• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

So....IF I was to start my own IT consulting company....what do I need to know/do?

D

dderidex

Platinum Member
Here is the situation.

I worked for a small software company for many years (7? 8? something like that). CEO recently died, and the company is going out of business. In fact, last week in June (this week) is it.

I have, of course, lined up another full-time job. Better pay, better benefits, better location - it's nice!

Here's the thing, though. My old company existed the last 2 or 3 years on pretty much the support contracts alone - all our customers (small telephone companies) where paying $lots a month for support. Which was, in the end, basically me, my boss, and a handful of engineers.

Now, the company is going out of business, all the engineers were picked up by one of our clients, and I'm seeing a great opportunity here. Obviously, I've got a day job, and don't have legal rights to the source code....but nobody does, and I *DO* have 7 years experience with the company (and I do have a copy of the source code for troubleshooting - I just can't do any builds of it, obviously). So, I'm thinking...off-hours support? Answering emails and doing customers late-night maintenance? Helping them with system outages when their day support staff is gone?

Billed hourly? I've talked with one of the other support guys who left the company shortly before me, and he is interested in helping with the project.

Lots of stuff to think about, though! Do I need to file papers to start business as a company? What kind of accounting issues are there? Taxes? etc? I'll probably want some written contracts with the customers....do I need a business lawyer to draw things like that up? What's that kind of cost run?

etc, et al

Thoughts?
 
Good luck with that venture. Seems nice. The only bad thing is that no more updates = people adopt new software.
 
dont over analyze this so much you miss your window. Get ahold of the client list and be upfront and simple. "Is there anyway we can do business?" Tell them who you are, what you do, and see if they see the same opportunity for business as you do.
 
Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
dont over analyze this so much you miss your window. Get ahold of the client list and be upfront and simple. "Is there anyway we can do business?" Tell them who you are, what you do, and see if they see the same opportunity for business as you do.
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah, I've been on that. I've been on the clients I worked with in a day-to-day basis so far. A couple have outright offered a few thousand a month already - more than I was expecting (was just going to bill hourly work without a monthly support payment).

So....yeah, it's an awesome deal if I can work it out.

The million dollar (not quiet) question is what is going to happen to the source code. If someone does manage to get their hands on the legal rights to it from the bankrupcy court (not me) and has the means to do something with it (like, maybe 1 person could - MAYBE), then they will be able to offer a substantially more competitive support contract than I....even if it is just all on paper, with no real weight behind it.
Originally posted by: Safeway
Good luck with that venture. Seems nice. The only bad thing is that no more updates = people adopt new software.
Click to expand...
No real worry on that front - their is no competing software. Only reason we didn't pwn the market was lack of a sales team...and it's a pretty small market, too.
 
Originally posted by: dderidex
Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
dont over analyze this so much you miss your window. Get ahold of the client list and be upfront and simple. "Is there anyway we can do business?" Tell them who you are, what you do, and see if they see the same opportunity for business as you do.
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah, I've been on that. I've been on the clients I worked with in a day-to-day basis so far. A couple have outright offered a few thousand a month already - more than I was expecting (was just going to bill hourly work without a monthly support payment).

So....yeah, it's an awesome deal if I can work it out.

The million dollar (not quiet) question is what is going to happen to the source code. If someone does manage to get their hands on the legal rights to it from the bankrupcy court (not me) and has the means to do something with it (like, maybe 1 person could - MAYBE), then they will be able to offer a substantially more competitive support contract than I....even if it is just all on paper, with no real weight behind it.
Originally posted by: Safeway
Good luck with that venture. Seems nice. The only bad thing is that no more updates = people adopt new software.
Click to expand...
No real worry on that front - their is no competing software. Only reason we didn't pwn the market was lack of a sales team...and it's a pretty small market, too.
Click to expand...


fvck the source code. at least get on a month by month thing and if you can get two months of high $$ out of it, take it. Maybe you'll get pushed to the side by someone with the legal rights, but let them push you to the side, dont just stand there!

Don't offer a blanket service, feel each customer out for what they might want. Tell them you'll consult them until they make a migration to something better, and see if you can get in on the migration. If its a critical software, you can make bank on the migration.
 
The "hay days" of IT consulting are over, however if you can prove that you will deliver results and do that, there is quite some potential.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top