2 Contractors 1 Ltd Company 1 Client

[Eirikur]

Fixed price normally only works if you go direct with a end client.
Two contractors on a daily rate and completing the work in half the time would never work through an agency as they are simply too stupid to understand the concept. Again if you would go direct it might work

[northernladuk]

It's an interesting approach.

One thing I am trying to do this year is scale beyond just day rate contracting, and I have wondered about interviews as a path to market.

I have an early stage interview/chat coming for a role which involves developing a completely standalone greenfield application. I might test the waters by pitching it as more of an offsite B2B thing.

Well it's about gathering a customer base and what better way to get yourself in front of the guys you need to be speaking to. Like all sales methods it's going to involve a lot of legwork and dead ends but identifying the right people to speak to is half the work and the agents are throwing that at you. Agents are happy enough to ask for two references to go spam for sales so play them at their own game and gather their contacts. I don't do software so I could be wrong of course but if you have the time to apply and attend a 1/2 hour interview it's hardly taking all your time up.

[riffpie]

Hi All,
This way we could complete a 6 month contract (assuming the contract is for a finite project and not on-going work) in 3 months at no additional cost to the employer.

https://www.google.co.uk?q=the+mythical+man+month

Two guys at my current gig work for the same Ltd. It was formed to build a specific product, based on a particular other product. Along the way, they found consulting on and working with said other product for other people, more lucrative than slogging away on their own project. So now that's what they tend to do. They deal direct with the client.

But I don't think you're going to sell "we can do it in half the time!" to anyone. Mostly because it's complete nonsense. You're not typists.

[Kanye]

Hmm the title reminds me of a short film I saw once but the exact name of it escapes me.. Oh well...

Why not apply for the gigs, get in front of the client to listen to his requirements as if you were interviewing and then depending on what he says sell him your solution. If he clearly wants a bum on a seat then be polite and do some networking with him for the future. If he wants a solution then switch in to a sales spiel or arrange to meet him later.

Surely if you sell software dev and the agents are throwing leads at you that could potentially want some software dev you would be daft to ignore it no?

It's an interesting approach.

One thing I am trying to do this year is scale beyond just day rate contracting, and I have wondered about interviews as a path to market.

I have an early stage interview/chat coming for a role which involves developing a completely standalone greenfield application. I might test the waters by pitching it as more of an offsite B2B thing.

[northernladuk]

Hmm the title reminds me of a short film I saw once but the exact name of it escapes me.. Oh well...

Why not apply for the gigs, get in front of the client to listen to his requirements as if you were interviewing and then depending on what he says sell him your solution. If he clearly wants a bum on a seat then be polite and do some networking with him for the future. If he wants a solution then switch in to a sales spiel or arrange to meet him later.

Surely if you sell software dev and the agents are throwing leads at you that could potentially want some software dev you would be daft to ignore it no?

[DirtyDog]

Me and my friend started a software development business (Ltd Company) we are not doing to badly...

My friend and I started a software development business (Ltd Company) we are not doing too badly...

Would a company (and the agency) be willing to employ our Ltd company and have 2 people working on the contract - same rate but in theory completing the work in half of the time?

This way we could complete a 6 month contract (assuming the contract is for a finite project and not on-going work) in 3 months at no additional cost to the employer.

I think that some clients would challenge the assumption that you could do the job in half the time. The assumption works well once you have everything sorted out, there's no deviation from the spec, and everything is ready to go. The reality of the situation is probably very far from that - the client has padded the timescale to do the work because they know that there will be periods where you need to ask questions and it may take them a week (at least) to find out the answer to those questions.

The work that goes through agencies are looking for a resource for that length of time - the client may well have already padded it to take into account the way they run the project, so there won't be any scope for you to save lots of time.

Also, you can only save time if you are either working in shifts, or you are working on separate pieces of work. If the work doesn't split easily, then you'll spend time piecing it back together at the end of the development.

I wish you well with the business, but I don't think the agency model is the way forward for you.

[MarillionFan]

Depending on how the client wants this done(especially if offsite), you could of course just take the contract, both work on it and also do other work as you'll have additional capacity.

[Antman]

It's a great idea, but I've a feeling that it'll be a computer says no response from the agencies.

[Bellona]

+1
I find it very difficult to get fixed price work on a managed service or B2B basis nowadays
Time and materials bum on seat is the norm through agencies

Why not put the suggestion to the agencies whose contracts you are interested in and informally test the waters : nothing ventured, nothing gained

[Kanye]

In theory anything can be negotiated.

However, I don't think the typical agency or client wanting a contractor will go for this.

Though LTD company contractors are B2B hopefully working outside of IR35, most clients working this route still want 1 bum in 1 seat on a day rate. A proper B2B sale seems to go via a completely different route.

[andymarsden]

Hi All,

Sorry if this question seems odd I just thought id see if anyone has any experience of the below.

Me and my friend started a software development business (Ltd Company) we are not doing to badly and have completed a number of successful projects for public sector clients. We normally quote for finite pieces of project work and not a daily rate.

We are due to begin another development project in 4 - 6 months time.

We have seen a number of contracts we would be interested in - mostly 6 month ones, through agencies.

Would a company (and the agency) be willing to employ our Ltd company and have 2 people working on the contract - same rate but in theory completing the work in half of the time?

This way we could complete a 6 month contract (assuming the contract is for a finite project and not on-going work) in 3 months at no additional cost to the employer.

We are looking to gain some experience outside of our own software development and now seems an ideal time to do so.

I hope this makes sense and sorry if it is an odd idea.

Cheers

Andy