[consulting] List for Independent Drupal Consultants -- Anyone?

[Sam Cohen]

n Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 3:07 PM, John Sechrest <sechrest at ao.com> wrote:

> Are there no problems/projects or websites that can be build by drupal that
> have value, which don't require writing new code?


Sure, but to make a living as a Drupal consultant just doing those types of
projects?  Is that possible?  I mean is it possible if you work for
yourself?  How does that work?  How many projects do you have to do a
week/month?  What do you tell clients when they want something that's not
configurable?


It seems to me that the better drupal gets , the more often you can get what
> you want without writing code.  And just because it does not take code to
> solve the problem, often configuring drupal so that it is what someone wants
> is more than the average lay person can do.


I agree that using panels, views, cck and other modules does require
knowledge beyond your average lay person's abiliy, and you can get a great
deal done with those.


And that is the space that many consultants are in.


I find that really surprising.  I just couldn't imagine doing what I'm doing
without also writing code.  And I'm never , as you said below, "writing the
next new bit of something."   I don't have time for that.  For me, it's just
about getting a job done and writing what needs to be written for a job,
which for me has always required quite a bit of customization.

I don't understand how you can do a project without it.  If a client asks
for something, I say, yes, that will take X hours, or X to Y hours.  That
feature may exist in a module, in which case it takes less time.  But just
as often it doesn't and I have to price the time it would take me to write
it or modify something written.

If your a one-person consultant and you don't code, do you tell them that it
can't be done?  Or do you have to shop out every feature to a developer?

This is interesting to me, because in many ways I'd like to be able to do
less code and actually spend more time working with clients, so I'm curious
how this works for others.

Right now, without custom code, I'd probably have to do 3 sites a week to
make a living, because for me a typical job involves at most, maybe a day of
"configuration" but can take from a couple of days to 100+ hours in coding.

I'd love to hear what other consultants are doing?  Are there really that
many of you who work for yourselves, make a living,  and are not spending a
big portion of your time coding?

Sam




>
>
> And even if they do need to subcontract out to get code , it is not the
> primary focus.
>
> There are developer-consultants are are in the specific space of always
> writing the next new bit of something. But that need was met by the
> developer lists.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 11:53 AM, Sam Cohen <sam at samcohen.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>>
>>> There are many issues that can be resolved by writing more code, changing
>>> how drupal works. Those are really where the developers excel. However, this
>>> list was focused on how to use the current tools and to not go into the
>>> process of solving every problem by re-re-writing code to make it work a
>>> specific way.
>>>
>>> Developers tend to be code-facing and use that hammer to solve problems.
>>> Consultants tend to be client-facing and are using a different set of tools
>>> to solve problems. Specifically they tend to see Drupal as a tool to solve a
>>> problem instead of a project in need of attention.
>>>
>>> Which is why this is a different list than the developers lists.
>>>
>>>
>> I don't see how you can be a  Drupal consultant and not also be a
>> developer.  By developer, I mean writing custom php to make a site work, be
>> it though a custom glue module that uses hooks and/or through template.php
>> and theme development.
>>
>> It's true that different projects require different amounts of coding, and
>> some very little.
>>
>> But I can't see how any Drupal consultant, who doesn't work with a shop,
>> can make a living without also being a developer, unless they are just
>> scoping out projects and then subcontracting to developers.
>>
>> I don't get the distinction.
>>
>> Sam
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> John Sechrest          .
>>> Corvallis Benton        .
>>>    Chamber Coalition      .
>>>       420 NW 2nd                   .
>>>              (541) 757-1507              . sechrest at corvallisedp.com
>>>                                                                      .
>>>
>>>
>>>          .
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> consulting mailing list
>>> consulting at drupal.org
>>> http://lists.drupal.org/mailman/listinfo/consulting
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> consulting mailing list
>> consulting at drupal.org
>> http://lists.drupal.org/mailman/listinfo/consulting
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>>
>
>
> --
> John Sechrest          .
> Corvallis Benton        .
>    Chamber Coalition      .
>       420 NW 2nd                   .
>              (541) 757-1507              . sechrest at corvallisedp.com
>                                                                      .
>
>
>        .
>
> _______________________________________________
> consulting mailing list
> consulting at drupal.org
> http://lists.drupal.org/mailman/listinfo/consulting
>
>
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