My Daily Rate?

[kaiser78]

It is always important to get the first contract under your belt if contracting is your chosen direction. Therefore go with the rate that is advertised so there is no risk of pricing yourself out.

[DS23]

do not talk yourself down and do not get talked down. the agency has probably proposed you to the client at 500 and told them it would be 600 if not for the fact that you are a first timer. if you say you would be happier on 350 the agent will simply pocket the difference. you might be nervous about not having all the skills but don't worry - you'll spend the first two weeks (if not two months) twidling your thumbs waiting for stuff to happen by which time you will already be settled. in the land of the blind etc.

frankly i think it is a great sign of economic recovery that first timers are being pulled out of permie land.

[GillsMan]

Thanks all, very helpful replies here!

do not talk yourself down and do not get talked down. the agency has probably proposed you to the client at 500 and told them it would be 600 if not for the fact that you are a first timer. if you say you would be happier on 350 the agent will simply pocket the difference. you might be nervous about not having all the skills but don't worry - you'll spend the first two weeks (if not two months) twidling your thumbs waiting for stuff to happen by which time you will already be settled. in the land of the blind etc.

frankly i think it is a great sign of economic recovery that first timers are being pulled out of permie land.

Cheers for that, and yeah, the agy has come back asking me to confirm that I'm happy for him to represent me. He's offered me slightly less than the advertised rate, so I figure that he's picked up on my hesitancy and, as you say, pocketing the difference. Tbh, I'll chalk that down to my own inexperience, and I'll be a little more forceful in future.

If you are new to the rates and all this have you made sure your clear about LTD/Company, got an accountant and all the other gumpf that comes with contracting?

Yup, actually I've been lurking on this site for a while garnering lots of information. I think for my first company I might go for an umbrella company and, if contracting is for me, then I'll get MyCo Ltd set up and sort out an accountant and all that. Unless that sounds like a horrific idea of course...?

[lxt04]

I think for my first company I might go for an umbrella company and, if contracting is for me, then I'll get MyCo Ltd set up and sort out an accountant and all that. Unless that sounds like a horrific idea of course...?

Seems like a good one to me - and it's what I did. You can get started straight away without delay, and then have all the requisite paperwork (business bank account, VAT registration number, etc) all ready to go when you come off your first contract. You'll miss out on a bit of cash, but many people would say it's worth it for the short-term. My first contract was three months, which I did on an umbrella, and then moved over to my own Ltd Co. when it came up for renewal.

[d000hg]

I'm sure you're not the only one who sometimes has a reality check "they're paying me HOW much a day?!"

But you really have to forget the actual number, and instead go by the market. If everyone is paying £1000, ask for that. If everyone is stuck on £200, put up with it.

If you didn't already sour it by mentioning any sign of uncertainty, you could say "I see it's listed at £375 but I was looking at more like £400-425". Not a big difference and you'll probably get negotiated back to £375 - or as a first time contractor they may push harder, who knows.

If you are in a steady job, play the game and be picky. If you need the money, adjust the strategy.

[cojak]

WHS, if you go for a lower rate the chances are high the agent will pocket this amount,
probably best to go for slightly higher rate given agent has said your the only candidate.

Also make sure contract is IR35 compliant might explain the higher rate offered if it's not.

WHS with bells on.

Except for the IR35 bit. For a rather niche area that's the going rate.

But you're a trainer for God's sake. Buy a couple of books, hit google. Your skill is to impart knowledge. If you're a good trainer you're worth it. If you're a rubbish trainer you're not.

On the basis that you're a good 'un and the training isn't especially niche, £375 is a good rate.

[cojak]

Have to say, IME, training outfits charge a whole bunch of moolah for the courses they offer, but pay very little this on to the trainers. If you can get a day rate like that, great, but I think your upside on negotiating your rate is slim, myself.

This is spot on...

[Fred Bloggs]

This is spot on...

That's why I never do training gigs. I get offered quite a few short ones in nice locations, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc, but the effort involved in preparation of the material that I consider essential is too much. I reckon that for every 1 day of training using new, unique course content, I need to prepare for about two weeks to do a top notch job. The rates just don't cover that kind of effort and a shoddy training presentation is a toe curling experience when you see one.

[cojak]

I've given up on it too Fred. I've some courses/workshops that I've created while I'm on the bench that I offer (and one that I'll be running next week), but generally you don't get the continuous employment as a straight IT trainer.

I PM training on transition/implementation projects but I restrict that to every 3rd contract or so as it's easy to be 'ghetto'ed into training.

I earn more doing my specialism than training in it.

[Fred Bloggs]

Good luck with the training as a side gig cojak , the last bunch of cheeky bast***s from Kuala Lumpur who asked told me that I would have to do the seminar gratis because their seminars were so prestigious that the networking opportunities that would come my way were compensation enough! Yeah.............. Like I'm gonna fall for that line! (I like KL though, shame.)