Sourcing talent

[Lance]

You need a business offering before thinking how you can resource it.

and even when you have that it's a hard sell.

Let's say you get some £500 a day contractors in. Some will be crap so have to be let go, and you need to make money, so you need to charge at least £650 a day. That's quite a high margin with significant risk if it goes pear-shaped (which it might if you don't know the people).
You'll need PMs you trust (they are few and far between).
And you'll be under constant pressure around the rates so plan on not doing any delivery yourself.
The client has to accept quite a lot of risk for a new consultancy. Bear in mind that the larger SIs would likely charge £800 a day for the same staff, but with reduced (perceived) risk to the client.

It's not really that competitive unless you have many people on-site, and finding those people is hard (if it was easy there'd not be a contracting market).

And there are a gazillion other small 'consultancies' with more experience fighting for same market, with the same access to people (maybe better).

[northernladuk]

Not exactly that, I'm trying to ascertain the mechanics behind starting one's own consultancy.
That's why I asked for guidelines, because I've seen a few companies who are either on the "associate model", or consultancies. Either taking on bigger projects or merely "renting out" people.

You have to look for an offering that provides a benefit to clients then. Not just the one you are with. I've seen so many one trick ponies start up and then go under because they never expanded past their one client.

You need a business offering before thinking how you can resource it.

[Skag]

Sounds more like you want to just shave a bit of their rate to line your pocket which isn't exactly expanding your business. If that is the case you are better off just putting people forward to the agency and negotiating a head hunters fee.

Not exactly that, I'm trying to ascertain the mechanics behind starting one's own consultancy.
That's why I asked for guidelines, because I've seen a few companies who are either on the "associate model", or consultancies. Either taking on bigger projects or merely "renting out" people.

[northernladuk]

If you don't understand that then you'll never do it. If you do understand that then you'd not be here asking..

That's the first rule of thumb I think of when ideas like this and many other similar ones are floated.

[Skag]

If you don't understand that then you'll never do it. If you do understand that then you'd not be here asking..

Hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere

[Lance]

That wasn't a very successful thread...

No. You're asking individual contractors to provide you with an entire business model, that if they could do would be doing.
I've worked with these 'associate companies' before and they are either a glorified bodyshop or a consultancy.
The former of those is an extension to being an agency, the latter a business in its own right. Converting a single man contractor into either is a different business. If you don't understand that then you'll never do it. If you do understand that then you'd not be here asking.

Find a client who'll allow it, and the rest will be easier.
No point having a load of staff you can't afford to pay, or contractors who've 'agreed' to your model who'll be unavailable when you need them.

[northernladuk]

The devil is in the details here. It's not quite tick boxing and watch the money roll in. I'd be willing to guess every contractor on earth sees agents placing people and has the idea of having a slice of that pie and it virtually never pans out.

You need to understand your engagement with your client. It's unlikely your standard bum on seat via an agency contractor can achieve this for a whole host of reasons. Clients frameworks, Approve Suppliers, inability to get people in like an agency, time spent away from their current work to interview and manage and so on.

If you really do have an agreement in place where you are allowed to do this then you are going to have to network/advertise on jobserve and interview the right clients. Getting wrong people in will reflect heavily on you. Will your client give you the time to do this while doing what you should be?

Sounds more like you want to just shave a bit of their rate to line your pocket which isn't exactly expanding your business. If that is the case you are better off just putting people forward to the agency and negotiating a head hunters fee.

Unless you've got yourself something a bit special your idea is rarely worth it.

[Skag]

More help here.

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...t=#post2606668

That wasn't a very successful thread...

[Lance]

More help here.

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...t=#post2606668

[Lance]

Is it possible to source candidates for another agency, who will then source them to the client?

No. Use an agency to pay them. You contract them to you via an agency.

[Skag]

1) When asking someone you're intending to compete with for advice, don't tell them that until after you've got the advice.

Sorry I didn't get that.

[Skag]

Is it possible to source candidates for another agency, who will then source them to the client?

[Lance]

I would like to ask whether someone has experience with sourcing candidates using the associate model with a per day rate (I charge my markup on top of the associate's rate).
I would like to expand my business slowly by doing that.

If anyone has done it, can you point to some general guidelines or lessons learned?

1) When asking someone you're intending to compete with for advice, don't tell them that until after you've got the advice.

2) Use an agency. You aren't likely to know the ins and outs of the legal complexities.

3) Find client's who'll do that (HINT: there aren't many, and the ones that do a really small so you've no scalability). Actually this should be #1 as it's the hardest part to find the work.

[Skag]

I would like to ask whether someone has experience with sourcing candidates using the associate model with a per day rate (I charge my markup on top of the associate's rate).
I would like to expand my business slowly by doing that.

If anyone has done it, can you point to some general guidelines or lessons learned?