Would this be poor form?

[northernladuk]

This. Ignoring the "yes, it's poor form" nonsense (for the reasons stated above), the second sentence here is the correct advice. In fact, the only correct advice. Just like the client who drops you 2 weeks into a 6 monther, you do what is right for your business and nothing else. "Form", "professionalism" and all these kinds of weasel words designed to make you feel guilty don't (or shouldn't) even enter into it.

But being good your business also covers long term goals and reputation. What you mean is what is good for the OP. Two very different things. What is good for the OP doesn't necessarily mean what is good for his business. Jacking gigs is bad your business but might be good for the OP personally.

[Scrag Meister]

Yes it would be poor form, and you can forget about working for anyone from this contract again.

I get most of my work these days from PMs and Managers taking me from one contract to the next.

Good, reliable contractors are remembered. So are the flakes.

WCS

Poor form.

[TheFaQQer]

But being good your business also covers long term goals and reputation. What you mean is what is good for the OP. Two very different things. What is good for the OP doesn't necessarily mean what is good for his business. Jacking gigs is bad your business but might be good for the OP personally.

This.

[psychocandy]

This.

Yeh, OK fair enough think about it and dont do it lightly but surely whats good for you personally should be good for your one man band business anyway?

Just started an 8 week gig now. Guy next to me is canning it after a week to go back to previous one. £100 a day more and until end of year. I'd do the same without a doubt.

If you don't look after yourself no-one else will!

[northernladuk]

Yeh, OK fair enough think about it and dont do it lightly but surely whats good for you personally should be good for your one man band business anyway?

Just started an 8 week gig now. Guy next to me is canning it after a week to go back to previous one. £100 a day more and until end of year. I'd do the same without a doubt.

If you don't look after yourself no-one else will!

But there is a balance here. To give the impression it is ok to drop contracts as you feel time and time again is wholly wrong. Yes in exceptional circumstances it can be done and shouldn't cause any problems. If the OP wants to drop this one just because the other appears to be more interesting he is using one of his opportunities and the other contract may just be as bad. In a few months one may pop up closer to home and he decides to ditch the 2nd one in favour of the 3rd and so on.

And no what's good for you personally should be good for your one man band business isn't correct. Personally it would be good to drop every single gig any time the next one has a £10 a day rate rise. Is that good for your business long term?

[TheFaQQer]

Yeh, OK fair enough think about it and dont do it lightly but surely whats good for you personally should be good for your one man band business anyway?

It depends how much of your work is currently / is likely to be picked up by word of mouth. If you have a negative reputation for jumping ship, and the world in which you operate is a small one, then that's not good for your business in the long run.

My gigs over the past three years have been entirely done on the basis of reputation.

Just started an 8 week gig now. Guy next to me is canning it after a week to go back to previous one. £100 a day more and until end of year. I'd do the same without a doubt.

This is my surprised face

If you don't look after yourself no-one else will!

I agree. But looking after yourself and looking after your business are completely different things. I could look after myself better by not paying any corporation tax, fiddling the books and running off with the money. That wouldn't be the best thing for my business, though.

[psychocandy]

But there is a balance here. To give the impression it is ok to drop contracts as you feel time and time again is wholly wrong. Yes in exceptional circumstances it can be done and shouldn't cause any problems. If the OP wants to drop this one just because the other appears to be more interesting he is using one of his opportunities and the other contract may just be as bad. In a few months one may pop up closer to home and he decides to ditch the 2nd one in favour of the 3rd and so on.

And no what's good for you personally should be good for your one man band business isn't correct. Personally it would be good to drop every single gig any time the next one has a £10 a day rate rise. Is that good for your business long term?

NLUK - Im going to agree with you here which is rare. Yes, I agree you need to consider this of course. You can't just carry on dropping things and you need to think it though as you say.

[psychocandy]

It depends how much of your work is currently / is likely to be picked up by word of mouth. If you have a negative reputation for jumping ship, and the world in which you operate is a small one, then that's not good for your business in the long run.

My gigs over the past three years have been entirely done on the basis of reputation.


This is my surprised face


I agree. But looking after yourself and looking after your business are completely different things. I could look after myself better by not paying any corporation tax, fiddling the books and running off with the money. That wouldn't be the best thing for my business, though.

Yeh but ultimately it wouldnt if you got caught.

As for the reputation thing, I guess there are people like that but I'm not sure it applies to everyone. As someone once said, you could shag an agents mother and a month later they'd forget if there was a profit in it for them.

[northernladuk]

Yeh but ultimately it wouldnt if you got caught.

As for the reputation thing, I guess there are people like that but I'm not sure it applies to everyone. As someone once said, you could shag an agents mother and a month later they'd forget if there was a profit in it for them.

It's not about rep with agents, it is with clients. You also forget taking on contractors that jack gigs lose agents money so your own argument is incorrect.

Ask that guy that recently tried to sue nobody for an ex colleague that passed some feedback on that lost him a contract if reputation doesn't matter.

We have also had people leave this long project at my current gig and when a spot appeared they were not considered for the role even though they have had previous knowledge of the contract. It is the contracts you don't know you have lost that is the real issue.

[TheFaQQer]

Yeh but ultimately it wouldnt if you got caught.

As for the reputation thing, I guess there are people like that but I'm not sure it applies to everyone. As someone once said, you could shag an agents mother and a month later they'd forget if there was a profit in it for them.

Some agents, possibly. Some others, definitely not.

I know of a few people who are blacklisted from a couple of agencies that I work with. One sends her CV in almost every week, and it goes straight into the bin because of her reputation. I was chatting with a DBA on one project and mentioned her in passing (something like "we had this really useless AR functional person, and she had a really bad attitude"). His response was "Oh, that sounds like Jane Smith to me". Word gets out about people, and they find it difficult to get work.

If you don't worry about your reputation, and work in an industry where word doesn't get out and demand is always going to outstrip supply, then that's wonderful for you.