Reply to: Life after London

[Pogle]

I am NorthWest based, furthest I have travelled is Brum for first contract 20 years ago...
It's a small circuit of companies prepared to pay contract rates here and probably getting smaller (AZ getting squeezed, Unilever and Barclays taking fewer than previously) but most people I know do ok with a bit of flexibility in an area stretching Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds.
Anyone who has done 10+ contracting must surely have given some thought to insulating themselves from the vagaries of this game, instead of p**sing every penny on more expensive sh*t you don't need ?
I have been stashing excess funds furiously for a while now and find myself 'work optional', I would encourage others to do the same, it is a great feeling to know you can walk away/turn a contract down/don't have to work away/can take the summer off etc
GLA

I'm not interested in going back to London yet, have been contacted about a few roles, but said I was not interested.
At some point I wil get bored and take a new contract, but at the moment I am happy to be at home.

[oliverson]

I am NorthWest based, furthest I have travelled is Brum for first contract 20 years ago...
It's a small circuit of companies prepared to pay contract rates here and probably getting smaller (AZ getting squeezed, Unilever and Barclays taking fewer than previously) but most people I know do ok with a bit of flexibility in an area stretching Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds.
Anyone who has done 10+ contracting must surely have given some thought to insulating themselves from the vagaries of this game, instead of p**sing every penny on more expensive sh*t you don't need ?
I have been stashing excess funds furiously for a while now and find myself 'work optional', I would encourage others to do the same, it is a great feeling to know you can walk away/turn a contract down/don't have to work away/can take the summer off etc
GLA

I've been guilty over the years of blowing cash on that kind of stuff but learned my lesson. But when you get that out of your system, it's amazing how little money you actually need, especially in the north.

[lukemg]

I am NorthWest based, furthest I have travelled is Brum for first contract 20 years ago...
It's a small circuit of companies prepared to pay contract rates here and probably getting smaller (AZ getting squeezed, Unilever and Barclays taking fewer than previously) but most people I know do ok with a bit of flexibility in an area stretching Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds.
Anyone who has done 10+ contracting must surely have given some thought to insulating themselves from the vagaries of this game, instead of p**sing every penny on more expensive sh*t you don't need ?
I have been stashing excess funds furiously for a while now and find myself 'work optional', I would encourage others to do the same, it is a great feeling to know you can walk away/turn a contract down/don't have to work away/can take the summer off etc
GLA

[BlasterBates]

You need a hobby.

In my spare time I'm a "Rock Star"

[Pogle]

Another Manc here

My last contract in the North West was 2008.....

[MrMarkyMark]

We dubbed it 'The commuter stare'.

It actually a hard stare, cos we live in town innit

In all seriousness I do agree, hence, why I have the need for time out, on occasion, out of this .

[oliverson]

One less competitor in London - good.

After April there will be far more heading out of town.- double good.

Believe me, you're more than welcome to it. One of the privileges I have having lived in both places is a balanced and objective opinion. There's a reason everybody on the tube/commuter trains looks as if they've had the marrow of life sucked out of them. We dubbed it 'The commuter stare'. Same for the sea of zombies flooding across London bridge twice a day.

[nomadd]

One less competitor in London - good.

After April there will be far more heading out of town.- double good.

..and there will be at least 5,000,000 Injuns to replace him/them. And all happy to work in London for peanuts.

[MrMarkyMark]

One less competitor in London - good.

After April there will be far more heading out of town.- double good.

And.......hopefully bigger rates for London based contractors

[BrilloPad]

One less competitor in London - good.

After April there will be far more heading out of town.- double good.

[oliverson]

Apart from London, in recent times I have had contracts based in Sheffield/Birmingham, Peterborough, Derby, Nottingham and Newcastle. Lloyds/Halifax and Coop Bank are always looking for people.

I printed out a map of my locality and marked out the companies I know of that take on .NET contractors. My house was pretty much located in the centre of it all with all the sites between 5 and 10 miles. I counted out 10 potential clients who have been looking recently, albeit through agencies. Guess I need to do some good old fashioned marketing and approach them directly with details of my offerings. It suddenly dawned on me that 12 years contracting and I have never needed to get my company website up and running. Shameful.

[GJABS]

the realisation that I just sold 8 years of my life away, only for money.

Is there any reason other than money?

[MrMarkyMark]

Factoring your invoices? You hired a company to chase the debt?

No, what I meant was, I had to support that 3 months debt.
If it had gone on much longer than 3 months, I would have.

[unixman]

Factoring your invoices? You hired a company to chase the debt?

[MrMarkyMark]

I'd love to now how this can be accomplished:

Quote Originally Posted by oliverson View Post

I'm interested to hear from anybody who has made a similar transition. I'd like to try build up a small set of customers within a reasonable commute and by going direct, lessen the shortfall in day rate.

The answer to that is not easily, due to the standard contractor engagement model.
However, it is possible, as I know some that have done it, usually fixed price though, rather than T&M.

The issue with going direct is factoring your invoices for 3 months, I know I have done it.
That sort of payment term is not unusual either, I made £50 PD out of it.

I have to say that they were quicker paying the invoices after, however.