Interesting information about the @ symbol. Well, in my opinion, anyway.

Well, perhaps the value of your dollar, and definitely the value of my time.

I was reading a friend’s personal blog (he lives halfway across the country and it’s an easy way to keep up-to-date) and he mentioned an issue with an IT consulting and repair job that he had. He works in IT for a larger company, but contracts out his spare time for consulting and hands-on LAN administration. His quote was for a certain amount of work, as described by the client, but now more work needs to be done and the client is not willing to pay for it. My friend doesn’t want to get screwed out of payment for the work he’s already doen, but also doesn’t want to get taken advantage of.

The situation I’m in relates to a proposal, of sorts. The posting was for a parttime job, but the response was, “How would you do X?” I didn’t really understand what X was, but I responded with an answer. (Roughly $45 worth of consulting.) The nature of X was further clarified and I’m in the process of a new response now. (Adding another $60 worth of consulting.) Unfortunately, none of this work is necessarily leading to a paying job, and I’m not completely sure that my contact is looking to me to do the work. I have a feeling that he’s trying to get as much information as possible and then get one person to implement several people’s “suggestions.”

So, the question is, “Where does one draw the line?” Do I start by providing a free estimate, and write off the cost as the cost of doing business? Or do I ensure that my preliminary analysis is paid for, then contract to do the work?

In my situation, I’m willing (for now) to provide the advice free of charge and see what comes out of it. At least, I have some more experience with the analysis, consulting and reporting. But in future, I think I will be clear about how much free advice I will dispense before it becomes paid consulting.

For my friend, I would suggest finishing the project, take whatever they’ll pay and learn from the experience. I would also advise that in future my friend save himself some time and provide a free (or acceptably priced) estimate, with a written report, including estimated costs. If the recommendations of the report are accepted, then he can contract an acceptable price to do the work. Or the client can get another opinion or contract someone else to complete the work.

Where do you draw the line?