Thread by @QuinnyPig

Controversial independent consulting advice. I'm certain I'll get yelled at for at least some of this. A thread: (1/17)

Charge more. (2/17)

It's natural to want to do everything in your professional area. Resist it; specialize in one expensive problem. (3/17)

Never bill by the hour. (4/17)

Work for free before you work for cheap. (5/17)

"Payment is also accepted in lieu of a signature" is a great end-run around large corporate legal teams. Lots of people are authorized to sign large checks but not documents. (6/17)

If you bill up front, and the problem is expensive, "NET 30" looks a lot more like "NET 30 minutes." (7/17)

Charge more. (8/17)

Bill fixed fee. Derive that fee from the value you provide rather than what it costs you to provide it. (9/17)

Don't do business with people you dislike. Large checks are tempting, but terrible people have a way of becoming even worse clients. (10/17)

Be a nice person. Have good contracts. Have business insurance. Have a legal entity. Used in that order, you won't go personally bankrupt. (11/17)

Don't apologize for your fee. (12/17)

Don't lower your fee without also lowering the scope of work. (13/17)

Ask questions to your customers. You probably already know the answers. (14/17)

Holy crap, you didn't expect that answer! Exactly. That's why we ask questions. (15/17)

Charge more. (16/17)

Thanks to @patio11, @mike_julian, @jonathanstark, @sehurlburt, and countless others for smacking me around (directly and indirectly) for the last few years to ingrain these.
(17/17)

I'm Corey Quinn and I fix the horrifying @awscloud bill.