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Re: consulting fees



Aloha!

Sounds like a good formula until you actually present it to the client!  If
it's an institution that has their own archivists (special project) they
compare your fee to what their staff makes hourly and conclude that you're
demanding too much (forgetting  that you're paying your own taxes, etc.).
If its an institution that has no archivist they may still balk at the
hourly, forgetting that we are professionals and look for cheaper
alternatives ("Why can't a secretary do it?").  The rare organization who
understands our worth is often the one who can least afford what we're truly
worth. I currently charge $40/hr and have been told time and time again that
I'm under-pricing myself. What I'll often do is not charge for time I spent
researching at home, travel time, meetings and/or other time not actually
processing. Foolish, I know!  I've always made the supplies as a separate
line item and they always end up lumping it together when they pay me, hence
my 1009-MISC and General Excise Tax includes the cost of supplies. Keep your
day job and consider such contracts a community service cause you definitely
can't make a living at it!

Helen Wong Smith, MLIS, CA

-----Original Message-----
From:   Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU] On Behalf
Of Ellen Chapman
Sent:   Tuesday, April 16, 2002 9:53 AM
To:     ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject:        Re: consulting fees

On Tue, 16 Apr 2002, Jason T. Larson wrote:

> Someone else told me that a fair rate was 2-3 times what you would make
> hourly if you were employed full-time by whomever hired you as a
consultant.

Charging 2-3 time more is a good idea because you will be responsible for
all/most of the supplies, and more importantly, for ALL Social Security
taxes (about 15% vs. only half that when an employee for an org.)

Ellen Chapman
Univ. of Hawaii Library

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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>