Agency thoughts

[MrMarkyMark]

Things are not workable only when profit is the motive. Ask yourself, how did linux or mysql (or neo4j) became major players. Models have changed a lot. Days are gone where some one will have to represent our skills (even when he/she doesn't have necessary skills).

Our motive is not profit. Our motive is making the world known that we are contractors and are available for work. Agents have not entry here. Its run by contractors and by contractors. As long as we can get enough revenue to run the site then we are in the game (big companies cannot afford this model). Running a website cost about very very less than we pay to agencies per day (best hosting solutions cost less than $100 USD that I can afford to personally). Jobserve charges £170 per ad ( I guess its per week). But ours is going to be an exclusive social network of contractors.

Sounds great. Go for it!

[Lance]

Things are not workable only when profit is the motive. Ask yourself, how did linux or mysql (or neo4j) became major players. Models have changed a lot. Days are gone where some one will have to represent our skills (even when he/she doesn't have necessary skills).

Our motive is not profit. Our motive is making the world known that we are contractors and are available for work. Agents have not entry here. Its run by contractors and by contractors. As long as we can get enough revenue to run the site then we are in the game (big companies cannot afford this model). Running a website cost about very very less than we pay to agencies per day (best hosting solutions cost less than $100 USD that I can afford to personally). Jobserve charges £170 per ad ( I guess its per week). But ours is going to be an exclusive social network of contractors not agents. But we should allow direct companies to advertise their available openings.

You are suggesting a commercial offering, going into competition with agencies, but not wanting to make money.
That is not a social network.

A social network tries to make money (very rarely does that work) and doesn't try to compete with an existing market at a fraction of the cost.

So what are suggesting is a uniquely naive way of losing all your startup capital (and maybe your house).

[itjobs]

Say someone finds me through your site how do you stop me going direct and pocketing the 2-5%?
And how would you find out what I was doing?

As said before, if your skills make your client want you more then you don't have to go through this "(unborn) network of contractors". You have impressed the clients with your skills and its yours to reap the benefits. You have invested hours and hours of hard work to horn your skills. You should claim credit and the benefit for it.

"And if it ever got successful all the agencies would become customers and then poach your contractors.".

This will be a network of contractors not agents. This will be justified from how long they have been registered in this forum and how many replies they have made.

[itjobs]

You are suggesting a commercial offering, going into competition with agencies, but not wanting to make money.
That is not a social network.

A social network tries to make money (very rarely does that work) and doesn't try to compete with an existing market at a fraction of the cost.

So what are suggesting is a uniquely naive way of losing all your startup capital (and maybe your house).

Any social network can make money through advertisements, but that is not be all and end all because it is not going to be a commercial network. This could be a network started by contractors helping contractors to make more money helping agencies move out of their way. There is no capital involved. How much of capital do you think is needed to run a site like "jobserve" or "itjobs"? Literally peanuts. I am happy to lose capital (from my own pocket) and accept that my efforts have failed. But don't you think that we should try this? Don't you think that we should exhibit our expertise directly on our own rather than through some agent?

It will be run by contractors for contractors through out.

[SueEllen]

Any social network can make money through advertisements, but that is not be all and end all because it is not going to be a commercial network. This could be a network started by contractors helping contractors to make more money helping agencies move out of their way. There is no capital involved. How much of capital do you think is needed to run a site like "jobserve" or "itjobs"? Literally peanuts. I am happy to lose capital (from my own pocket) and accept that my efforts have failed. But don't you think that we should try this? Don't you think that we should exhibit our expertise directly on our own rather than through some agent?

It will be run by contractors for contractors through out.

Mmm nope.

[itjobs]

Mmm nope.

SueEllen you are a respectable member of the community. Would you like to elaborate your "nope". We need to get to the bottom of why we are all going through expensive agents rather than having our own way.

[Lance]

Any social network can make money through advertisements, but that is not be all and end all because it is not going to be a commercial network. This could be a network started by contractors helping contractors to make more money helping agencies move out of their way. There is no capital involved. How much of capital do you think is needed to run a site like "jobserve" or "itjobs"? Literally peanuts. I am happy to lose capital (from my own pocket) and accept that my efforts have failed. But don't you think that we should try this? Don't you think that we should exhibit our expertise directly on our own rather than through some agent?

You have proposed replacing agencies for a fee of between 2 & 5%
Here's a list of costs, off the top of my head (not including web hosting and development as apparently that's peanuts)
1) lawyers to draft contracts
2) accountants and admin to run the back office
3) compliance/legal specialists to handle tax law, agency regulations, client relationships
4) good cashflow to allow you to run all that on a smaller margin than an agency has
5) business insurance


Or is that the 2-5% isn't going to be spent on replacing the agencies so the agency is still needed to provide the additional services? At which point your 2% fee paying site becomes a ripoff.

[northernladuk]

SueEllen you are a respectable member of the community. Would you like to elaborate your "nope". We need to get to the bottom of why we are all going through expensive agents rather than having our own way.

If you don't know then you are going to fail IMO.

[Lance]

You have proposed replacing agencies for a fee of between 2 & 5%
Here's a list of costs, off the top of my head (not including web hosting and development as apparently that's peanuts)
1) lawyers to draft contracts
2) accountants and admin to run the back office
3) compliance/legal specialists to handle tax law, agency regulations, client relationships
4) good cashflow to allow you to run all that on a smaller margin than an agency has
5) business insurance

Back of a fag packet numbers.
Assume 20 contractors at £500 a day, net monthly terms with the clients, and contractors who expect top be paid on time sheet submission = up to £400,000 of exposure for a couple of weeks every month.
One bad debt kills your model if you could get it off the ground in the first place.

[itjobs]

You have proposed replacing agencies for a fee of between 2 & 5%
Here's a list of costs, off the top of my head (not including web hosting and development as apparently that's peanuts)
1) lawyers to draft contracts
2) accountants and admin to run the back office
3) compliance/legal specialists to handle tax law, agency regulations, client relationships
4) good cashflow to allow you to run all that on a smaller margin than an agency has
5) business insurance


Or is that the 2-5% isn't going to be spent on replacing the agencies so the agency is still needed to provide the additional services? At which point your 2% fee paying site becomes a ripoff.

1) lawyers to draft contracts = We have seen multiple formats of contracts. Don't you agree?
2) accountants and admin to run the back office = I am confused here. Your company or our social network of contractors company?
3) compliance/legal specialists to handle tax law, agency regulations, client relationships = Confused again. But what kind of social, law, relationship you had before you registered in facebook or linkedin?
4) good cashflow to allow you to run all that on a smaller margin than an agency has - running costs are very very less that I can afford personally. You don't need to spend a penny.
5) business insurance - Its yours. How many agencies provide business insurance to their contractors?