Anything that helps you do this more efficiently is worth serious money, and ultimately increases the value of your business.
The mistake most consultants make is to work steadily for their customers. It's insane, really -- consultants bill themselves as experts, as the magic that will solve all sorts of problems for their clients. Yet these same experts rarely devote even a microsecond to helping their own businesses. You can get a jump ahead by devoting time and resources to tuning your engineering system. Constantly invent new ways to work faster; each minute saved translates into more profit and lower costs for your customer.
For example, never develop throw-away code. Consider the reuse possibilities of every routine you write. Resell this code shamelessly and profitably. When designing hardware use components you understand intimately. Otherwise, when each job needs a totally new UART you'll have to waste time learning yet another page data sheet.
Don't take every job that comes along. Be selective. Work only where will increase your core competence, or give you something more than money -- important new class libraries, critical new contacts, or a knowledge of important new technologies.
Look for those that live on the cutting edge, or that will build your organization. Even a single-person company needs growth -- mental and spiritual at least. Proactively pursue it. Unfortunately, some consultants thrive on disaster. When clients are in pain, when their worlds are crashing down in rubble around them, consultants, rather like lawyers, prosper.
The refrain "I don't care what it costs, let's find a solution" is the siren call to armies of slick briefcase-wielding folks from McKinsey and other big-name consulting outfits.
We see similar issues from time to time in the embedded world, when a product just has to get done, no matter what. Perhaps the employees are too busy; maybe they are not competent, or their competence is in question from a series of continued schedule slippages. All too often consultants respond with metaphorical rape and pillage.
The smell of disaster brings out the greedy Scrooges in too many. Cupidity benefits no one; few of the situations I've seen of this nature ever result in a working product, satisfied customer, or a consultant with an intact reputation. Of course, like the barbarians of a millennia ago, many are content to scorch the earth and move on, content in their belief that the field of suckers is large enough for them to prosper.
We parents work hard to instill basic virtues - including honesty - into our young ones. Isn't it reasonable to assume that most adults behave in a reasonably truthful and equitable manner? Sadly, from reading the paper and email from people around the world it's clear that honor is a vanishing commodity. I'm astonished to hear the press slam businessmen people; it seems all are capricious, determined to screw anyone to make a buck. The reality is that in business honor is the most basic asset one has.
Without honor and trustworthiness business will cease. It's amazing that we trust a PO, for example - it's nothing more than a promise to pay, perhaps signed by a clerk on behalf of a higher-level person. Yes, there are lots of crooks in the business world, yet the vast majority of managers I've met are decent, honest people. Out to make some money, for sure!
Determined to succeed, absolutely. But by and large these folks work from within the confines of a respectable moral code. Embedded systems are tough. Problems will develop. Recognize that you cannot always meet customer expectations the client wants perfection, now.
Develop great communications skills to keep your client informed. Avoid the temptation to lie or to manage the truth a bit to keep that smile on his face; be willing to take the heat in the short term when you're late or in trouble, knowing that respect will come only through the mutual struggle of bringing the product to fruition. A friend called last week; he spent over 6 figures with a small consulting company whose charter was to develop a new product. Things ran late, bugs crept in, yet the message he always heard was "don't worry, be happy, we're on top of it.
The product is now a year late and may never be delivered. Though my friend surely could have managed these contractors differently, he was the victim of a small conspiracy of lies that spun an ever larger web.
Get it from their web site www. But its third item is "to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data. These musings were published in various form in Embedded Systems Programming over the years.
Readers generated plenty of questions, some of which I've answered here. What do we do about aggressively stupid customers? The ones who think that tech support means free design consultation; that warranties cover improper hookup; or that devices with embedded controllers should be 'open source'.
Next to starving from a lack of business, this is possibly the most frustrating aspect of being an embedded consultant. Customers who aren't willing to pay the real cost of your services are welfare cases, not sustainable elements of your success. Price shopping customers are our worst nightmare. Price is important only after all other aspects of a proposal are equal: a tender that excludes or ignores support, for example, is simply incomplete; the resulting price just does not cover real project expenses.
Some years ago a banker and I talked to a local group of owners of very small businesses about success and failure. We asked each participant why they had started their ventures. I'll never forget Bob the banker's exasperation that none answered the question correctly. Businesses exist to make a profit. Without a profit all companies fail. You're not doing this so the customer likes you. Your inventory is your time; spend it freely and there will be no inventory left to sell.
Customers must trade cash for depleting your inventory. For this reason every consulting job needs a complete contract that covers all such eventualities. Spell out the "free" support level, and the hourly cost for more. Some folks use a fixed price development contract followed by a mandatory retainer for support.
The customer pays a monthly fixed fee for an agreed-on level of help. Exceed this level perhaps to add product features and it's time for a new contract. The contract must clearly define deliverables. Is source code included? If so, do you retain the right to plagiarize at least some of the source for other customers' projects?
Who is responsible to maintain tools like compilers for future upgrades? Exactly how much documentation gets delivered? Though the penurious client might demand no docs, surely sometime in the future their needs will change. Better put an optional cost in for those documents up-front, so there's no surprises later. They may elect not to buy them today, but at least you've established their value. Stick to your guns. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch; though customers may demand the world, ultimately they fail if you fail.
Is there a better way to manage my accounts receivable? As we've grown, we've had some horrific adventures in this area--ones for which my literal-mindedness left me poorly prepared. This week we dodged a serious bullet when a customer with a bad credit rating bounced a huge final payment check. Customers with bad credit must pay before you start doing work. Credit problems indicate insolvency or an unwillingness to pay as required; either condition is intolerable to the small undercapitalized consultant.
Your business exists to make money, to support you and your family. When you allow a customer to avoid payment you're taking food out of your kids' mouths. Don't let fear of confrontation stop you from discussing these issues with potential clients. If no one else will extend credit, this is a clear sign that, no matter what promises may be made, the customer often will not, or cannot, pay the bills.
Take action before you accept the job to insure that your needs getting paid are met just as surely as you'll meet the client's needs. I believe that huge final payments are a sign that the consultant is putting too much reliance on a possibly capricious client. Most of us cannot afford to be the customer's bank! Doing engineering work on a contract basis is like an uneasy dance between two hostile partners.
The customer, rightly, really doesn't want to pay anything till the product is complete and demonstrably working. The consultant needs a constant flow of cash to finance what might be a months or years long project. Progress payments can solve most of these problems, but only if you structure them in a way that clearly shows headway, in a sense the customer understands.
Few care about how much code you've cranked; they want to see something that works. Structure payments around a rapid development process.
Build systems incrementally, creating some product functionality early and enhancing it as the project matures.
Some consultants require a retainer; the customer fronts some sum each month which the consultant works against. That's not a bad model; it has worked for lawyers for decades and no one complains.
My advisor tells me we need a better "image". He figures we should rent some nice space with fancy carpets and desks. Sounds expensive - what to do? After firing your advisor, move back into your basement. For most people, perception is reality. What they see - or think they see - shapes their opinions. But two inch thick carpet in a full service building is yesterday's model, not one any of us need today.
Most customers understand that home-based businesses save them money; it's their cash that pays for a fancy, unneeded, office complex. If they don't get it, show them. Rent an office and you're paying an annuity that never stops.
When business is bad - as will always happen from time to time, that nice office is doing nothing but bleeding your cash supply. You'll make the landlord smile, but it's wiser to keep your bank account fat and happy. The cost of an office is far more than just floor space. Heating, lighting, telephones, extra computers few of us give up our home machines so much of the capital equipment will be duplicated and a host of other costs drain finances.
An outside office starts to make sense when employees enter the picture. It's hard to find room for a handful of people in most basements. However, some of the most successful entrepreneurs I know creatively expanded their basement offices to accommodate increased space needs.
Their philosophy boils down to one of "should I put this rental money into my pocket or someone else's? Stanley and William D. Image is important, but the image clients respect most comes from non-stop professionalism.
Deliver quality goods on time. Develop a stable of happy customers as references. An embedded consultant sells services that are quite ethereal and hard for most customers to understand. They'll buy from those with proven track records, those whose "image" is one of reliable fulfilling of promises. Here in Kansas we've got a lot of engineers working as consultants. How can I differentiate myself? I think too many engineers count on differentiation through technology.
Few customers care if you're the Midwest's foremost PIC expert. Sometimes a limited window for an expert pandering his brain in this manner, but these windows close quickly and firmly.
As a consultant who once would take a job - any job - for money, I learned that with each new product I had to learn a new industry. We did an audiometer, and slowly became experts in the behavior of the tympanic membrane.
Losing money, in the process, of course. Instrumenting steel mills we learned all about the behavior of radiation in hot steel - at our expense. Building security systems we again picked up all of the nuances of what a customer expects in a typical alarm situation, while slowly losing our business to our poor management of these products.
Differentiate yourself by industry. Pick something you're good at - really good at - and specialize in that. Data communications, perhaps. Plant automation. Each of these, and all other fields, has its own lingo, its unique and important perspectives and requirements. Most have journals and magazines.
Go into a customer's location without the specialized knowledge of the field and you'll look like a fool. Wise clients will recognize that you'll be on a learning curve, at their expense. Conversely, visit a potential client armed with a deep understanding of their needs, plus proven success at similar systems, and they'll have an awfully hard time rejecting your proposal. Several readers have written to tell how they are experts at, say, DSPs and want to sell this knowledge across a lot of different application areas.
I'm inclined to think that it still makes sense to specialize in a particular industry, to apply this knowledge in just that one arena.
Though technically there may be little reason to limit options, the hardest part of consulting is getting work. Focus your marketing efforts on one area. As the old sales saying goes, it's easier to get customers by rifle shooting picking a few very specific targets than by using a shotgun trying to talk to everyone in every industry. This article was derived from a half-dozen articles on the subject I wrote in the '90s and early '00s. Here in I want to add one more point: consider hiring an advisor.
Maybe a handful of hours per month. Someone who knows everyone. Someone with a proven track record. In I raced alone across the Atlantic in a 35' sailboat that story is here. After 31 days at sea the boat sank. Returning to work, discouraged, I realized I was unhappy, also, about the direction the business was taking. So I hired a business advisor who helped me greatly reshape the company. I sold that business in , and started doing what I do now, sort of an embedded gadfly.
But all these years later I'm still paying Paul, the advisor, to come in and beat me up from time to time, to keep me on-track. Someone to brainstorm with. And The Ganssle Group will never have employees - it's my wife and myself. We're not interested in growing. Retirement isn't that far off. Sometimes my wife wonders why we continue to pay him, and I remind her that while many of our meetings aren't terribly productive, each makes us think anout what we're doing, why, and how.
And sometimes he has a flash of inspiration that's brilliant. People pay me for embedded ideas. I pay Paul for business ideas. Do you need to eliminate bugs in your firmware? Shorten schedules? My Better Firmware Faster seminar will teach your team how to operate at a world-class level, producing code with far fewer bugs in less time.
It's fast-paced, fun, and covers the unique issues faced by embedded developers. Here's information about how this class, taught at your facility, will measurably improve your team's effectiveness. Click here to sign up or enter your email here:. Latest Embedded Muse : notes on how defects cluster and more on requirements. Click here for a navigation menu.
Other content related to this includes How to Become an Embedded Systems Geek , and the Embedded Salary Survey which includes consulting fees How do you make money in the embedded systems world? Suggestion: Subscribe to my free newsletter which often covers consulting. Fun and Money There are only two reasons to work for a living, and I believe both are necessary conditions: fun and money.
Sales and Competition You will go out of business if you are not constantly selling. Customers Without a customer you have no business. Being Businesslike There is nothing more critical to success than selling yourself and your business.
Money Cash is the grease of business. Don't buy stuff. If you're not a Midas be a miser. Employees At some point many consultants become overwhelmed with either work or the tedium of office maintenance and hire employees. Planning In business, as in life, it's less important to do things right than to do the right things. Then, and only then, develop a plan to get you there. Create Value Technology companies have some unique opportunities to build something of value in new and different ways.
Honesty Unfortunately, some consultants thrive on disaster. It's important that we consultants behave similarly. Answers to Questions These musings were published in various form in Embedded Systems Programming over the years. On This Page Skip to section. Are you paid fairly?
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Duties of a software developer include testing software codes, performing diagnostic programs and troubleshooting, interpreting system data and establishing efficient parameters, and ensuring the compatibility of the systems. Building custom software is a great way to improve efficiency and innovation within your organization. I manage and directly contribute to many different departments within the company, including recruiting and hiring, marketing and sales, bookkeeping and accounting, tax and legal, and general operations.
I take a hands on approach to management, meaning I prefer to roll up my sleeves and work directly on projects, instead of managing through meetings, policy, and bureaucracy. Please Upgrade Your Browser.
Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is an outdated browser and we do not currently support it. Table of contents. They usually have between to 1, developers and several offices around the world. There are thousands of freelancers to choose from on websites like Upwork. Cons of hiring a freelancer They are usually only really good at one thing — front-end development, back-end development, design, and so on.
They have a tendency to get bored and drop projects. Finding someone to finish their half-built project will be challenging. Sure you signed a contract, and you could sue them if things go south. It is unlikely that they are insured, and may or may not have the ability to pay if you win.
They can disappear. Even with clients in the same time zone, or in the same city, communication can be challenging. For example, a common staffing plan for a medium size project will often include: Front-end developer Back-end developer Project manager Business consultant Quality assurance professional The result is that the true hourly rate, in terms of productive hours actually worked, is much higher than quoted.
This will give you the quality and safety of working with an onshore company, combined with the cost savings of an offshore company. Find a team with a US-based technical lead developer who manages a team of nearshore developers. This blended approach will overcome many of the communication and quality challenges that fully offshore teams face.
A US-based project manager who will act as your primary point of contact is also a plus. Go nearshore instead of offshore. Nearshore teams in Central and South America are in similar time zones to the US, which makes communication much easier. Summary Building custom software is a great way to improve efficiency and innovation within your organization. Written by. We are looking for developers committed to writing the best code and deploying flawless apps in a small team setting.
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