Plan B - Subcontracting "Overseas skilled workers"

[Jog On]

I was thinking about the whole Bob thing, the floodgates opening and the implications to the market. However if outsourcing overseas is anything to go by who's to say that in influx of "skilled workers" from overseas will be any better?

Cheaper - yes

Better -

So I thought that as a LTD companies that provide IT services to businesses aren't we quite well positioned to be able to filter out the good ones and subcontract them through our companies? Especially in niche areas we have knowledge of the work needing to be done and how the clientcos want it done.

If they are prepared to work for so little is there scope for another middle person to do some extra due diligence on the calibre of the "skilled overseas worker" with an expert knowledge that agents don't have?

Also as said skilled overseas workers are working under the banner of the LTD then there's an accountability that in the event of a flip up then 'management' are on hand to sort it out if need be.

I was thinking about this and it was all doom doom doom until it clicked that if done properly I could have 10 "overseas skilled workers" generating myLTD ~£100/day...

Please tell me why this wouldn't work?

[kandr]

I was thinking about the whole Bob thing, the floodgates opening and the implications to the market. However if outsourcing overseas is anything to go by who's to say that in influx of "skilled workers" from overseas will be any better?

Cheaper - yes

Better -

So I thought that as a LTD companies that provide IT services to businesses aren't we quite well positioned to be able to filter out the good ones and subcontract them through our companies? Especially in niche areas we have knowledge of the work needing to be done and how the clientcos want it done.

If they are prepared to work for so little is there scope for another middle person to do some extra due diligence on the calibre of the "skilled overseas worker" with an expert knowledge that agents don't have?

Also as said skilled overseas workers are working under the banner of the LTD then there's an accountability that in the event of a flip up then 'management' are on hand to sort it out if need be.

I was thinking about this and it was all doom doom doom until it clicked that if done properly I could have 10 "overseas skilled workers" generating myLTD ~£100/day...

Please tell me why this wouldn't work?

Only 100 hardly worth it? Unless you mean 100 each?

[HairyArsedBloke]

It would make you a collaborator.

[Jog On]

Only 100 hardly worth it? Unless you mean 100 each?

I meant 100 each

It would make you a collaborator.

I like to think of it in terms of turning a negative into a positive... if it's going to happen anyway

[kandr]

I meant 100 each



I like to think of it in terms of turning a negative into a positive... if it's going to happen anyway

I know a contractor who does this, although he is from India, so he probably find it easier to find people. He was forever on the phone, but the client didn't seem to mind.

[d000hg]

I already do this. Right now I have 2 guys, one makes me £75/day the other only £25/day (low margin) but it's a start. One problem is since these guys are cheap, you need a pretty big % margin to make sensible money. If they're charging $25/hr and you put on a simple 20% margin, that's only $5/hr or about £25/day.

I view this as a more a sideline, or practicing for the future, right now. But I only need to increase a bit and the profit they generate would be equivalent to a £200/day contract... which is enough to support me without having to do too much work. Of course I'd much rather have 5-10 guys making £75+/day profit...

[mrdonuts]

its not just uk contractors that will be out out of business

BOBS will be taking over the IT agency work as well , anecdotal evidence indicates that BOB is already infiltrating the agencies judging by the number i have found at the end of the phone

[Jog On]

I already do this. Right now I have 2 guys, one makes me £75/day the other only £25/day (low margin) but it's a start. One problem is since these guys are cheap, you need a pretty big % margin to make sensible money. If they're charging $25/hr and you put on a simple 20% margin, that's only $5/hr or about £25/day.

I view this as a more a sideline, or practicing for the future, right now. But I only need to increase a bit and the profit they generate would be equivalent to a £200/day contract... which is enough to support me without having to do too much work. Of course I'd much rather have 5-10 guys making £75+/day profit...

Glad to see it's already being done. How much admin/management do you find yourself having to do?

Some contarctors will go out of "business", others will be forced to adapt. Is it doom or is it opportunity?

[d000hg]

I hire them as I would anyone else... post an ad, review CVs and do some interview and techy tests. My role is tech lead so I'm the one assigning tasks, discussing ideas/problems, the team has other people as well as ones I supply and I reckon admin work for a team of 5 takes about 50% of my time. My time is billable too, but I reckon I could effectively directly manage 2-3 teams up to 15-20 developers in total before I would have to step back from the techy stuff, which I don't want to do.

Any company that approaches me offering to offshore the whole team gets the polite "no thanks".

[Clippy]

A friend of mine has been doing this as a sideline since the dot-com crash of the 90's.

He has half a dozen Bob's on his books but he says he hasn't really developed it and it just ticks over.

Occasionally, one of the Bob's thinks the grass is greener and decides he can get a direct contract but soon comes back to the fold when they realise it is not so easy.