Reply to: Nothing has changed on the boards since last week

[d000hg]

I did post some jobs on RentaCoder but since I required good skills with particular technologies bids were not that many. I found a couple of people through oDesk which works on similar principles, and also just posting on forums frequented by those programming in the particular area of real-time graphics got me some emails.

I did get some really lame bids though, people who met none of the requirements and didn't really seem to even read the description... and these were without exception the ones offering ~$10/hr... there seemed to be a big jump in quality of the applications at around the $20 mark.

[Durbs]

So did you use something like rentacoder and just weed out the likely looking candidates (and if so, how may responses did you get to the job posting to pick from)? Or were these guys recommended by someone?

[d000hg]

I've seriously considered this but not tried it yet. Get bugged all the time by offshore Co's asking if i've got work and rather than telling the last lot to p1ss off, i spoke to the chap and said maybe. I asked for example projects and costs and the stuff they sent through looked good (but had various co names in the 'produced by' banners at the bottom so i took those with a pinch of salt). Prices though were an eye opener:

Software Development (Java, .Net & PHP): £7.00/Hour
MS-Sharepoint: £10.00/Hour
Web Development: £7.00/Hour

And various other techs around the same mark (Documentum Services at a lofty £13 though!)

Be stupid not to try it i think seeing as i have a load of dull client website content changes queueing up.

I can help but feel i'm going to get stuffed somewhere along the line though......

Has anyone tried it?

I've not used anyone at the crazy low rates, because I normally find I can't understand their emails and am sure I'd spend too much time trying to explain things. Also I am woring in 3D graphics right now which is a bit specialised.
But I am currently subcontracting work out to one Indian guy at $25/hr, and I have a Polish guy standing by at $20 as well as an Estonian 3D artist on the same rate. I hand-picked these guys though, rather than simply pick a winning bid - I need to at least send a few emails back and forth to figure out if they seem any use.

[Durbs]

Perhaps the thing to do is work out a solution for a client, and get the actual coding done cheaply on www.rentacoder.com so making technical knowledge of the specifics unnecessary.

I've seriously considered this but not tried it yet. Get bugged all the time by offshore Co's asking if i've got work and rather than telling the last lot to p1ss off, i spoke to the chap and said maybe. I asked for example projects and costs and the stuff they sent through looked good (but had various co names in the 'produced by' banners at the bottom so i took those with a pinch of salt). Prices though were an eye opener:

Software Development (Java, .Net & PHP): £7.00/Hour
MS-Sharepoint: £10.00/Hour
Web Development: £7.00/Hour

And various other techs around the same mark (Documentum Services at a lofty £13 though!)

Be stupid not to try it i think seeing as i have a load of dull client website content changes queueing up.

I can help but feel i'm going to get stuffed somewhere along the line though......

Has anyone tried it?

[KentPhilip]

No you say you work for your own company and you specialise in SQl server.

As you say you will get blank looks - here you need to try to explain in simple terms a basic overview of what your company provides- being a condescending muppet will get you nowhere.

Once you have explained what you do you should then be able to get the name of the head of IT.

Bit of a tip for free - try to see what is on her desktop and explain what you do in terms of how it could affect her applications - it makes it real and builds bridges.

I am gonna have to start charging for this info!

So you are recommending going into potential clients, and try to identify problems they have for which you have software solutions?
I guess this could work, but as the ideal solution would be totally dependent on the client's requirements, you would have to be a generalist - a jack of all trades. I should imagine that SQL Server would only be included as an optimum solution for 1% of clients, so going after that specifically would surely be very inefficient.
Perhaps the thing to do is work out a solution for a client, and get the actual coding done cheaply on www.rentacoder.com so making technical knowledge of the specifics unnecessary.

I feel tempted to give this a try. In the last recession I sold double glazing door-to-door and made £20/hour in 1994, so maybe I could wing it?

(I wouldn't recommend that job - a bit unethical dragging people up off their sofas where they are watching Eastenders to hear a spiel about uPVC and 6mm air gaps...)

[MPwannadecentincome]

Understood. But feel free to PM me if you want to.

P

Durbs if I could have a PM too please - I have been following this thread with interest!

[Peter Loew]

Indeed, i'd love to but how you put yourself across on forums and how you'd like your company to be seen is a totally different thing. I've done that before, had my company URL in forum sig and then after reviewing some past posting realise I occasionally come across as a right bell-end and that doesnt reflect well on the Ltd's image.

Understood. But feel free to PM me if you want to.

P

[Durbs]

I don't know if Peter Loew is your real name or not but I don't think Durbs will be sharing his websites with us as it will then reveal his real identity!

Indeed, i'd love to but how you put yourself across on forums and how you'd like your company to be seen is a totally different thing. I've done that before, had my company URL in forum sig and then after reviewing some past posting realise I occasionally come across as a right bell-end and that doesnt reflect well on the Ltd's image.

[original PM]

huh? So you stroll around your local business park saying "I'm an experienced SQL Server DBA, and I'm looking for an assignment"
The most likely response you'll get is "What's a SQL Server" and "Can you fix our photocopiers for £8/hour"

No you say you work for your own company and you specialise in SQl server.

As you say you will get blank looks - here you need to try to explain in simple terms a basic overview of what your company provides- being a condescending muppet will get you nowhere.

Once you have explained what you do you should then be able to get the name of the head of IT.

Bit of a tip for free - try to see what is on her desktop and explain what you do in terms of how it could affect her applications - it makes it real and builds bridges.

I am gonna have to start charging for this info!

[MPwannadecentincome]

So Durbs etc., let's see some of these websites then!

I don't know if Peter Loew is your real name or not but I don't think Durbs will be sharing his websites with us as it will then reveal his real identity!

[KentPhilip]

One of the best ways to get contacts is to go to your nearest buisness parks and knock on the doors - get a comps slip with some of the directors names on it. (Note you may need to turn on the charm and 'work' on the receiptionist to get this info)

huh? So you stroll around your local business park saying "I'm an experienced SQL Server DBA, and I'm looking for an assignment"
The most likely response you'll get is "What's a SQL Server" and "Can you fix our photocopiers for £8/hour"

[Stan.goodvibes]

I still wake up sobbing occasionally, you ever tried sticking 500 stamps on?

Hey it wasn't a complete waste of time - your story really made me LOL (with you, not at you).

Setting up a phone line: 50 quid
500 flyers and stamps: 100 quid
Not gettting the ph connected property: Priceless

[Peter Loew]

Most contractors I would assume have their own LTD, but does that mean they have their own business...?

I would like to have my own business too but the most obvious way I see this happening to start with at least is to recruit resource I hire through my LTD rather than direct through an agent. I almost had the chance to do this at my last contract but the events leading up didn't allow it to happen, unfortunately.

Hmm, websites, flyers and cold calls... I have to think about this and of course about what services I would be offering as a PM.

So Durbs etc., let's see some of these websites then!

[Durbs]

Hi Durbs how did you market your website? did you have someone seo it ?

No, i worked for years at the start as a pure web developer sometimes alongside SEO guys so some of the stuff rubbed off and i try (with varied success) to handle that side of things myself. I always found that once an SEO guy had got his hands on a clients site, it generally ended up more geared to being read by a machine rather than a person - saw some nice sites turned into trainwrecks so be careful if hiring someone in the SEO market as they tend to be not very technically gifted in my experience!

I'd say try it yourself first, theres loads of articles out there. Also i had some success with paid targeted web advertising - but depends what you are plugging as to whether it'd work in your case.

[MPwannadecentincome]

And remember if you run your own business and you do not currently have a revenue generating contract then you should be out there trying to get business - being on the bench is not a holiday when you have no work to do it is the hard bit where you have to try and get the work.

If you run your own business then you should not wait until you are on the bench to do this - you should be doing this as a matter of course on a regular basis!