For those of you who do not know me, I have been consulting in the areas of corporate management and the entertainment industry since 1985. Those that have retained my services have been thankful for my involvement with their projects and to have access to my wide knowledge base. I enjoy my work and do the best for my clients.
I have had only two clients question the cost of my services. The first was a friend of mine who thought I should supply the answers to his questions for free. I explained that I make a living consulting and if he did not like my fee structure, to go see a lawyer and pay for the information he was seeking at fair market value. He called me back a couple days later and paid my invoice without further question. It seems that the information I provided to him was correct and cost him three times more than what I charge. The other point he brought up was that the lawyer’s office hours were limited to only 9am until 4pm and availability depended on how busy the legal counsel was with their many other customers during those Monday to Friday hours.
No comparison to the access my clients have to me. Once an agreement is signed between myself and the client AND I receive the retainer funds, I provide the client with my direct cell phone number and 24 hour access every day of the week. I do enjoy a few hours sleep so I explain that emergency calls only after 11pm until 7am, but depending on the crisis, it is not unusual for me to take calls at all times of the day or night. I also make sure I only have six active clients at any one time so I can devote serious attention and assistance to my customer’s projects and concerns.
The second client, entered into an agreement with certain conditions that provided for a small ownership position in their corporation and some other future perks if the endeavour became successful. So for many months, based on this understanding, I provided consulting services and knowledge for a variety of topics on corporations. how they are structured, share types and amounts, pricing, how to incorporate, how to run a Directors meeting and many other answers to the soon to be President’s questions regarding governance, personal liability and responsibility to future shareholders, directors, plus many other matters.
Everything was going well, even with the standard complications of any start up venture. Then came the day to issue the share certificates and I am all of a sudden to change the way I invoice clients, my price structure and to become a direct employee. This was not what we agreed to back before this company was formed. I was then sent a list of tasks ranging from assisting the new legal counsel to design a contract, construct and develop the company website and to help the financial officer create a business plan. Pretty standard stuff for me but a lot more work.
Reluctantly, I have had to suspend my services until this matter is worked out, since I already have a fair block of consulting time invested. Even though I really want to be involved with this group, my legal advisers told me it doesn’t make sense to continue incurring more hours on the project in the event a mutual arrangement is not reached. I really look forward to helping with the success of this company as there are lots of things that are needed to be completed asap but time will tell.
I am asked to give clients advice, but it is not my responsibility to force anyone to take my advice and do the things I suggest. Even if it is the right thing to do and in their best interests.
I always mention to my clients that they should seek legal and accounting advice from professionals, including getting second opinions. There are many professionals that make errors or over-charge for their services. The key is to find the right knowledge for the perfect price. Pay people what they are worth because there is a price for knowledge and all men are not created equal, even though I wish they were.
One last thing, don’t have the $100/hour person doing the $10/hour job. It just does not make common sense. Yet clients sometimes think that because they hire me, they can ask me to do any task, yet my first response is the one above. It comes down to what value is knowledge worth.
The bottom line is that it is a good decision to pay a person who can answer a question in minutes because they have the knowledge base, experience and understanding of the industry the question is aimed at. It is a bad decision to pay a lower price to someone who takes three times as long to figure out the same answer. In the end, it may cost more.
For more than thirty years people have asked me if I am a lawyer. My reply is “No, but I make sure they do a good job for those that hire me.”
Good luck with your ventures…
Sandford Tuey