Going out on my own

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Author Message Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 02:41 pm:    It is time for me to make the leap from employed specifier to unemployed....er.....independent specifier. What do I need to know about working on my own? What should I be cautious of and what do I have to look forward to? Any advice and helpful hints would be appreciated. Nathan Woods, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 211 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 02:43 pm:    THere was an excellent thread on this just a few months ago. It's here in this forum. Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 02:45 pm:    Thanks. What was the name of the thread? I can't seem to find it. Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 200 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 04:08 pm:    Come to SCIP Day next week (Tuesday June 19) in Baltimore and talk to independent specifiers. We are not bashful about giving advice or opinions. Dave Metzger SCIP Treasurer Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 04:24 pm:    In what region of the US will you be hanging your shingle? Some advice I have for you is dependent on the region. Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 05:33 pm:    I also need to know what region as I work for a large Architecture firm that needs to hire independent spec consultants. We have way to much work this year to do them all in-house. Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 06:50 pm:    My biggest concern is how do I estimate and how do I charge? Anonymous   Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 07:07 pm:    That's pretty simple. Divide the amount you want to earn by the number of hours you want to work, and that's your hourly rate :-) Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 112 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 07:35 pm:    In addition to all the great info from other independents... you may want to look at some basic business books, and books specific to being a consultant. Remember- you are not charging for your TIME - you are charging for you knowledge and the value you bring to the project. I have an hourly rate for hourly work (small add services) and I use it as a rough barometer for estimating fees, but I also look at the project size and complexity, how difficult the client is (some require much more babysitting than others), the schedule etc. Hopefully, you will be in Baltimore next week to take advantage of all of the experiences we have already had and are willing to share. What region are you in???? Ron Beard CCS Senior Member Username: rm_beard_ccs Post Number: 205 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 10:20 pm:    <My biggest concern is how do I estimate and how do I charge?> If your client is still smiling after you have quoted your fee, you've charged too little. Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 634 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 07:01 am:    You need to get in touch with Ron Geren, CSI, who was one of the more recent "transitionals" who went the route you're looking at. Am sure he is a wealth of "what to do", and he will be at the Show next week-- look him up. Great guy! Ann Baker (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 03:34 pm:    I know a few independent specifiers who work all over the country (sometimes all over the world) so I'm curious about the questions here about "region". For y'all independents out there - and I wish I were one of you - does location matter that much anymore, with email, ftp sites, and overnight courier service? I'm curious. Ronald L. Geren, RA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 482 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 04:04 pm:    Depends on the client. Some want to have face-to-face interaction with you, while others don't care. I had one client in your area (Denver) that if I walked by him on the street I'd never know it because I never met him personally. With email, I could be in Kuwait and work (wait a second...I did that). Robert W. Johnson Senior Member Username: bob_johnson Post Number: 146 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 04:34 pm:    I moved 2/3's of the way across the country about 3 years ago (from Baltimore to New Mexico). At the time I didn't know what the effect would be on my consulting business - turns out there has not been any effect. None of my clients had any concern about where I was located (admittedly a majority of those clients have known me well from past associations). Although I could have done this technically quite a few years ago, I think that it is only in the last few years that people in the industry were probably ready for it. The primary requirements are to have a telephone, a fax, a good internet connection, and that the FedEx man can find your door. I live at a 7000 foot elevation up in the mountains outside of Albuquerque and could easily achieve all of the above in a rural mountain setting. In three years I have only picked up a couple of new clients in local area - I have not done any proactive marketing of my services in the local area since I already have enough work. Like Ron Geren, I also have picked up several new clients that I have never met face to face - only phone coversations and email communication - they found me thru the SCIP directory, my website, or thru the network of people who know me. In my experience as a consultant, I have found that only special circumstances on a few projects require a face-to-face meeting - usually when the design professional wants you to attend a special meeting with other project team participants or the owner-client. I am not trying to say that this is the way everyone should operate with all clients and projects, but it certainly seems to work for the clients I work with and the type of work I do. I believe Ron Beard's spending his summers in the Far West away from his home base of Washington DC metro area illustrates the same capability. Ron Beard CCS Senior Member Username: rm_beard_ccs Post Number: 207 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 05:34 pm:    Due to the internet, I have found that location of the specifier has very little impact on the specification process. Time zones have been an impediment at times, however. As Bob says, I spend my summer months in Glacier National Park, West Glacier actually which is not at 7,000 feet elevation, but is on the boundary river of the Park. I try to hike the Park every Thursday with a group of old farts called the “Over-the-Hill Gang” which is made up of a group of 50 to 70 years and one 86 year old who I usually like to hike with so I don’t embarrass myself. I come to Montana in mid-May and return in mid-October and have been doing so for the last seven years. My telephone numbers, both voice and fax, are diverted here so many people don’t even know I’m not in Maryland. I give myself away when I see a bear swimming across the river and I yell “Wow, look at that!!” into the phone - then I have to explain myself. I concur with all of Bob’s comments with the exception that I am finding less and less need for a fax. I am considering switching to an internet fax service and saving the money on a separate fax line. I have tried to market my services here in northwest Montana without success. Architects just stare at me when I identify myself as a specifications consultant – a what!? Specs are not very important out here. Mostly because the contractors are the old fashioned kind that write a contract on the back of an envelope and really work with the architects and owners. The good news is having been in independent practice for over 30 years I have little need to market even in the DC-Baltimore area. The amount of work I have had the last two years has really put a cramp into my hiking. Seven years ago, I was commenting on the phone with one of my best clients, who was only about 10 miles away, that I only actually see him about once a year. I told him that I might as well be in Montana and he said: “Why not.” The rest is history. About 50% of my clients, I have never met or very rarely see. I have never tried teleconferencing but have thought about it on occasion. PS: Congratulation Bob on your recent achievement and honor. Lynn Javoroski CSI CCS LEED™ AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 608 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 05:57 pm:    Hey, Ron, on another note, I have relatives in Whitefish. How close are you to there? lynnjav@charter.net is my home eddress. Robert W. Johnson Senior Member Username: bob_johnson Post Number: 147 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 06:20 pm:    I agree with Ron about the fax - it is my least used means of communication, and one that I don't ecourage; I find it a pain to use most of the time (and I remember back around 1980 when it was the latest and greatest - I remember when a project team I was on including Owner, Architect, Engineeers, and Contractor all bought the same brand of new machines (only way it would work then) so we could communicate by fax - we thought we were pretty cool). The great majority of my communication is email (some telephone) with drawings usually delivered by FedEx. Robert W. Johnson Senior Member Username: bob_johnson Post Number: 148 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Friday, June 15, 2007 - 06:26 pm:    On another note - thanks to Ron for the congrats and to all the rest of you out there that have made similar comments in the discussionn forum, sent emails, sent letters, and called - much appreciated - thanks!!!!!! Looking forward to next week and some fun times with my many CSI friends! Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 116 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2007 - 10:38 am:    i was asking about the region because I am desperately trying to find someone to hire here in Phoenix... I have a number of clients that want to see me face to face all the time. I also am working on projects in the 1/2 Billion to 4 Billion dollar range that require a lot of meetings - so it depends on the type of work you pursue. I am planning on spending a month this summer in Colorado, working remotely - I think that is about how long I can be away, I will let you all know how it works out. W. Dean Walker, AIA, CCS, SCIP Senior Member Username: wdwalkerspecs Post Number: 16 Registered: 08-2006 Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 12:54 pm:    I agree with Bob and Ron, that place of specifications consulting business is immaterial. With all research and communication done on the internet and telephone, where you access that information is not important. We have a cottage on a small private lake in Michigan. With cable internet access and good phone service I have frequently worked from there and plan to do more of it this summer. I will soon cancel my second line here which has been used strictly for FAX. The FAX is just taking up space on the shelf. My clients make PDF’s of their markups and E-mail them. The markups in red color are easier to read as a PDF than if they are sent by regular FAX. For product data they just send a link and I E-mail option questions back if not clear. Caller ID is good because you can often answer a caller by their first name. Having a main office in a suburb of Chicago is a good thing in the winter because I have easy access to the city via commuter train to attend evening CSI and AIA meetings and events. I also couple those meeting with visits to clients.