<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 TRANSITIONAL//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=UTF-8"> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="GtkHTML/3.26.0"> </HEAD> <BODY> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> Alright so i still have a bunch of unanswered questions so i'll put them in a convenient bulleted list ^^, </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>Do you do housecalls/drop offs/what? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> "Considering todays economy", I do whatever works best for the client. They are paying me, not the other way around. This helps foster and build the relationship with them which then can lead to referrals. Referrals then lead to more business for me without the work of having to find the new client myself. I strongly believe that in business, especially consulting, the geeky end of knowing speeds/feeds, how things work, etc is much less important (not to mean we don't need to know it!) than having the skills to build and maintain RELATIONSHIPS with our customers. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>How much do you charge? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> I presently charge and average of $85/hr but..."considering todays economy", will work with the client to determine what works best. SOME money is always better than none! And, it also depends on the project itself. Maybe it is a flat fee for the project..maybe sliding scale, maybe some form of incentive (10% off if I get 5 referrals...), whatever. In these economic times, it is key to think outside the box. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>Should i bother with dual-boots, or not? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> Depends on the client. if they are still hedging between Win/Linux, sure. Or, I also will occasionally offer doing a P2V conversion and toss VMware Server on the system (good howto on howtofroge.com) so they don't HAVE to dual boot to get into Windows. I also use Sun VirtualBox often. (As a matter of fact, just created a Windows 7 RC virtual machine on my own home system the other day for testing. Hate to admit it, but I do actually find myself liking Windows 7 so far..) <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>What's the best way to migrate data: use some software to backup an image of the entire drive or just use an external hard drive to copy files over? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> Again, it's best to have a few good tools in your arsenal depending on the customer and what is trying to be accomplished. Most often, I will use an external HDD. I have also used various backup programs (in the past, I was the East Coast Systems Engineer for the EMC Insignia line of products so I have a full NFR of Retrospect, a real good backup product) or Acronis (I have the full Enterprise version) and have also used Virtualization ALOT, or sbackup or Quickstart...etc etc. I also like DropBox and Ubuntu One for offline storage. There are various ghosting/imaging systems (systemimager, G4L, etc) that are great too. It depends on the situation, amount of data, what the desired end result is... <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>What are common problems, things to avoid, etc? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> The biggest and most important thing I always come across is the hardware. is it supported, and will it require and specialized configurations. Like, my home/main system requires quite a bit of customization as it is fairly high end box. It was true pain in the behind at first but, in hindsight, has been a backhand blessing for me as I have had to learn a ton about software RAID and using the Alternate CD to do installs, editing the xorg.conf to recognize both my NVidia video cards and the SLI setup, all the fun in setting up the Soundblaster card (with tons!! of help from Cam Cope), etc etc etc. All of which, I would never had gotten up and running without the inexhaustible, ever-generous help from everyone on this mailing list. There are tons and tons of other possible pitfalls you could come across but to me, it's not whether I  know the answer, it's do I know where to go to get the answer. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>What's the entire process of a conversion? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> That's totally dependent on the job itself. Dual boot/single/what to be migrated/ etc.  <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <UL> <LI>How do you market yourself? </UL> </BLOCKQUOTE> ANYWAY I can. Referrals, word or mouth, friends, family, colleagues, offering to "show off my favorite system/OS", sending youtube video links to stimulate interest, through the other HUGE volunteer organization I am heavily involved with, any networking events, facebook, linkedin,,,heck- smoke signals and morse code if it will work! I have never paid a penny formally to advertise and although I have and do consider it at times, feel there are just far too many other ways to not only get the "word out", but that are actually more effective. I look at it this way. I could spend 8 hours a day on Monster/Dice, etc trying to find a job as a Pre Sales/Systems Engineer knowing full well the number of actual jobs listed that are "real" and the number of people that are spending 8 hr/day clicking Monster/Dice OR I could do some research on companies looking for someone like me, use lists like this to put the word out, use every form of networking possible to get myself ahead of the 100,000 Dice submitted resumes for that ONE job. I think it's the same principle here- people hire people. It's the old "networking" tactic- each and EVERY conversation with EVERYONE you have should ALWAYS contain a mini-intro for your business/consulting. Even if it's just "oh, by the way, not sure if I had mentioned this before...." or "Even if you aren't interested right now, could you help me out a bit and give me the name of 2 people I could speak to that may be interested?" Network THEIR network <IMG SRC="cid:1247682890.4898.141.camel@DellUbuntu" ALIGN="middle" ALT=":)" BORDER="0"> Ask for help! People ask for help 999 ways usually. None of the 999 are actually saying the word HELP.  LOL. In that vein- HELP. I am looking for a job as a Pre Sales/Systems Engineer, will be moving to the Nashua NH area next month. If anyone thinks they could be of any help, please email me personally at <A HREF="mailto:jimobeirne@gmail.com">jimobeirne@gmail.com</A> and I can send more information/resume, etc. Or, maybe you know one or two people I could contact that may be able to help? Thanks everyone-- Jim O'Beirne MCSE, MCT, MCDBA, CCNA, CCA, A+, N+, Linux+, EMC Proven Professional, VCP,HP Enterprise Solutions <A HREF="mailto:JimOBeirne@gmail.com">JimOBeirne@gmail.com</A> (617) 799-7960 <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 16:21, jimi o'beirne <<A HREF="mailto:jimobeirne@gmail.com">jimobeirne@gmail.com</A>> wrote: </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <BLOCKQUOTE> I'm running out shortly to get some stuff done for tonight but am willing to help you where I can. I have run a successful consulting company in the past and have just started up as an LLC again. Jim O'Beirne </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <BLOCKQUOTE> <TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" WIDTH="100%"> <TR> <TD> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> On Tue, 2009-07-07 at 15:13 -0400, Danny Piccirillo wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> I've done conversions for friends, but i'd like to start doing this for money now. For everyone experienced with this, can you give me and anyone else interested some tips/advice? How did you get started? Who did you target first? How did you market yourself? Do you do housecalls/drop offs/what? What's the entire process of a conversion? How much do you charge? What are common problems, things to avoid, etc, etc, etc.  Thanks! .danny Again, this is mostly for the ubuntu businesses group, but it's relevant to anyone who helps people do conversions to ubuntu. <A HREF="http://groups.google.com/group/ubuntu-us-ma-business">http://groups.google.com/group/ubuntu-us-ma-business</A> -- <A HREF="http://www.google.com/profiles/danny.piccirillo">http://www.google.com/profiles/danny.piccirillo</A> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> <BLOCKQUOTE> -- Ubuntu-us-ma mailing list <A HREF="mailto:Ubuntu-us-ma@lists.ubuntu.com">Ubuntu-us-ma@lists.ubuntu.com</A> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <A HREF="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-ma">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-ma</A> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE> -- <A HREF="http://www.google.com/profiles/danny.piccirillo">http://www.google.com/profiles/danny.piccirillo</A> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML>