When it comes to small business computer consulting, $100 per hour is about the right rate and can make a huge difference in your business growth.  To see why, you can take the $100 per hour rate and multiply it by about 1,500 hours per year (which represents a 75% utilization rate or 75% of a 40-hour work week).  Your gross income will be $150,000 for your small business computer consulting.  

How to Manage Salary

When you have a small business computer consulting firm, you will take a third of your gross and use it for sales and marketing.  This means you can afford a $40,000 base salary for a sales account executive.  Of the one-third of your gross small business computer consulting income, $40,000 goes to base salary and $10,000 goes to marketing expenses.  

Another one-third will handle taxes, insurance and overhead items.  $50,000 will be left to pay technical staff salary.

How Do You Get Past $100 Per Hour?

If you are thinking about going beyond a $100 per hour rate for your small business computer consulting firm, you can hit the hourly billing rate ceiling.  If your clients are paying $110 to $125 per hour, you will be more able to afford the best, most qualified technical staff.

Higher Rates Mean a Different Business

If you want to charge beyond $100 per hour, you will need to go beyond sweet spot small business clients and start serving large small businesses, medium-sized businesses and enterprise accounts that will mean a new business model and new technical skills for your small business computer consulting firm.

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg