IT rates vary from the very low to the very high.  When you start out with your network consulting business you need to make sure your IT rates are set at a level that will carry your business long term.  

Believe it or not, the act of setting an IT rate is one where a majority of new consultants have troubles.  Here’s how you can avoid the mistakes others have made.

Avoid Common IT Rate Mistakes

What a new consultant does all too often is give away their services for a ridiculously unsustainable IT rate of $25 or $30 an hour.  They are desperate to get customers and they emulate the wrong people in the market.

When you copy the IT rates of a computer repair technician or other moonlighters, you won’t ever be able to transition to full time work and have a sustainable business. Why is this?

There is a very definite relationship between what your clients pay your consulting firm, your hourly IT rate, and the kind of salary package you can ultimately offer your sales and technology staff.

You might say, “I’m not thinking of hiring sales and techno staff. That’s so far down the road, why should I be thinking about it now?”

You need to be thinking about it now, because whether you realize it or not, even if you don’t have anyone working for you in a sales or technical function, YOU are doing that work and you need to be compensated correctly. Why should you accept any less than someone you would pay to do the work?

If your IT rates are set too low, you’re eventually going to have an extremely difficult time attracting the kind of staff that’s required to recruit and service sweet spot clients.

The next reaction to this is typically, “Can’t I adjust my IT rates later?”

The answer in most cases is no. It’s very difficult to adjust your IT rates with your existing clients. Often you won’t be able to keep carrying these grandfathered IT rates.  Then half or a quarter of your business essentially becomes worthless because it’s not profitable. If you charge too little, you may effectively end up having to dump your client list and start over, which could put you out of business really fast.

Bottom Line on IT Rates
When you set your IT rates you have to look to the future.  Don’t succumb to low IT rates just to get clients.  You want long term high paying clients and you need to have IT rates that will be attractive should you need to hire staff in the future.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to IT Rates. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about IT Rates, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.