More than one gig

[vwdan]

I've done a fair bit of "ad-hoc" consultancy. I don't work for more than one person at once (i.e., subbing etc) but I just schedule them around each other. In my case they all know the drill - if there's no PO, they don't get booked

Pros:

• IMHO, it's much more fun day to day
• More "consultancy" like than "contractor" and that rubs off in the way you're treated by clients and permies
• Far less of a tendency to get involved in random other stuff (Great for IR35), and it's easier to say no
• Can generally demand a higher daily rate
• More time off / at home

Cons:

• In my experience, less money overall because nothing ever juggles perfectly. A 6 month contract will probably be 6 months solid at your day rate, whereas this won't be
• Agents do NOT understand this model at all. I'm not kidding when I say this - expect pain later on
• As above, it's hard to find this work through agencies. You need contacts
• Less consistency - it's always the London bus effect

While I'm sure there'll be some debate about the specifics of IR35 (And yes, it's on a per contract basis), IMHO the reality is that you'd have to work really really hard to operate with multiple clients and remain within IR35

Overall, I enjoy working like this but I wouldn't necessarily say I prefer it. There's a lot to be said for an easy, well paying Mon - Fri gig.

[tvr450]

This has been discussed before I think:

http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...agreement.html

[northernladuk]

In my example above, I'm clearly not available for ClientA when I'm working for ClientB. So I don't, for example, always have Wednesdays off from ClientA - it varies according to need. I book a day or two days at ClientB, and I'm not available for ClientA even if something comes up.

But that's not MoO is it? It is a clear lack of D&C but are still obliged to deliver what was agreed and not obliged to take other work on they offer. Same as any other gig? Am I missing something here?

[mudskipper]

Could you elaborate?

In my example above, I'm clearly not available for ClientA when I'm working for ClientB. So I don't, for example, always have Wednesdays off from ClientA - it varies according to need. I book a day or two days at ClientB, and I'm not available for ClientA even if something comes up.

[jamesbrown]

Oh, and I also don't see this working too smoothly if you're onsite much, except in the circumstances that mudskipper mentions where you can partition entire days/weeks. I WFH, 100%.

[jamesbrown]

I read somewhere that it is actually fairly rare for a contractor to have more than one client on the go at a time, despite how good this might be from an IR35 perspective.

I've been giving this some thought myself recently, not from an IR35 perspective but because I fancy I take can a bit extra on. Big brained, that sort of thing.
But seriously, I'd appreciate experiences on this. I would like to find a way to expand. But I don't want to bite off more etc etc.

And if there's a previous thread in place for this, I can only say I'm sorry.

I typically have 2-4 concurrent clients. It becomes trickier when you're managing more than one T&M contract, so I generally prefer FFP contracts (or, rather, only one T&M at any given time), although this is not always possible. One way to increase the chances of an FFP contract is to have a T&M task order to scope the work carefully, and then arrange a FFP for the rest.

The reality is that, unless you're willing to expand by subbing work, you probably will bite off too much, so there's always a risk of irritating one or more clients (again, especially if it's T&M). It's mainly common sense though; there's little w/r to managing clients that you couldn't work out yourself.

There are various threads that you can search for. Also, it makes little difference to your IR35 status, insofar as the main factors are contract-specific and, in any case, that would be a bad reason to take on additional clients

[northernladuk]

Depending how you structure it, it can be useful for demonstrating lack of MOO.

Could you elaborate?

[mudskipper]

Nothing to stop you doing it. None of the IR35 friendly contracts will have you exclusively.
The question is can you get 2 contracts that want you part time? Or are you going to double-bubble it and try and do 2 in parallel?

My experience was that I had done some ad-hoc work for a company on and off. I had a full time contract. It looked like the work from my other client was going to pick up.

When it came to renewal time, I negotiated a four day a week - which we agreed would translate to 200 days over a year. So I had roughly a day a week to work on other stuff, but flexibility on both sides to fit in the days as and when needed. I could do 5 days for clientA some weeks, and three others for example. It's worked well for me so far - the other work tends to come in fits and starts.

Edit: Where it might start to get tricky is when my main contract ends - finding something else to fit round the other work will be a challenge.

[mudskipper]

It was good to have two clients for the old process with the questions but not really now. Each contract is still subject to IR35. One could be in, the other out etc

You are a business selling your skills so your first job is to work out is what you can sell and hoew can you fit it around a full time gig. Once you know this then you can work out if it's feasible to clients and if it is you work on how you can sell it.

Depending how you structure it, it can be useful for demonstrating lack of MOO.

[northernladuk]

It was good to have two clients for the old process with the questions but not really now. Each contract is still subject to IR35. One could be in, the other out etc

You are a business selling your skills so your first job is to work out is what you can sell and hoew can you fit it around a full time gig. Once you know this then you can work out if it's feasible to clients and if it is you work on how you can sell it.

[Lance]

I read somewhere that it is actually fairly rare for a contractor to have more than one client on the go at a time, despite how good this might be from an IR35 perspective.

I've been giving this some thought myself recently, not from an IR35 perspective but because I fancy I take can a bit extra on. Big brained, that sort of thing.
But seriously, I'd appreciate experiences on this. I would like to find a way to expand. But I don't want to bite off more etc etc.

And if there's a previous thread in place for this, I can only say I'm sorry.

Nothing to stop you doing it. None of the IR35 friendly contracts will have you exclusively.
The question is can you get 2 contracts that want you part time? Or are you going to double-bubble it and try and do 2 in parallel?

[Elliegirl]

I read somewhere that it is actually fairly rare for a contractor to have more than one client on the go at a time, despite how good this might be from an IR35 perspective.

I've been giving this some thought myself recently, not from an IR35 perspective but because I fancy I take can a bit extra on. Big brained, that sort of thing.
But seriously, I'd appreciate experiences on this. I would like to find a way to expand. But I don't want to bite off more etc etc.

And if there's a previous thread in place for this, I can only say I'm sorry.