Sometimes this comes as a question, other times it's just the default way that people approach consulting or contracting work. Here's one form, though many others are possible: ""Quote I have an opportunity to do some contract development work, and the client is ok with me doing the work after hours or on weekends. My …
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I am a fan of the Jocko Podcast. Over the past few months I have been listening to the episodes on General Bruce C. Clarke's 1963 book, Guidelines for Leaders and Commanders. I highly recommend this series to anyone in a leadership position. This series is also valuable for contractors and consultants, many of whom …
Continue reading "Here’s what a 1963 Leadership Masterpiece Has to Say About Managing Projects"
I am a fan of the Jocko Podcast. Over the past few months I have been listening to the episodes on General Bruce C. Clarke's 1963 book, Guidelines for Leaders and Commanders. I highly recommend this series to anyone in a leadership position. This series is also valuable for contractors and consultants, many of whom …
Continue reading "Are you a Consultant or Contractor? Score Yourself Against these “Patterns of Successful Contractors” from a 1963 Leadership Masterpiece"
Last month, I published How I Structure My Day as a Consultant, giving you insight in my day-to-day flow. Today I'd like to share another one of our core business practices: The Weekly Plan. Table of Contents: Weekly Planning Process Anatomy of a Week Anatomy of a Day Weekly Review The Productivity Planner Weekly Plan …
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Writing project proposals is a necessary activity for consultants. It can be quite nerve-wracking, especially when you are just starting your practice. You're rarely sure what your client actually wants to see, and plenty of second guessing occurs: Are you going to send too much information or too little? Did you cover all of the …
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As a business owner and programmer, the way I structure my day can have a dramatic impact on my effectiveness and bottom line. For the most part, traditional employees get a paycheck regardless how productive their day is. When starting out as a consultant, many think that they will be making more money: “$205/hr times …
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4 June 2018 by Phillip Johnston Last updated 28 September 2019 Welcome to the June 2018 edition of the Embedded Artistry Newsletter! This is a monthly newsletter of curated and original content to help you build superior embedded systems. This newsletter is intended to supplement the website and covers topics not mentioned there. This month we’ll cover 5 C++ language proposals that will impact embedded developers. C++ Standardization Meeting in Rapperswil Today marks the start of the C++ standardization committee meeting in Rapperswil, Switzerland. Developers from around the world will meet and work on the future of the C++ language. …
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I started this website as a way to share the notes and lessons I've learned over the years. I've been consulting for almost two years now, and I wanted to share some resources that helped me start and grow my business. If you have any questions or suggestions for additional resources, send me an email! …
Continue reading "Want to Start Consulting? Here Are My Musings and Recommended Resources"
When I started consulting, getting contracts in place was one of the most intimidating activities. The contract situation changes from client to client: some expect me to provide the consulting agreement, others expect to use their own 8-page agreement prepared by their lawyers, and the rare prospect expected me to start working just because we …
Continue reading "Need a consulting agreement template? Check out these two from the IEEE"
When consulting, you encounter a wide variety of contract situations. At one end of the spectrum you have (usually larger) clients with a full-scale contract that consultants are expected to sign. At the other end of the spectrum are clients who will work without a contract and consider email agreement as sufficient. We now have …
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