Re:Ask HN: How do you find freelance work?
by mgleason_3 on Thursday March 22, 2018 @06:24PM
(#16653266)
So with you brother!
Had a "friend" call me the other day and say: "My old tech-guy retired and won't help me anymore. I hired a new company and they're charging me $150/hr for troubleshooting, which they're slow at and my secretary ended up fixing the last problem. So I don't want to use them. I really need a new Quickbooks server and computers. Can you do this for me - I'll pay you!"
I tell him I'm not the right person, but he's having none of it. "Come-on, I'm in a spot. I'll pay you!"
I hang up and I'm stewing. But, I can't really put my finger on why I'm so pissed off.
So, I'm sorting through this idea and keep having these "WAIT" moments - short for "What Am I Thinking" (probably should be WTFAIT, but..)
My sorting goes like this:
- I could do this - I could help him out. I know Windows, I've heard of Quickbooks. I've set up my own network.
- WAIT-I work on a MBP and only touch windows intermittently.
- I don't know QuickBooks. Maybe I can look up what I need on the internet (go off and search...find a few issues like the version he has doesn't work on Windows 10)
- WAIT-I don't deal with this stuff day-to-day - I'm going to run into unforeseen issues. But, I can mitigate that by researching it ahead of time. But it's risky - I could miss something.
- It's not fair for him to have to pay me for all those hours researching stuff I don't know.
- WAIT-I'm going to do this on my own time?
- But he's in a spot. And I could make a few bucks on the side when he needs additional stuff going forward.
- WAIT-I could end up having to fix any issues that come up for a long time. Like months, years.
- It's hard to find good tech support, right?
...and on...
- WAIT-There's plenty of tech support out there. He's gotta know hundreds. Why is he calling me?
Finally...I realize that my "friend" is like many small businesses - cheap. He's hoping I'll treat it like a hobby, charge him a low hourly rate, and eat all the hours I spend getting up to speed. Sorta like doing charity work - but not for a charity.
- Then I called him back and said: "I'm not the right person to do this. It's not that I'm being modest. It's that even though I know there are some pitfalls, I don't know what all the pitfalls are. Which could mean spending a ton of time, making mistakes and who knows what else. So, if you want to do this on your own, I'm willing to help. But it would be just as a friend and I couldn't possibly charge you for it."
Had a "friend" call me the other day and say: "My old tech-guy retired and won't help me anymore. I hired a new company and they're charging me $150/hr for troubleshooting, which they're slow at and my secretary ended up fixing the last problem. So I don't want to use them. I really need a new Quickbooks server and computers. Can you do this for me - I'll pay you!"
I tell him I'm not the right person, but he's having none of it. "Come-on, I'm in a spot. I'll pay you!"
I hang up and I'm stewing. But, I can't really put my finger on why I'm so pissed off.
So, I'm sorting through this idea and keep having these "WAIT" moments - short for "What Am I Thinking" (probably should be WTFAIT, but..)
My sorting goes like this: - I could do this - I could help him out. I know Windows, I've heard of Quickbooks. I've set up my own network. - WAIT-I work on a MBP and only touch windows intermittently. - I don't know QuickBooks. Maybe I can look up what I need on the internet (go off and search...find a few issues like the version he has doesn't work on Windows 10) - WAIT-I don't deal with this stuff day-to-day - I'm going to run into unforeseen issues. But, I can mitigate that by researching it ahead of time. But it's risky - I could miss something. - It's not fair for him to have to pay me for all those hours researching stuff I don't know. - WAIT-I'm going to do this on my own time? - But he's in a spot. And I could make a few bucks on the side when he needs additional stuff going forward. - WAIT-I could end up having to fix any issues that come up for a long time. Like months, years. - It's hard to find good tech support, right?
...and on...
- WAIT-There's plenty of tech support out there. He's gotta know hundreds. Why is he calling me?
Finally...I realize that my "friend" is like many small businesses - cheap. He's hoping I'll treat it like a hobby, charge him a low hourly rate, and eat all the hours I spend getting up to speed. Sorta like doing charity work - but not for a charity.
- Then I called him back and said: "I'm not the right person to do this. It's not that I'm being modest. It's that even though I know there are some pitfalls, I don't know what all the pitfalls are. Which could mean spending a ton of time, making mistakes and who knows what else. So, if you want to do this on your own, I'm willing to help. But it would be just as a friend and I couldn't possibly charge you for it."
I haven't heard back form him...