Comments on: the professional hitman http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/ thoughtful personal finance, career and health advice Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:46:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Weekly Links: 9/5/9 With a bit of Random Knowledge http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28973 Weekly Links: 9/5/9 With a bit of Random Knowledge Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:10:42 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28973 [...] Bripblap-The Professional Hitman [...] [...] Bripblap-The Professional Hitman [...]

]]> By: jeff http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-29571 jeff Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:10:48 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-29571 It sounds like a great plan. I'd love to know if you can get it to work. Sometimes, things just make too much sense to NOT do, but ohhhhh, the corporate world. It sounds like a great plan. I'd love to know if you can get it to work. Sometimes, things just make too much sense to NOT do, but ohhhhh, the corporate world.

]]> By: jeff http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28963 jeff Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:10:48 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28963 It sounds like a great plan. I'd love to know if you can get it to work. Sometimes, things just make too much sense to NOT do, but ohhhhh, the corporate world. It sounds like a great plan. I'd love to know if you can get it to work. Sometimes, things just make too much sense to NOT do, but ohhhhh, the corporate world.

]]> By: Weekly Roundup - Patient Lottery Winner Edition | Frugal Dad http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28958 Weekly Roundup - Patient Lottery Winner Edition | Frugal Dad Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:02:04 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28958 [...] The Professional Hitman [...] [...] The Professional Hitman [...]

]]> By: Make Your Own Designer Clothes? The Price of Fashion | Debt, Credit Card & Consolidation Current News Digest http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28957 Make Your Own Designer Clothes? The Price of Fashion | Debt, Credit Card & Consolidation Current News Digest Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:00:42 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28957 [...] Brip Blap: The Professional Hitman [...] [...] Brip Blap: The Professional Hitman [...]

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]]> By: Make Your Own Designer Clothes? The Price of Fashion http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28956 Make Your Own Designer Clothes? The Price of Fashion Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:50:58 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28956 [...] Brip Blap: The Professional Hitman [...] [...] Brip Blap: The Professional Hitman [...]

]]> By: Steve @ bripblap http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28955 Steve @ bripblap Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:33:02 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28955 @GP: Right - we pay attorneys flat fees for real estate transactions, <br>for example. And the traditional billable hour system is just that - <br>traditional. It's sortof like the insistence on signatures on paper <br>contracts: resistance to the more sensible digitial signatures remains <br>strong. It takes a long time for people to change, even when the need <br>for change is obvious. @GP: Right – we pay attorneys flat fees for real estate transactions,
for example. And the traditional billable hour system is just that –
traditional. It's sortof like the insistence on signatures on paper
contracts: resistance to the more sensible digitial signatures remains
strong. It takes a long time for people to change, even when the need
for change is obvious.

]]> By: Steve @ bripblap http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28954 Steve @ bripblap Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:32:02 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28954 @Bubelah: I would imagine you could find a few different ways to deal <br>with it. The easiest way would be to have a penalty for late delivery - <br>$500 per day, or $5000 per week, or whatever. The client could pay half <br>up front, half on delivery. Etc. But I'd imagine that if you want to <br>be successful at all with that business model you'd have to deliver on <br>time, or else you're not going to be very highly recommended in the <br>future. <br><br>It's really the point about the post, though: if I'm paid hourly, I <br>don't really care about the deadline myself (except as a reputation <br>issue) and will actually make MORE if I run over the limit. If I have a <br>flat fee and know that I'll be LOSING money if I miss the deadline I'm <br>going to be exceptionally motivated. So it seems like the company would <br>be better off with a flat fee, too. @Bubelah: I would imagine you could find a few different ways to deal
with it. The easiest way would be to have a penalty for late delivery –
$500 per day, or $5000 per week, or whatever. The client could pay half
up front, half on delivery. Etc. But I'd imagine that if you want to
be successful at all with that business model you'd have to deliver on
time, or else you're not going to be very highly recommended in the
future.

It's really the point about the post, though: if I'm paid hourly, I
don't really care about the deadline myself (except as a reputation
issue) and will actually make MORE if I run over the limit. If I have a
flat fee and know that I'll be LOSING money if I miss the deadline I'm
going to be exceptionally motivated. So it seems like the company would
be better off with a flat fee, too.

]]> By: TheWealthSquad http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28953 TheWealthSquad Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:52:56 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28953 Changing how companies charge or pay is probably one of the toughest areas to overcome.<br><br>If you can complete the job in minutes they feel upset because the majority of people think in terms of $/hr. They have a good feel for the wage per hour they are earning even if they are on salary.<br><br>I have seen this reaction even when giving free help. I have worked with Excel for years so many tasks only take a few minutes to get done that would frustrate most people for hours. <br><br>I had a friend who had been working on getting a spreadsheet set up for several days (spending many hours trying unsuccessfully to get it to work). He mentioned his frustration at lunch one day and i offered to fix it for him. It took me about 20 minutes to get cleaned up the way he wanted it. <br><br>The look on his face that is could be done so quickly is the same reaction you get when you complete a job using less effort than they expect you too. <br><br>For some reason a lot of people want to see you suffer to earn the money. I much prefer delivering good quality work and making it look effortless. The problem is they want to pay you like it was effortless.<br><br>Knowledge is far more valuable than people realize. Changing how companies charge or pay is probably one of the toughest areas to overcome.

If you can complete the job in minutes they feel upset because the majority of people think in terms of $/hr. They have a good feel for the wage per hour they are earning even if they are on salary.

I have seen this reaction even when giving free help. I have worked with Excel for years so many tasks only take a few minutes to get done that would frustrate most people for hours.

I had a friend who had been working on getting a spreadsheet set up for several days (spending many hours trying unsuccessfully to get it to work). He mentioned his frustration at lunch one day and i offered to fix it for him. It took me about 20 minutes to get cleaned up the way he wanted it.

The look on his face that is could be done so quickly is the same reaction you get when you complete a job using less effort than they expect you too.

For some reason a lot of people want to see you suffer to earn the money. I much prefer delivering good quality work and making it look effortless. The problem is they want to pay you like it was effortless.

Knowledge is far more valuable than people realize.

]]> By: chadsentientmoney http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28952 chadsentientmoney Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:21:04 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28952 "The world of audit, finance and accounting is a hidebound profession in many ways. Most of the time these kinds of professions are resistant to growth – but fertile ground for growth once the resistance is broken." <br><br>You must have worked for vastly different people than I have in those professions. I have seen successful non-traditional changes killed.<br><br>A major issue would be their responsiveness to your requests (documentation, etc.). In my experience this is not done well. Plus, they would have an incentive to not do it well if you monetarily penalized yourself for missing the deadline. “The world of audit, finance and accounting is a hidebound profession in many ways. Most of the time these kinds of professions are resistant to growth – but fertile ground for growth once the resistance is broken.”

You must have worked for vastly different people than I have in those professions. I have seen successful non-traditional changes killed.

A major issue would be their responsiveness to your requests (documentation, etc.). In my experience this is not done well. Plus, they would have an incentive to not do it well if you monetarily penalized yourself for missing the deadline.

]]> By: Drew http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28951 Drew Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:06:08 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28951 The other side of this is you have to have a very well defined scope of work prior to starting the contract. This must include all the things that are not included. You could say in the scope of work that you can work on outside projects, etc. for an additional hourly fee. The final thing is that you need to have strict penalties for them to do their work in a specific time frame. What I mean by this is that you need to say that you will have 3 day turn around from all formal documentation requests, etc. This will set the expectations, and also CYA if you are going to get penalized, you can charge more if they are notoriously late with providing evidence. The other side of this is you have to have a very well defined scope of work prior to starting the contract. This must include all the things that are not included. You could say in the scope of work that you can work on outside projects, etc. for an additional hourly fee. The final thing is that you need to have strict penalties for them to do their work in a specific time frame. What I mean by this is that you need to say that you will have 3 day turn around from all formal documentation requests, etc. This will set the expectations, and also CYA if you are going to get penalized, you can charge more if they are notoriously late with providing evidence.

]]> By: bargainr http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28950 bargainr Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:48:24 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28950 A lot of people do it this way because of the freedom aspect, you bid the job and not the hours for the job. It also sets the client's expectations on how much it should cost. In the end, their risk is still the same (you either meet the milestones or you don't, the billing process is independent) but you get flexibility to work more efficiently. It's a closer marrying of priorities and incentives. A lot of people do it this way because of the freedom aspect, you bid the job and not the hours for the job. It also sets the client's expectations on how much it should cost. In the end, their risk is still the same (you either meet the milestones or you don't, the billing process is independent) but you get flexibility to work more efficiently. It's a closer marrying of priorities and incentives.

]]> By: GP http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28946 GP Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:14:12 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28946 I think flat fees are a good idea... It's how some law firms charge clients for transactional work (patent law, immigration law, etc). Too bad law firms don't pay their associates the same way; flat fees are not really compatible with the traditional billable hour system. I think flat fees are a good idea… It's how some law firms charge clients for transactional work (patent law, immigration law, etc). Too bad law firms don't pay their associates the same way; flat fees are not really compatible with the traditional billable hour system.

]]> By: bubelah http://www.bripblap.com/the-professional-hitman/comment-page-1/#comment-28942 bubelah Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:46:19 +0000 http://www.bripblap.com/?p=1750#comment-28942 Sounds like a good plan. Let's say you don't deliver the project within alotted time frame and go way beyond it. What happens? Do they start subtracting the money from your $50,000 fee?<br>They say here's $50,000 for the project to be completed no later than 16 weeks from now, no exception. You may deliver in 8 weeks which is good for you, or you can deliver 18 weeks from now. As a client I want to be protected. What do we do? Sounds like a good plan. Let's say you don't deliver the project within alotted time frame and go way beyond it. What happens? Do they start subtracting the money from your $50,000 fee?
They say here's $50,000 for the project to be completed no later than 16 weeks from now, no exception. You may deliver in 8 weeks which is good for you, or you can deliver 18 weeks from now. As a client I want to be protected. What do we do?

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