[Baypiggies] Contracting in Python

[Glen Jarvis]

I met my speaker at a Small Business Association SBA course in the past. I
originally heard her speak on making the 'elevator' pitch -- showing people
what you do in just a few moments (There is a lot of work that can go into
this for it to be effective). She is *really* good at sales and is a small
business coach -- she bugs the heck out of you until you do all the things
that you said you'd do :)

I don't know how she'd be for a full BayPIGgies talk..

Howeeeverrrr.....

If we did mini  talks -- with the theme of how to be a Python Contractor...
where we have different people talking about different aspects of this.....
she'd definitely be able to talk about the elevator pitch. I can talk about
IRS rules, 1099s, QuickBooks, Elance, Legal entities (Sole proprietorship,
LLCs...) etc. But, I'm far from an expert -- I figured things out by taking
a ton of free SBA classes, making mistakes and working with *very* kind and
patient BayPIGgies. I'm afraid I put E through hell because I was so new at
so many things and I bike-shed'ed way too much... :(  I think I even cost
him a little bit more money than they intended when a project was going over
budget and I didn't know how to get it in budget   :(   I also was trying so
hard to prove myself, I was getting in my own way and theirs too :(    They
were so awesome about the whole thing though :)

Expert or not, I can definitely share my experiences and my mistakes...
However, I bet it's not necessary. I can name *so* many independent
contractors off this list that make their sole money doing this (more than I
can name people who actually work for companies)....  And, I bet they may
want to share a thing or two.. *nudge* *nudge* :)

Are there other speakers who would speak? Is a "How to be a Python
Contractor" a viable theme for a BayPIGgies night? Is this what you mean by
(languishing) possible ideas for BayPIGgies topics?

Cheers,



Glen


On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 2:44 PM, jim <jim at well.com> wrote:

>
>
> "I even had (still could get) a business developer speaker to speak
> (without charging us) about some business topics."
>
> (gasp!) Do that! That's one of the (languishing) possible
> ideas for a bayPIGgies topic.
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 2010-04-01 at 11:54 -0700, Glen Jarvis wrote:
> > One of the things I've noticed more and more as I meet people in this
> > community is that either have a large number of our members
> > contracting at places, or others trying to contract but don't know
> > how. It's amazing how many people I discover that have been doing this
> > for years.
> >
> > I am not volunteering to put a workshop together (I can't keep up with
> > my own contracts right now, much less help anyone else). But, I think
> > that is something that would be a great idea if someone is interested.
> > I had tried (offline) to put together something like this at the
> > beginning of this year. I even had (still could get) a business
> > developer speaker to speak (without charging us) about some business
> > topics. I just couldn't get a business-like-setting/space for our
> > meetings. I wasn't confident enough to advertise the event because I
> > wasn't certain we could get an adequate space. So, I let it go.
> > Someone else may have better luck.
> >
> > The second thing I've noticed is that some of our work is with
> > front-end technologies. I personally would rather contract out the CSS
> > and JavaScript work to someone else - just so I can focus on one
> > thing.
> >
> > I have a co-worker who really enjoys the JavaScript and CSS type work.
> > If we all got together, physically in the same location, to work on
> > our projects on a Saturday; and if we invited him, would anyone else
> > have work for him? He may be interested in doing this if we can get
> > enough work for him (and if he has the free time). It'd have to be
> > worthwhile for him.
> >
> > Glen
> >
> > Disclaimer: This email does not constitute a time commitment of any
> > kind on Glen's behalf. He's only beginning a conversation to see what
> > the responses may be.
> > ----
> > Whatever you can do or imagine, begin it;
> > boldness has beauty, magic, and power in it.
> >
> > -- Goethe
> > _______________________________________________
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> > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/baypiggies
>
>


-- 
Glen
----
Whatever you can do or imagine, begin it;
boldness has beauty, magic, and power in it.

-- Goethe
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