>I've been away from Fox for a couple of years. The last work I did was in 5.0, and it didn't really take advantage of any new features. I'm starting my own small business consulting firm in Charlotte, and just asking advice. In the past couple of years, I was doing Sybase stored procedures, some UNIX shell scripting, learning Oracle PL/SQL, and Macromedia Dreamweaver. I'm just having a tough time creating a concrete identity to market here, and hope someone can offer some advice.
>
>I appreciate any advice you professionals might have for me.
>
>Thanks,
>Nick Costanza

A few words of advice I have are...

Do not try to solve every problem your clients have with one tool. Be able to provide solutions to problems by using the right tool for the job. This can be through relationships with other developers, etc. Get involved in a user group and talk with other professionals in your area.

Remember that sometimes the solution to a problem may not involve programming or computers at all. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. You will develop long term relationships with clients if you are honest and up front.

There are software packages out there now that might be sufficient for a client - be sure to review and let them know about these. You can charge for the research, maybe learn a new product, and gain a great reference.

There are development efforts that are lose-lose, walk away.