Average per hour cost for network consulting?

[SleepParalysis]

Any idea on a sort of average for your standard network consulting, administration, etc. services for businesses?

This would be for small businesses doing the following:
Server support (installation, updates, maintenance, etc.)
Desktop support (installation, maintenance)

Things like this anyways. I'm sure it depends on location and what not but I'm looking for what a baseline $ per hour typically could be.

 

[kevnich2]

It does depend on your area. Typically it's between $80-$120/hr My suggestion would be to contact some other businesses, see who they use and what they think of them. You want a reliable, dependent consultant that actually knows what they're doing and has the experience to back it up, not just some kid with some certs fresh out of HS that thinks he's good with computers. Remember, you get what you pay for, typically.

Also, if your business has SBS 2003/2008 server, make sure the consultant is more of a small business consultant. There is a VAST difference in how small businesses operate compared to larger ones and a consultant that primarily deals with small businesses that are running SBS server will understand your needs and be able to better recommend things to you compared to one dealing with medium and larger companies.

 

[drebo]

We charge $125/hr one hour minimum for local calls, $150/hr two hour minimum for calls which require more than 45 minutes of drive time (we don't bill for drive time).

We constantly run into situations where the customer called a cheaper person and he ended up doing more harm than good which we have to go fix. If you can establish for the customer that you can do what they want you to, you can charge them almost anything you want.

 

[SleepParalysis]

Cool, thanks for the tips guys.

 

[cmetz]

Are you contracting or are you consulting?

 

[kevnich2]

Originally posted by: drebo
We charge $125/hr one hour minimum for local calls, $150/hr two hour minimum for calls which require more than 45 minutes of drive time (we don't bill for drive time).

We constantly run into situations where the customer called a cheaper person and he ended up doing more harm than good which we have to go fix. If you can establish for the customer that you can do what they want you to, you can charge them almost anything you want.

I would agree with this. Consultants like this can either be good or very bad. The trick is to find a good one. I usually recommend calling other businesses around them and finding who they use and what they think. When your dealing with critical items of your business, trying to go cheap or with someone that doesn't know what your doing, you could literally be staking your business on it, whether you think it's really that important or not, it really is.

 

[RebateMonger]

Most of the consultants and consulting companies I know are at $90 to $150 per hour. When they get lower than that I'd be cautious. No, higher prices don't necessarily guarantee quality, but many folks working for less than that aren't doing it for a living.

Originally posted by: drebo
If you can establish for the customer that you can do what they want you to, you can charge them almost anything you want.

Well, I wish that was always true...

 

[rasczak]

those of you that actually are consultants or contractors for that matter, do you find that businesses tend to look for certifications of any sort? or are they happy with experience? I want to go this route myself, but i have planned a special bonus for customers as well (proprietary )

Another question, what did you need as far as capital to start your business?

 

[dphantom]

Originally posted by: rasczak
those of you that actually are consultants or contractors for that matter, do you find that businesses tend to look for certifications of any sort? or are they happy with experience? I want to go this route myself, but i have planned a special bonus for customers as well (proprietary )

Another question, what did you need as far as capital to start your business?

Experience is predominant. Certifications are important if you work for a VAR as they need so many certifications on staff to qualify for certain program levels from Cisco, Citrix etc...

As for capital, that is highly variable. Depends on what kind of consulting business you ar going to do. Many just work out of their home and have a laptop, land line/cell phone, printer and maybe fax.

If you are getting into hardware/software inventory, then you will need money. Personally, I jut buy what the customer needs when they need it and they pay for it directly. I bill labor, setup, design, project management.

 

[RebateMonger]

I've gotten some clients because of my certifications, particularly my "Microsoft Small Business Specialist" certification. A couple of clients had non-certified people mess up their SBS 2003 installs and wanted to be sure their next IT person was certified by Microsoft.

In general, though, I don't think most small business owners (at least) have any idea what the cerfications mean or don't mean. I list all of my cerfications on my web site, so potential clients who care can see what I have.