Dentist wants to hire me. What should I charge him?

[RavishingEddie]

Hello everyone. Earlier today I went to visit a new dentist that is supposed to be one of the best in the state to get my overall check up. So I am there and he starts talking to me about his son who is my same age 26 and how he is going to be a dentist. Then he asks me what I do and I tell him that I am a Electrical/Tech Support technician and pretty much just work with technology all day. So then he asks if he could hire me to fix his network issues he has been having at his dental office. The problem is that the program that he uses in each operating room that displays dental procedures to patients stops mid way and shows an error prompt, that has something to do with licensing software. So then he takes me to his servers location and I start tooling around and figure out it has to do with his Symantec firewall which looks corupted. Well he tells me that he wants to hire me and wants me to come in on wednesday evening after work and fix it. The only work I have done indepently(sp) was on my aunts home network. This guy has one of the most advanced offices I have ever seen. Even the Xray was awesome, I stood there and this thing spinned all around my head and took an Xray of my whole mouth and was displayed instantly on a flat screen How much should I charge? Any techs or Dentists out there please help me.

[punkncat]

$1 more than the work he is doing for you.....

[calebh]

lol. tech work has a pretty high price ceiling. id say at least $15 an hour, and that's a conservative guesstimate. if he takes his business to a real company somewhere, he'll probably be paying at least a few hundred bucks for something that may just take a half hour to fix (of course, that tech will likely be specialized for his specific software and know exactly what to do right off the bat. it wont lower the price). and he's a dentist, so he's got plenty of money.

btw, im not a proffessional, just a tech savvy kid who's done a little work around town. speaking from my own experiences.

and i dont have to tell you this, but dont screw anything up.

[RavishingEddie]

Thanks guys. I know I can't charge too cheap because he'll probably lose respect for me LOL or too high he'll slap me. LOL

[robnix]

lol. tech work has a pretty high price ceiling. id say at least $15 an hour, and that's a conservative guesstimate. if he takes his business to a real company somewhere, he'll probably be paying at least a few hundred bucks for something that may just take a half hour to fix (of course, that tech will likely be specialized for his specific software and know exactly what to do right off the bat. it wont lower the price). and he's a dentist, so he's got plenty of money.

btw, im not a proffessional, just a tech savvy kid who's done a little work around town. speaking from my own experiences.

and i dont have to tell you this, but dont screw anything up.

$15.00? 6 years ago when I was still doing housecalls, I was charging $50.00 just to walk in the door and say hi. Never sell yourself short.

[RavishingEddie]

How about a flat fee of 200 or 300? or is that too cheap?

[robnix]

How about a flat fee of 200 or 300? or is that too cheap?

Flat fees are a bad idea. You'll find yourself in a never ending cycle of hearing the statement "since I have you here".

[robnix]

Hello everyone. Earlier today I went to visit a new dentist that is supposed to be one of the best in the state to get my overall check up. So I am there and he starts talking to me about his son who is my same age 26 and how he is going to be a dentist. Then he asks me what I do and I tell him that I am a Electrical/Tech Support technician and pretty much just work with technology all day. So then he asks if he could hire me to fix his network issues he has been having at his dental office. The problem is that the program that he uses in each operating room that displays dental procedures to patients stops mid way and shows an error prompt, that has something to do with licensing software. So then he takes me to his servers location and I start tooling around and figure out it has to do with his Symantec firewall which looks corupted. Well he tells me that he wants to hire me and wants me to come in on wednesday evening after work and fix it. The only work I have done indepently(sp) was on my aunts home network. This guy has one of the most advanced offices I have ever seen. Even the Xray was awesome, I stood there and this thing spinned all around my head and took an Xray of my whole mouth and was displayed instantly on a flat screen How much should I charge? Any techs or Dentists out there please help me.

Random thoughts:

Get him to put what he wants you to do in writing. Make sure it's very specific in what the expectations are for both sides. Include exactly what should be working at the end of the job, what your hourly fee will be, an estimate of how long you think it should take, and when and how he'll be paying you.

Make your time estimate a wise one. If you think it'll take 2 hours, tell him 3.5.

Don't screw with anything you're not sure about. He'll be happier if you tell him that you're stuck, than if you blow up his dental records. Give him a time frame for a return visit, research the issue on your own time, then go back and finish the job.

If you can't fix it, admit it.

Charge at least $50.00 an hour. At that price, he's still getting a bargain.

[RavishingEddie]

Thanks Rob, I think I will try that. Now I just need a business card. Thanks

[MoeMag]

Ask them what its worth to them. Works for me. Just have a minimum in mind that you think is fair that you should stick to should it go lower than that.

Last month was my biggest for horse grooming, 2 parades and the big scottsdale arabian show. I would have been happy with $150 for the parades... but I got $450 and the arabian show was... discusting. Dentists with fancy digital pano x-rays and flatscreens like to let people know they spend money.

[behemoth]

Thanks Rob, I think I will try that. Now I just need a business card. Thanks

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You just pay shipping.

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-Josh

[thecavemankevin]

Random thoughts:

Get him to put what he wants you to do in writing. Make sure it's very specific in what the expectations are for both sides. Include exactly what should be working at the end of the job, what your hourly fee will be, an estimate of how long you think it should take, and when and how he'll be paying you.

Make your time estimate a wise one. If you think it'll take 2 hours, tell him 3.5.

Don't screw with anything you're not sure about. He'll be happier if you tell him that you're stuck, than if you blow up his dental records. Give him a time frame for a return visit, research the issue on your own time, then go back and finish the job.

If you can't fix it, admit it.

Charge at least $50.00 an hour. At that price, he's still getting a bargain.

QFT, except the pay rate. The problem facing many computer techs for hire in home and office like this is that computer prices have been falling so much over the past years that its getting to the point it's cheaper to buy new than repair old. However, that is not the case here. Not saying you should screw the guy, but $50 is still to low for what he needs done. $75 is more accurate, but still a good bit under what most "shops" would charge. If you know of some shops in your area call them up and ask them hypothetical questions pertaining to what you are going to be doing and under cut their prices. Thats what i do on the side and it has been quite lucrative for me.

I started repairing family and friends computers on the side, that snowballed into working on computers of people i work with at the law firm and that has snowballed into a nice side business. I'm actually advertising now and have a website and business cards, no business license yet (woot for tax free ). I've thought about trying to make it a full time go, but like i said, prices keep falling so we repair techs have to cut our prices in order to have a customer.


you should also charge a fee like rob said for simply showing up. That way say if you fix it in a 1/2 hour your not just getting a 1/2 hours charge. Make it so it is worth your while to be there.

[StygShore]

I've been a tech for 12 years... going rate for onsite support in most instances where I have worked in Michigan is about $125.00 an hour - Since you are not certified or specialized, you could easily get away with $75.00 an hour.


Styg

[d4m4don3]

Hello everyone. Earlier today I went to visit a new dentist that is supposed to be one of the best in the state to get my overall check up. So I am there and he starts talking to me about his son who is my same age 26 and how he is going to be a dentist. Then he asks me what I do and I tell him that I am a Electrical/Tech Support technician and pretty much just work with technology all day. So then he asks if he could hire me to fix his network issues he has been having at his dental office. The problem is that the program that he uses in each operating room that displays dental procedures to patients stops mid way and shows an error prompt, that has something to do with licensing software. So then he takes me to his servers location and I start tooling around and figure out it has to do with his Symantec firewall which looks corupted. Well he tells me that he wants to hire me and wants me to come in on wednesday evening after work and fix it. The only work I have done indepently(sp) was on my aunts home network. This guy has one of the most advanced offices I have ever seen. Even the Xray was awesome, I stood there and this thing spinned all around my head and took an Xray of my whole mouth and was displayed instantly on a flat screen How much should I charge? Any techs or Dentists out there please help me.

75 to 125 an hour, minimum 2 hours. thats what I would charge for this. If you've worked on medical facilities you know he will need to be secure to satisfy the hippa standards. If his network isn't compliant you've got some additional work ahead of you.

[teufelhunden]

I'm actually advertising now and have a website and business cards, no business license yet (woot for tax free ).

See Schedule C on your 1040. You're still required to report that income to the IRS and pay taxes on it. Whether you do or not is a different story, but at least now you know