat »

kylebragger wrote: post #15
jmarbach wrote: post #5

I like this consulting idea, but wouldn't you agree that the power of collaborative feedback via a question on HN is more powerful than a $200 hour with one person? Just my 2cents.

Thanks. I think that it's likely a combination of both. Also, I'm looking to help so-called idea guys - folks who probably don't use HN, but have an idea with potential, and a little capital to throw at it. FWIW, folks who turn to HN for guidance and feedback probably aren't the target demographic anyway, and they certainly wouldn't need my help :)

I wouldn't cross the hackers out. People who hang out here are usually aware of all the technical/organizational challenges of building a scalable website with great UX, but lots of us could use some one on one guidance from someone experienced every now and then.

Re: Show HN: I'm offering consulting for non-technical folks and startups

#20

Post by kylebragger »

kylebragger wrote: post #15
jmarbach wrote: post #5

I like this consulting idea, but wouldn't you agree that the power of collaborative feedback via a question on HN is more powerful than a $200 hour with one person? Just my 2cents.

Thanks. I think that it's likely a combination of both. Also, I'm looking to help so-called idea guys - folks who probably don't use HN, but have an idea with potential, and a little capital to throw at it. FWIW, folks who turn to HN for guidance and feedback probably aren't the target demographic anyway, and they certainly wouldn't need my help :)

That's a great point. Duly noted.
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