Staying Tethered

It is now very easy for the mobile worker to produce billable work while on a ski holiday.  I'm not referring to some sort of client schmooze, or a seminar in Aspen on behalf of some large corporate employer, though these are both highly respected and sought-after ways to get paid by just about anyone who skis.   No, what I mean is that, using the technology now available, a consultant can keep up to date on email, answer calls, work on code and deploy software from virtually anywhere in the world thanks to 3g Cellular data networks and powerful, portable computers.  In my case, a Macbook Pro and an iPhone.  

Hands down, my favourite thing about the iPhone is the Tethering feature.  This allows the phone to act as a wireless hotspot for my laptop.  It's actually quite fast - averaging about 2 Mbps download, which is only slightly slower than my home dsl service.  Where I live (Toronto, Canada) my cell carrier (Rogers) requires that I subscribe to a 1GB data plan in order to use the Tethering functionality.  This runs me about $65 per month.  

It's dead-easy to use.  On my Macbook, I just click on the bluetooth icon, scroll down to "iPhone", and select "Connect to Network".  In about 10 seconds, I'm on-line and doing anything I can do in the office.  I'm using virtualization software to run Microsoft Windows XP on my macintosh. I believe it is possible to obtain the same connectivity using a Windows pc, but I can't speak to the effort of setting it up.

Independent Consultants who are any good provide quick response to phone calls - new business prospects move on if you don't follow-up instantly.  Existing customers expect a certain level of support.  Installed code needs to work.  If your macro's break down during report crunch time, and you can't get to it until next Monday... ugh. it's a major falling down and this can impact other people, cost you business, and destroy your credibility and self-esteem... well, maybe not all that, but it depends on the standards you set for yourself.  

With the right tools we can avoid touchy situations and still do the things we love: An email comes through on the chairlift at 10:30 am, asking for help.  You bomb back to the cabin for a 20 minute bug fix, uploading the 10MB file to your grateful client.  You then fire off a quote for another job that came in, and slide back to the slopes for a few more runs before Lunch.  After the skiing (or wake-boarding, or golfing, or whatever sort of lifestyle you're trying to include in your life) is done for they day, you might put in a few hours more before dinner just to keep on top of ongoing projects.     

In olden times, before mobile office technology, we had to work for companies and book annual vacation time, during which we forgot about work for two weeks and let other people take care of things.  But then for the rest of the year we had to show up every weekday, right on time, and stay there all day long.  Times are changing.  

The many sides of self-employment

Over the years I have worked on many projects for a variety of employers. Living and working in Toronto, Canada's financial hub, the majority of this work has been for large corporations - which means spending the day in a cubicle. It seems so cliche to diss the cube farm, but diss it I must, because I have forsaken the corporate world and all it's "perks" in favour of the more challenging, lower paying, lonely life of the stay-at-home worker.

The main deciding factor in this transition was my preference for programming with Excel. Many corporate roles entail Excel use, and some even require macro programming skills, but I never managed to find a full-time position where I could create power macros and "genius" spreadsheets all day long, which is something I truly love to do. So I opted for the next best thing: becoming a consultant and taking on jobs for business at large.

Now I get to say exactly what I will work on, where and when it happens, and for whom. I can broaden or constrict my "sphere of acceptability" as necessary, according to how lean things get. I get to work on different projects all the time, and nobody tells me what to wear. The result: I never have to sit at a desk, staring at a clock, praying for the end of the working day. I also get to avoid commuting by subway, dull and insufferable co-workers, sick building syndrome, elevator news, galoshes, food courts, florescent lights, staff meetings, doorway smokers, kiosks, falling glass and noon-time birthday parties.

Sound like a dream? Not so fast... I think I already alluded to lower-pay - when you bill by the hour, you really only get paid for hours worked, unless you're corrupt, in which case you won't keep your customers for long. I once had a friend who worked for a pretty cool software company. He was bragging about his unusually large salary and how he got paid every week, no matter what he did or when he showed up. His most startling claim was that he got paid more in the time it took him to go to the toilet than the food had cost! If all you care about is money, perhaps this is the way to go. But I learned some time ago that "quality of life" is really the goal, and since you spend a big chunk of your life working, "work" needs to be quality time too.

I've been working out of a home office for three years now, and I'm very satisfied with my decision. But I am coping with a few issues, such as having nobody to talk to, and no manager to enforce deadlines or check my output. As a programmer, some of the skills I now possess came from working and interacting with other programmers. As a one-man show, I really miss that peer review, and rely on web forums and email as a pale substitute. (I also catch myself talking to the cat a bit too often, but that may be a symptom of something else.) Another thing I miss: all the free software and hardware you get when you work for someone else's company. And don't forget the added burden of marketing yourself, record-keeping and tax filing. Then there's that start-up period when you're building your business, and you have long stretches of time with no billable hours to show for it. Those can be very discouraging indeed.

There are quite a few challenges with the work-from-home, work for yourself lifestyle - it's risky and sometimes frustrating, but I have no regrets. If you are able to do it, (perhaps with the help of a partner who is also employed,) it is amazing how much simpler and pleasant life can be. Good luck to anyone who decides to make the leap.  Now, if only I could find a way to move the family out to the country...

Winning Strategies for Success

This post is written mostly for Excel developers who work as consultants in the Freelance realm. When you engage a new client, there are a few things you can do right to ensure success, which comes in the form of repeat business. Here are my recommendations:

1. Contain the Scope
The client has a specific business problem, and needs your help solving it. Obtain crystal clear agreement on what the problem is and what the solution must contain - in writing if possible. Don't throw on a bunch of extras because you think they are needed or interesting - that's another project.

Scope Creep occurs when the client (or you) ask for extras and you include them in a project that is already underway - suddenly the finish line you all thought was there has moved. Out the window goes your estimate and the client's acceptance of it. Save up any add-ons for a phase 2 deliverable.

2. Provide Good Value
The client is taking a considerable risk hiring you, both in money and time. Aim to break-even on the first job if you think there's a chance of follow-on work. Come in too high and you either won't get the job, or if you do, the client won't feel like they got their money's worth. The client's capacity to pay is a factor here: Citigroup won't blink at that $100/hour rate, but Joe's Accounting probably can't swallow it. Once you have established your value and gained the client's respect and trust, you can safely pad your quote with a reasonable margin - we all have to make a living!

3. Support Your Work
Is the solution correct? On your machine, it is, but who knows what will happen on the Client's network. Don't deliver your code to the client the day before you go on vacation - until they sign-off, consider it untested. Answer questions and address issues the instant they are reported to you. No matter how busy you are, code that has shipped but not been paid for yet is your biggest priority. Give unquestioning support at this stage, and you cement yourself as a committed partner to the client's business.

Watch out! What the client calls a bug may be something they forgot to ask for up front... tread lightly as you educate them on what is "in scope" and what is a phase 2 change request.

4. Design for Scallability
Why write an import routine when, with a small amount of extra effort, you can write an import engine? The data requirements or inputs of any project will change over time. If you need to dig into your old code and update a bunch of cell references every time this happens, your solution becomes a liability to both you and the client.

All layout information used by your code should be read from a setup table. When the particulars change, you simply update the setup values and you're done - or get the client to do it himself. You can focus on real work and the client doesn't get nickled-and-dimed on the maintenance. Even better, the likelyhood of your code being reusable goes way up, and reusing code is all margin baby!