This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Short-term consulting project compensation

Yesenia153·Nov 02, 2020

Hi, I was recently offered two options at a seed-stage startup. I could either take a full time offer (Head of growth & product marketing a) or a short-term consulting gig through the end of December, helping to develop their go-to-market strategy and launch of this startup's product. My question is, does anyone have any advice about compensation for the consulting gig? is the standard practice to simply pro-rate my ideal annual salary? or is better to set an hourly rate? Also, I assume the consulting gig doesn't come with benefits, but also wanted to check on that. Any advice would be much appreciated

Norine173·Nov 02, 2020

Hi Anon! A consulting gig would likely not come with benefits under these circumstances (sometimes benefits are an option if you're contracting through a staffing firm alternatively), so you need to account for that in your rate as well as any self-employment tax differences, legal fees for documentation development/review, etc. Consulting fees should be higher - guidance I've seen about just how much seems to vary. I've been billing hourly at 2-3 times what I once made as an employee taking into account the market/my skills/experience supports that and it's possible I was a bit underpaid before.Just did a quick search and found this article, which outlines some useful things to think about. http://crossfireconsulting.com/blog/2018/07/so-you-want-to-be-a-contractor-use-our-calculator-to-determine-your-rate/

Yesenia153·Nov 03, 2020

Thank you so much @Norine173, that is super helpful, especially the part about navigating and adjusting for taxes and benefits. Really appreciate it!

Norine173·Nov 03, 2020

Glad it was helpful!