Howard Fosdick

1
Computer Jobs Survival Guide (An Independent
Contractor Approach)
Howard Fosdick hfosdick_at_compuserve.com
(C) 2003.5 FCI
Version 2
2

• Origin of this Talk

Written 2.5 years ago as How to
be an Independent Consultant Revised and
updated What techies need to know about IT
jobs
3

• How did I become an
• Independent Consultant (IC) ?

Evolved from an FTE IC since 1988
1-person shop by choice Contract Programmer
DBA Oracle, DB2, SQL Server SA
Unixes, Windows Consultant User Group
Founder / past Pres. (IDUG, MWDUG, CAMP)
Author (books articles) Presenter
Management Consultant
4

• Why am I Giving this Talk ?
• 2 Consulting Paradigms

Traditional Contracting
Open Consulting
versus
Proprietary Open Secret
information Open negotiation for
for negotiating power for trust
relationships Competitors
Cooperation / Coopetition Strength thru secrets
Strength thru working together Direct
Marketing only Indirect Marketing
(Pay me now!) (Sow seeds,
reap the harvest later) Trade Secrets
Sharing knowledge Competitors (ICs,
No competitors contract firms,
FTEs, (just difficulties like 1706,
Headhunters customers, everyone!)
and Brokers!) Gimme, gimme, gimme ! Give to
get
5

• Why am I Giving this Talk ?

Because I practice open consulting
Open Consulting -- a contracting business based
on specific attitudes and behaviors differing
from those of traditional consulting. Open
Consulting -- a consulting paradigm
some consider impractical but one that, in fact,
works great for some people
6

• Outline

1. Definitions 2. How Employees are like
contractors 3. IC Business Models 4. What
are Your Goals ? 5. Legal Status of your
firm 6. Rates 7. CP Firms, Brokers,
Recruiters 8. IRS 1706 and AVLs 9. How to
Sell Yourself 10. Contracts, Payroll,
Insurance, Finances, Retirement 11.
Getting Gigs / Jobs 12. Resources
7

• Definitions

FTE Full Time Employee PTE Part Time
Employee W-2 Employee 1099 How non-employees
get paid Corp-to-Corp How corporations get
paid IC Independent Consultant CP
Contract Programmer or Contract
Programming Consultant Advice
giver Mgmt Consultant Advice giver to
management Pure IC IC gets
their own gigs Brokered IC IC goes
through a Broker to get gigs Broker (aka Bork)
places Contract Programmers Recruiter (aka
Headhunter) places FTEs Contract Firm (aka Body
Shop) Broker, Headhunter,
CP Employer Big 5 Consulting Firm Actg firm
with all FTE CPs
8

• Were All Contractors Now!

1990
Today
Employee Implied Deal You dont screw up, we
dont fire you Company-provided career planning
(ie career path) Defined benefit plan Defined
health plan Company-directed training
Disposable resource (ie contractor) Implied
Deal Youre here only as long as we choose to
keep you Self-directed career planning (ie
career path) Self-directed retirement
(401k) Selectable benefits Self-directed
training
Rule 1 They employ you because it pays them
to! Exercise Calculate your cost and your
benefit to your company
9

• Knowing Your Rate is Vital

Rule 1 They employ you because it pays them
to! Exercise Calculate your cost and your
benefit to your company


Employee Know the internal labor rate at your
company (Hey boss, what do I use as an
hourly rate in
cost-estimating this project ?) Contractor
Know your rate to the client
(see the contract between your company
and the client)





10

• Who Moved My Cheese ?

He knew it was safer to be aware of his real
choices than to isolate himself in his comfort
zone.
by Johnson Blanchard, p. 75
Companies dont take care of you, you take
care of you.
11

• Be a Realist

Rule 2 The job market works the way it
works Figure it out Work it to your
advantage -- You cant change it -- Fight
it and you suffer -- It does not care what
you think -- It does not work the way it
should -- It does not care what you think the
best product is
Note if youre Bill Gates ignore this foil...
12

• Rule 3 There are many ways to be an IC

Based on different ...
Business Models
Kinds of Work
Goals
Values
Etc.
13

• There are many ways to be an IC

DBA Partners
Expert Partnership get contracts thru vendor
others
Permatemp w/ special Expertise
Small Contractor Firm
Tech Trainer
Solo Contractor thru Broker
Pure IC
14

• Business Model Parameters

Number on Payroll Breadth of Expertise Getting G
igs Travel Engagement Length Rates
one a few many
narrow (1 product) 1 topic (eg DBA)
generic
on own via contract firm or
broker
local regional national
international
weeks months yearly perma-temp
piecemeal typical DBA / SA expert
or Name
15

• Business Model - Example 1
• Technical Niche Specialist

Tech support in small shop for obsolete
niche technology Makes 2 FTE salary 10
years there (perma-temp) Very customer
focused -- When this client goes away ? Has
saved Shes very smart, will certify on
new technology while on downtime
16

• Business Model - Example 2
• Contract Programming Thru One Broker

Senior developer FTE w/ CP firm gt IC on
1099 w/ Broker Gets gigs via 1 trusted
Broker No effort to get gigs Choice of
gigs Choice on travel Flexibility --
Pays big to Broker
17

• Business Model - Example 3
• Technical Trainer

Started as FTE CP in CP firm (C Unix gt
Java web) Then worked thru Brokers, did not
like them Did Training on the side
Evolved into specialty training for
certification Now travels to teach a couple
courses / month Flexibility to raise her
kids while making reasonable
18

• Business Model - Example 4
• Hands-on Contracting plus
• Indirect Marketing for self-placement

• Works as a hands-on technician
• Places self thru Indirect Marketing (IM)
• (gains visibility through public
  activities)
• Indirect Marketing examples
• web forums, writing, presenting,
• developing web training, user groups, etc.
• Indirect Marketing garners respect contacts
• Likes both programming IM activities
• -- Time commitment to cover both those areas

19

• Business Model - Example 5
• Solo PC/LAN Support Guy

Works for a dozen small businesses (autoshops,
churches, dental offices, local realtors...)
Lots of work available !! (vendors ignore this
market) Great freedom of action Clients
trust him totally -- No peers to talk to (works
alone at clients) -- Customers dont always
understand all thats involved in doing this
work -- SMBs pay low
20

• Business Model - Example 6
• Experts Contracting thru Vendor

Claim expert status on 1 software
product (published articles, speeches, books,
UGs) Tight with software vendor
referrals thru the vendor -- dependency --
vendor kickbacks High Rates (200 -gt 500/
hour) Short Contracts Travel S-Corp
(partner-controlled, 6 people)
21

• Why be an IC ?
• What are Your Goals ?

Be my own Boss More interesting Work
More Money Its your Passion Alternate
Lifestyle Ego _______________
gt more control over worklife / life gt be an
entrepeneur gt greater choice of gigs gt
get paid for overtime gt be a techie but make
mgmt gt techie passion gt entrepeneurial
build a company gt work when you want gt
have people listen to you gt make your own
rules gt fill in the blank with your goals
Exercise make your own rank-ordered Goal List
Self-awareness is key !
22

• Why be an IC ?
• What are Your Values ?

Being an IC is not inherently better or
worse. It depends on your goals, values,
likes and dislikes. Your personality type is
another factor.
Exercise be sure youre making your own
decision, not your peers,
your parents, or your spouses !
Self-awareness is key !
23

• Why be an IC ?
• The Overlooked Downsides

-- Stress -- Uncertainty -- Greater time
commitment -- Becoming a business person
(being a computer freak isnt
enough) -- Getting gigs -- Tax and legal
complexities -- Managing your own benefits,
retirement, etc.
aaargh !
24

• Ways to Work

Vendor IT Shop
Brokered IC
Pure IC
Contract Firm
FTE W-2 (hourly) 1099
Corp-to-Corp PTE PTE
Corp-to-Corp 1099
W-2 (salaried)
For Illinois business booklets and legal forms
see www.ilsos.net
25
(aka, the Legal Status of your business)
Forms of Business
These drive everything
1.
Taxes
Non-corporate
2.
Liability
LLC (Ltd Liability Co.)

• Sole Proprietorship

Partnership
You took no action Simplest tax filing --
Unlimited liability
-- Common property -- Unlimited group
liability
26
Forms of Business
1.
Taxes
Corporations
Limits Liability
Liability
2.

• Subchapter C

Subchapter S
-- Taxed Twice Large Companies
Taxed Once lt 50 Employees
Corp
Employee
27

• Rates

The contractor version of employees salary
There are no rules Everything is
negotiable Know typical rates Know
clients target rates
Knowledge is the key !
28

• How To Compute Rates

50 weeks / year 40 hours / week 2000 hours
/ year So 40 / hour 80,000 / year And
If you make FTE Salary of 80,000, your
Rate is 40 / hour (ex-benefits) Your
Rate to Employer is 40/hour
Benefits Average IT work-week 48 hours If
your Salary is 80,000 and you work 48 hours, you
should be paid 96,000 !
29

• Rates Vary By . . . What you do

DBA / SA Support
PC / LAN Support
Training
Super Tech Specialists
Architects
Name Experts
lower
Help Desk

Design Architects
Documentation
higher
Management Consultants
Entry Level Positions
30

• Rates Vary By . . . Where you do it

New York
Large Shops
Architects
Small Shops
Rural areas
Big cities
Depressed areas
Silicon Valley
lower

Low-tech areas
High-tech centers
higher
Many other countries
1st world nations
Education
Government
Non-profits
Big Business
31

• How Much You Gotta Make ?

2 FICA ( 2 7.5 15 ) Benefits
Retirement (SEP-IRA or 401K) Health Insurance
(go Group) Disability Insurance
Other (employee health club, dental,
etc.) Corp Fees Tax prep Insurance
(General Liability) Unemployment Comp
Corp filing fees Etc. Bench Time ?
Assuming 1-person S-Corp ...
Good Rate 2 FTE Salary Marginal
1.5 FTE Salary
32

• Rates and Salaries ?

computerworld.com
realrates.com
informationweek.com
Sources
earthweb.com
dice.com
infoworld.com
itworld.com
Many others including careerbuilder.com,
salary.com, careerjournal.com, opm.gov/oca/payrat
es ...
33

• How Contract Programming
• Firms Work

President/ Founder
1
Join us, Buffy
Billing and Legal Treatment
Brokers / aka VPs
3
W-2s (salaried)
W-2s (hourly)
1099s
Contract Programmers
60
Corp-to-Corp
34

• How Brokers Make Money

The Broker makes the spread between what client
pays and what youll accept.
What Client pays 200,000/yr
100
What Broker makes 100,000/yr
What CP gets 100,000/yr
50
Most Brokers key on reducing your rate ! Are
this Brokers services worth 100,000 / year ?
Brokers get 10 - 60 typical 33
35

• Why You Care About the
• Brokers Mark-up

Some contractors like to say ... I dont care
what my broker makes as long as I make ____.
Big Mistake !
36

• Why You Care About the
• Brokers Mark-up

(1) The spread may be too large (youre
making less than you could) (2) Client bases
all retention decisions on their cost
(not what youre making!) Example Time
to reduce contractor costs !
Client Pays IT Pro
Gets Susie SE 225
60 You (brokered) 100
60 Joe Pure IC 80 80
Assuming all are equally useful...
Who they gonna keep ? Hint It aint gonna be
you ! Even though Joe makes more than you do!
(and why does Susie SE accept a rip off ?)
37

• How Recruiters Make Money

Upon placement, the Recruiter makes either (1)
Agreed-upon fee (2) Percent of new FTEs
1st-year salary
Example
New FTEs 1st-year salary 90,000/yr Recruiter
_at_33 makes 30,000
The Employer pays the Recruiter, gt the
Recruiter works for their interest ! Recruiter
is not your friend nor do you pay him. Do not
disclose your negotiating thoughts to the
Recruiter !
Recruiters get 10k - 40k per placement (20 -
33)
38

• Why are many Brokers / Recruiters Unethical ?

(see What You Are Paying Your Agent For, Sept
2000, In Contract Professional
at www.cpuniverse.com By Andrew Zanevsky
They do real work, they deserve to get paid
But their pay is sometimes outrageous as is
their behavior ! Why ? No startup / entry
costs No capital required No
manufacturing costs (pure profit potential)
Its all convincing (1) Client and (2) CP
Each placement really counts ! (eg place 3
FTEs you make 60k this year, place 6
and you make 120k ! ) This
brings out the greed in some people Superior
knowledge yields manipulative power
Client
Techie
39

• Example Sleazy Broker / Recruiter Practices

Selling resumes Enhancing your resume
w/o your knowledge Presenting your resume to
a client without your permission Page
Flipping Stealing / selling company
phonebooks Selling IT staff lists
Stripping references Bogus resume
cross-references Misrepresenting (lying) to
either Client or CP (esp. about Rates or the
Work to be done) Expenses never reimbursed
Non-payment Suing you as a form of
intimidation Keeping you on the line by
sending you to an inappropriate interview
Abusive contracts Abusive non-competes
Jennifers and Guys
Credit-check your broker www.experian.com _at_
20 - 30
40

• Why Brokers Predominate

IRS 1706 a Rider passed w/ 1986 Tax Act by
special interests Designed to force all IT
workers to Be employees To enhance role of
CP Firms Easier for IRS to collect taxes
Legally Ambiguous Allows IRS to reclassify
IC as an employee ! Burden of proof
penalties are on the Employer Practical
result -- (1) Many companies will not do
business w ICs
(1099s and S-Corps) (2) Brokers / CP Firms
flourish !! (3) Approved Vendor
Lists (AVLs)
Book on 1706 www.icca.org 27
Broker or CP Firm
Client
IC
Client
IC
41

• How to Handle 1706

Understand the 20 Questions Have
multiple clients -or- Stay at each client
lt 1 year Pay your taxes scrupulously (use
Enrolled Agent / CPA) Form multi-person IT
firm Use Umbrella Firm
Umbrella Firm Employer of record
Billing, Admin services Group-rate benefits
Umbrella Firm
See http//rmpcp.com/ or www.pacepros.com
Client
IC
42

• AVLs

Shields IT shop from potential IRS 1706
Liability Liability is the real reason for
AVLs (even though everybody says its a
cost issue)
AVL
Brokers ICs CP
ICs Firms ICs
Client
CP Firms
Subcontracting is an artificially created mess !
43

• IT Professionals Lose !

H1B
IRS 1706
IT Labor is Young Non-political
Unorganized Lobby-less in DC
UCITA
L1
Off- shoring
Out- sourcing
Special Interests are the greatest threat to
democracy in America
--
President Jimmy Carter Wish we had one --
Joe IT Professional
44

• Hiring -- IT Managers Viewpoint

Rules
Deluge of applicants But still expensive to
hire train gt Keyword matching on resumes
(by machine and HR) gt Tiny of applicants will
get interviewed X Non-conformant talent is
over-looked X They dont realize theres a 101
effectiveness ratio between
candidates ! X If youre just a resume in the
pile, you lose X If you dont know how the game
works, you lose X You need human contact to
get hired
Results
45

• 2 Hiring Responses

FACILITATORS
Is this person good? If yes, how do I
hire her? Deal-makers Problem-solvers
GATEWAYS
The Rules people I just work here
Require exact skills match HR
IDENTIFY KEY ON THE FACILITATORS !
46

• One Way to Sell Yourself

Your Calling Card quick Trump Card
10 seconds
Rule Specialization sells Exercise Define
your Calling Card Prioritize, define your
3-part pitch
Summary Who I am and what I can do for you
2 minutes
Resume Heres proof of what I can do for you
10 minutes
47

• One Way to Sell Yourself -- Example

Calling Card-- Hi, Im Bob, a certified Oracle
DBA with 8 years
hands-on experience Summary -- I noticed you
use 9i under AIX. You must be
kidding. I specialize in performance issues
like those you face because
I just did a major
performance analysis on an
AIX data warehouse last year. Are you
having any issues with slow-running
queries? Resume-- its carefully worded and
well thought out, it was in
your hand, and now youve put
it in hers. Bob forgot to mention that the
data warehouse he worked on was still on Oracle
7 hell mention that later...
48

• Human Contact is How to Get Hired

Most people hire who they know -- Limits
risk Reduces time Easier
60 of jobs filled through Networking
(Challenger, Gray Christmas) You
must key on personal contact
49

• Business Cards

Hand them out judiciously IT pros often
dont because of recruiter behavior
Talk with person
No
Yes
Bork ?
Trade cards
good luck!
50

• Resumes

Purpose -- meet their needs (not
describe yourself) (its not about
you) Gets you an interview, doesnt get you
the job! Specialization sells gt Customized
resumes Buzzwords sell -- Verbose
-- Wrong format -- Spelling Errors
-- Too long ? Know it its computer
scanned, tailor your resume for it ? Be careful
about web posting
51

• Certification ?

Joe SA
Industry trend Vary by the Cert
Cost Difficulty Marketability
Enforces -- Vendor-dependency --
Specialization (at expense of generalization) --
Keeping up-to-date is a chore Becoming a
requirement for some IC roles (sometimes a Trump
Card)
See certmag.com, and brainbuzz.com
Determine a Certs value to your career before
you start working towards it
If you are Inexperienced -- use it for instant
credibility If you are Experienced -- its
just another hoop to jump through
52

• Certification ?

Joe SA
Understand how vendors view Certs ! -- It
commits you to their technology (since
few people certify with gt 1 product
among competing products) -- It mates your
career to their product -- They believe that
this ensures you will promote their
product (and be their unpaid salesperson) --
They can use cert upgrades as leverage to try
to force product upgrades -- You are
giving them some power over your career
53

• You Need a Longevity Plan

Average contract consultant lasts 6 years
By age 40, lt 22 of IT technicians still do
technical work

Why ? -- Technical change -- Burnout --
Business model change -- Industry change
Choice Career evolution
Involuntary
Voluntary
Change will happen, be prepared to handle it!

As per Computerworld
54

• How Skills Become Obsolete -- Example

1983 1993
2003
Unixes
Linuxes
OS/2
MVS
Windows (desktop server)
Primary 2ndary Obsolete
DOS
VM
Linuxes
MVS
Unixes
DOS
MVS
VM
DOS
Exercise map your chart for OSs, DBMSs, Pgming
Languages, etc.
OS/2
55

• Skills for Optimal Success

Business Skills (Taxes, liability, finding
clients, selling yourself)
Rule Technical skills plus other skills yield
greater success than technical skills alone
Technical Skills
Personal Skills (Psychological, Sociological, Lea
dership)
Corollary Technical skills are only the
necessary precondition for larger success
New Technical Skills
56

• Contracts

You have legally agreed to what your contract
says Nothing anybody says matters.
They are serious You better understand
them Everything is negotiable 2-party
versus brokered or subcontracted (3-party)
Or pay a lawyer to understand them for you.
Offensive provisions are commonplace,
negotiate out the worst
Non-compete Non-disclosure Unlimited
Liability Location of adjucation
Severability Software warranty
See sample contracts at realrates.com and icca.org
57

• Contracts

Its always trickier to negotiate a 3-party
deal than a 2-party deal You always want
to negotiate directly with the customer, if
you can. You dont want info filtered by a 3rd
party with their own agenda.
Which looks simpler to you ?
You
Customer
You
Customer
Broker
58

• Insurance

1-person Corp
Larger Corp
General Liability (GL) Errors
Omissions (EO) (400 - 600)
Workmans Comp
Employee
Liability
Fidelity Bond
Other Bonds

Company Auto
Etc.
( thousands)
See www.ccbsure.com www.techinsurance.com
59

• Why Liability Predominates

0 cost to Plaintiff to launch lawsuit
Yes No
Plaintiff wins
Defendant pays to plaintiff, plaintiff shares
with lawyer
0 cost to Plaintiff
Defendant pays for legal fees
Contigency Fee System makes the U.S. the Land of
Lawsuits. Law Suit Lotto no cost to play, and
you just might win !
60

• How Do You Pay Yourself ?

S-Corp gt Corp Accounting, plus 4
quarterly tax filings plus year-end Alternatives
Do it yourself PC-software
HR Block CPA
Enrolled IRS Agent
I didnt know!
Your S-Corp
payroll
all income
You
FICA (2 7.5) Fed WH Tax State WH Tax
Corp expenses
All Corp accounting must be separate from your
personal finances
61

• Finances Retirement

Learn how to invest (or pay someone to do it
for you) Investments determine how well
youll live after retiring Vehicles
SEP-IRA Supplemental SEP SAR-SEP
401K Regular Roth IRAs Annuities (Fixed
and Variable) Stocks vs Bonds vs Cash vs Real
Estate vs Etc.
I quit !
62

• How to Get Gigs / Jobs

Pay Someone to find them
Direct Marketing
Indirect Marketing
Brokers (Recruiters)
Do what Brokers do (Be your own bork)
Do what Brokers cant do Clients come
to you due to your visibility
gig me, baby !
63

• How to do Direct Marketing

Where Its business Its structure
ID Companies
Software Hardware Size IT dept.
structure
ID their Technologies
Who Titles / positions / roles Phone s
/ email addresses
ID Contacts
Takes time Difficult due to changes The
hard part !
Create/maintain Relationships
64

• Where to get Direct Marketing Info

Lists Local business directories
Purchase IT magazine mailing lists Other
lists (eg conference lists, proceedings,
user groups, software vendor lists,
hardware vendor lists, lotteries, etc.) Online
Online discussion groups boards
(automated scanning) Company websites Job
websites Popular techie websites Print
Newspapers (Sunday Tribune) IT trade
magazines Face-to-Face Conferences, User
Group meetings, Trade Associations, industry
meetings, networking events, etc.
65

• Indirect Marketing
• (Marketing through Visibility)

Move around within a long-term client Teach
a class Participate in online forums Write
magazine articles Be quoted in magazines
Write for web zines Give presentations Be a
user group leader Develop freeware / open
source software Write a book Informal
networking (FTF at conferences, user groups,
etc) IC letter to employment ads - printed /
online
66
Indirect Marketing

• -- How to Keep a Long-term Client
• (Transfer around within 1 client)

Be best on your team Have a reasonable
rate Work for all managers Make no
enemies Appearances count Results count
(not reasons aka excuses) Manage your
emotions Sociological psychological insights
key
Long-term survival is a sociological endeavor
-- Contract Survivor, H. Fosdick
in Contract Professional Feb 2001 at
www.cpuniverse.com
67
Indirect Marketing
-- Teach a Class
-- Pay low Satisfaction high
Institutions

• Vocational

Research
Biz partners, leads, CPs
Company co-founders
My experience -- 0 leads
? Yours ?
68
Indirect Marketing

• -- Internet Discussions

Functions as your public job interview Pick
right forum (topic, audience, activity-level)
Dont flame / be professional
(managers do not hire opinionated flamers!)
What you say could be held against you
(eg you say DB2 sucks then later
apply for a job at
IBM) Youre not talking to a person, youre
talking to the world ! Experience -- Good
leads Friends and learning, too! Easy,
fun -- Brokers/Recruiters scan them -- Spam
69
Indirect Marketing
-- Networking
Must be a two-way interaction Some people
consider networking a one-way street but
this doesnt work (for long) You gotta give to
get Getting a job today requires the personal
touch
70
Indirect Marketing

• -- Write Magazine Articles

How to Get Published -- Call editor with your
idea Match the style, length, content of
what they print Be Accurate respect their
deadlines Editors will rewrite your
English Improve with practice Experience
-- -- Pay poor -- Some declined due to
web Satisfying 1 - 20 leads /
article (depends on magazine)
71
Indirect Marketing

• -- Be Quoted in Magazines

How to Get In -- Be a real IT contact for
a staff writer Respect their deadlines
Return their calls fast! Be quotable Be
up on imminent announcements Just
call a journalist who wrote a story,
give your reaction, tell him youre
quotable Experience -- Makes you the
expert Good leads -- Disruptive to your
schedule
72
Indirect Marketing

• -- Write for Web Zines

How to Get Published -- Send editors an
email and describe your idea --
Not refereed, lack status -- Readership
varies -- Pay poor Satisfying gt
Suggest Print/Zine combo Experience --
Some leads ? Your results ?
73
Indirect Marketing

• -- Give Presentations

A Public Job Interview Users Groups
Conferences For-profit organizations
Great visibility Establishes you as an
expert Experience -- Good Leads ?
Your results ?
74
Indirect Marketing

• -- Be a User Group Member

Pick a group that does what you want
to do Raises your profile Instant peer
group They have forums / online presence --
Unpaid time commitment Experience -- Good
Leads Personal development too ? Your
results ?
75
Indirect Marketing

• -- Be a User Group Leader

High visibility Instant credibility
Online presence (be a Sysop / moderator) -- Time
intensive (unpaid) Experience -- Great
Leads Personal development Speaking
skills Leadership skills ? Your results ?
76
Indirect Marketing

• -- Develop A Freeware Product

A Product displays your talents plus provides
the foundation for your company ! (If youre a
Web Developer, make your resume a wow
website) Example successes from the Oracle
world Alertview TOAD Statspack
Viewer For a very few people, this is a great
approach
77
Indirect Marketing

• -- Develop Open Source
• Software

Show off your abilities Instant peer
group A real reason for social interaction
Become part of a community while you
gain new skills -- Unpaid
If this suits your personality, its a great
approach !
78
Indirect Marketing

• -- Write a Book

How to Get Published gt Contact Publishers
Expertise (She wrote the book on it!)
Satisfaction -- Effort Required -- Pay
-- Quickly Obsolescent
of authors

of authors
1 2 3 4 books written
79

• Resources for ICs
• -- Associations

ICCA (Independent Computer Consultants
Association)
The only association for ICs (and also others as
associates) Membership is by firm www.icca.org
www.icca-chicago.org Dues 175 - 275 /
year Chicago 30 - 40 / meeting They hold an
annual conference
(Subject to change, check their websites)
NASE (National Association for the Self-Employed)
www.nase.org Not IT-specific
80

• Resources for ICs
• -- Associations

The Programmers Guild
Association plus a lobby effort http//programmer
sguild.org/american.htm
The Software Contractors Guild
Matches people with gigs http//scguild.com/
81

• More Resources for ICs

• Websites for Contractors
• Forums www.realrates.com
• http//pub21.ezboard.com/bopenitforum
• Umbrellas http//rmpcp.com/
• www.pacepros.com
• Associations www.icca.org
• www.nase.org
• http//programmersguild.org/american.htm
• http//scguild.com/
• Magazine www.cpuniverse.com
• Illinois Law www.ilsos.net
• Gigs etc www.1099.com
• www.guru.com

Magazine Contract Professional at
www.cpuniverse.com -- You can read their
back issues online
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• More Resources for ICs

Spend 4 hours reading these forums and youll
know way more than most IT jobseekers learn in a
lifetime www.realrates.com
http//pub21.ezboard.com/bopenitforum
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• More Resources for ICs

Books Janet Ruhl Computer Job
Survival Guide Answers for Computer
Contractors Computer Consultants Workbook
Computer Consultants Guide Herman
Holtz How to Succeed as an IC The
Business Plan Guide for ICs Consultants
Guide to Getting Business on the Internet
Gerald Weinberg Secrets of Consulting
Peter Meyer Getting Started in Computer
Consulting
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• To Learn More...

No
Yes
FTE ?
Read Ruhls IC books -or- Peter
Meyers book
Read Ruhls Computer Job Survival Guide
Check out websites like realrates.com
others listed. Do some googles.
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