How Specializing in ‘Obsolete’ Tech Can Command $300+/Hour Consulting Rates

From Penny Stocks to Premium Contracts: Your Obsolescence Advantage

Want clients fighting to pay you $300+/hour? Stop chasing trends and start solving expensive problems. I want to share how focusing on technology others call ‘obsolete’ transformed my consulting practice – and can do the same for yours.

Remember when Canada stopped making pennies in 2013? Overnight, those copper discs became collector’s items. As a tech consultant, I’ve seen the same magic happen with ‘dead’ technologies. The systems collecting dust in corporate basements? That’s where you’ll find clients willing to pay premium rates to keep their business running.

Changing How You Think About Value

Stop Chasing Shiny Objects

While everyone scrambles to learn React 27, real money sits in maintaining:

• COBOL banking systems (still processing your paychecks)
• AS/400 servers running factories
• VB6 apps holding $3T in business logic

These aren’t museum pieces – they’re the engines keeping companies alive.

Become the ‘Rare Coin’ Expert

Specializing in unfashionable tech lets you charge what you’re really worth. My first four-figure client came from fixing a VB6 payroll system that had stumped three other consultants. When you’re the only person who can prevent a $500k/hr outage, price becomes an afterthought.

‘Our last COBOL expert retired last year. Now we pay $400/hour just to keep his number on speed dial.’ – Banking VP (real quote)

Building Your Premium Practice

Find Your Niche

Try this exercise over coffee:

1. List 3 'dead' tech you understand (FoxPro? Perl? Perfect)
2. Find who still uses them (banks, hospitals, government)
3. Calculate their disaster costs ($1M/hr credit card outages)
4. Position yourself as their insurance policy

Setting Your Rates

Here’s how I price projects:
Your fee = (Client’s hourly risk) x 10% + scarcity bonus

Real example:
Manufacturer’s AS/400 system goes down? $500k/hour loss.
10% of that risk = $50k base
+ 20% because you’re one of three experts left
= $60k/week project

Tools of the Trade

Finding Premium Clients

Skip the bidding wars. I find clients through:

• LinkedIn Archaeology: Search “COBOL” or “RPG” in job posts, then message the CIO
• Outage Calculator: Free tool showing their potential savings (email me for copy)
• ‘Legacy Lifeline’ Workshops: Lunch sessions for nervous executives

Crafting Ironclad Agreements

My service contracts always include:

// Emergency premium
if (downtimeCost > $100k/hr) {
  rate += 50%
  responseTime = 'within 2 hours'
}

// Knowledge transfer fee
trainingCost = hourlyRate × 10
// (Because your expertise took decades to build)

Marketing Like a Rare Coin Dealer

Creating Scarcity

Build your ‘last expert’ reputation with:

• ‘Endangered Tech’ Podcast: Interview retiring COBOL legends
• Relic Maintenance Certification: Official-looking (self-issued)
• Crisis Stories: “How I saved Acme Co $23M” case studies

Packaging Your Expertise

Like rare coins in display cases, offer:

• Platinum: 24/7 access, 2hr response ($15k/month)
• Gold: Quarterly checkups + emergency support ($8k)
• Silver: Documentation only – no fixes ($2.5k)

Your Time Is Now

Just like those 1974 pennies became valuable when production stopped, your skills gain worth when:

1. You’re among the last experts standing
2. Businesses face million-dollar risks
3. You frame your services as essential insurance

Start today: Pick one ‘obsolete’ system you understand, find who desperately needs it maintained, and position yourself as their solution. The consultants who master this will earn premium rates long after today’s ‘hot’ frameworks become tomorrow’s forgotten trends.

What outdated tech will you turn into your gold mine?

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