Reply to: Rate glass ceiling

[yasockie]

This is risky because you should be spending some time diversifying into other areas.

Unlike TheSurfer you don't support your statement. To flip the question, if I were able to get a very high daily rate why shouldn't I take it? What's the ROI on diversifying, if I spend a year writing a book on a niche subject I may get £1000 at best in sales, it might be pretty hard to recover a year's worth of 500/day from the book's halo effect...
I can always learn or diversify when out of high paying work, I guess?

[lukemg]

Treat it like a 2 yr contract, reassess after that time, if it still suits, opportunities opening up etc you carry on, thats how high flyers assess their careers, in 18 mth - 24 month blocks to ensure progress and not getting sidelined.
Try to cut off any contract noise though, the lure can be very enticing during a difficult perm only work trauma e.g. pdr season. If you let your head get turned its hard to work past it regardless of salary.
Good luck and well done.

[d000hg]

Still feels a bit like selling out though

Selling out is what contractors do for a living.

[PorkPie]

I've decided to take it. Worst that can happen is that I get a couple of years experience in this and go back to contracting. Plus its a fair poke through uncertain times.

Still feels a bit like selling out though

[bobspud]

Consultancy is hard. Really fcsking hard. When my last permie firm got bought their gold plated strategy was 10k work packages. They are short sharp packages of work that provide results and show clients progress. They quickly turn into 100k projects and 10 or so of them turns you over a million.
Our new task masters said we don't want no deals under a million, and all of a sudden wondered why their books were 3m down in a quater.

For the one man band it's damn hard to find practice partners or consultants that can remember what the strategy is long enough to land the first big job.

I just gave 6 guys, 2 years of heavy high profile work and they are already whining like permies...

Me thinks that next time I will be abusing the ICT visa system...

[d000hg]

I would always take 600 a day over 100K a year package

I am the sort who takes little time of and on 600 a day you can gross 150K a year

With the tax benefits of a ltd that adds icing to the cake

Well rate*200 would make that £120k. The amount they might be paying in matched pension contributions would partially negate the extra tax you pay too.

Taking such a job might be a great way to a later 'in' to your first client when you sell your Ltd's services as a small consultancy

[bobhope]

This answer is closest the the mark IMO. I view contracting as giving me a base cash flow, plus of course new contacts and the chance to learn new stuff. and don't even attempt to contract the whole year.

That's pretty much the way I view things. In a way, the high rates of contracting are a double-edged sword, because you're always tempted to work flat out to maximize your immediate income. This is risky because you should be spending some time diversifying into other areas.

[DeludedAussie]

£100k + bens is good stuff. You'll have to follow the permie rulebook though - if you can live with then all fair and well.

I'd take it: there still aren't many people out there on that kind of salary along with good career prospects (or contractor prospects for the future).

Good luck!

I would always take 600 a day over 100K a year package

I am the sort who takes little time of and on 600 a day you can gross 150K a year

With the tax benefits of a ltd that adds icing to the cake

[ChimpMaster]

Have the same dilemma as the OP. Client has just offered rate*200 + pension + bonus to go perm. Seriously considering as it would be the step up to management level which would see a 3-400pd shift in rate in a few years time.

£100k + bens is good stuff. You'll have to follow the permie rulebook though - if you can live with then all fair and well.

I'd take it: there still aren't many people out there on that kind of salary along with good career prospects (or contractor prospects for the future).

Good luck!

[d000hg]

Sounds like a "bite their arm off" offer to me. Provided the pension is decent and the bonus isn't going to evaporate. Unless you're on a crap rate that sounds like a serious package and I'd be after a car and other perks as part of the negotiation

[PorkPie]

Have the same dilemma as the OP. Client has just offered rate*200 + pension + bonus to go perm. Seriously considering as it would be the step up to management level which would see a 3-400pd shift in rate in a few years time.

[d000hg]

How many of us named their Ltd "XXX consultancy"? Sounds like we all should have!

[TheFaQQer]

Well obviously. But if the OP can't get £1000 for himself what makes you think he'd be able to charge £300 people out at £1000? If he could, he'd be on £1000 and probably happy enough not to be chasing more.

Once you can convince a client that you are a consultancy company, then they will pay more.

My last permie job, the client was whinging about paying £450 a day for contractors, yet paid Oracle £695 a day for someone straight out of university to copy values from a spreadsheet into the environment. Over the course of the project, they paid Oracle over £1.5 million just to supply the solution architect.

It's about perception by the client - they will splash out for a consultancy where they won't pay for a contractor, even though they probably end up with the same person.

[d000hg]

Sure, but once you can charge out 2x people at £1000 each and pay them £300 each, you're better off (oversimplified of course, but you scale as you grow and you don't have to "work" for money anymore)

Well obviously. But if the OP can't get £1000 for himself what makes you think he'd be able to charge £300 people out at £1000? If he could, he'd be on £1000 and probably happy enough not to be chasing more.

[TheSurfer]

So in effect the company would just be a resourcer of PM skills, which due to the nature of being contractors I would not have much of a mark up and so deemed not really worth pursuing.
!

Why do you say it would it not be worth it? You will probably make a 15%+ margin (minus the cost of the factoring), which should be £90+ a day for you for a PM role. Now whether it's worth it from a 'hassle' viewpoint now that's another question