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How timely. Currently am frustrated by indy consulting. I have watched several colleagues successfully launch into independent consulting. Honestly, it's a m

by turk73 7y ago

How timely. Currently am frustrated by indy consulting. I have watched several colleagues successfully launch into independent consulting. Honestly, it's a mixed bag. They speak very positively about it, but when I ask more direct questions, I hear about trouble getting paid, Net60 and longer durations between checks, long periods between gigs (7 weeks was what one friend just reported). Every time I attempt to go indy, I land a good lead, go through the preliminary stages, and then the deal goes flat. It's almost like there's a blacklist out there and my name is on it for some reason. I know that is likely untrue and I scour Google with my name to see if some oddity comes up but really there's nothing. It should be no more difficult for me than others and yet it has been.

blunt_asshole 7y ago
> It's almost like there's a blacklist out there and my name is on it for some reason If you're getting that feeling due to your HN account, it's because you're shadowbanned. Only people with showdead will see your comments. It's actually really impressive how you've managed to write hundreds of comments to void for the last half a year without picking up on the hint. There's a good chance you're not picking up on hints IRL either. Maybe ask a blunt friend what they think of you? The industry is small and people talk.
- rpedela 7y ago
  I can see his comment and I don't have "showdead" turned on?
  - blunt_asshole 7y ago
    Turn on showdead to see all the other comments that didn't show up. You can vouch (if you have >500 karma) for individual comments to make them not dead.
    - rpedela 7y ago
      Ah I didn't know that. Thanks.
ossworkerrights 7y ago
Depends on the country and the market in that country for contractors / consultants. The UK is pretty much boiling with demand, mainly around London, for software consultants. Hopefully the gov won't kill it with the upcoming IR35. Usually in the UK it would be recruiters that would find indie gigs for you, but you do need to have a skill for it (good mix of more than just a stack) and the agility to learn a client's code base fast, or to create one for greenfield projects. But like everything else, it takes time to build a rep.
- burntoutfire 7y ago
  > Hopefully the gov won't kill it with the upcoming IR35. Isn't it already like decided? Almost everyone going into IR35 from April (I think?) 2020?
andreygrehov 7y ago
I second @blunt_asshole. Here is the screenshot of your profile: https://imgur.com/AjHUdO0 https://imgur.com/AjHUdO0
rpedela 7y ago
It can take time to learn how to close. The more you try, the better you will get at it. Also sometimes things happen that are completely out of your control. For example, I was negotiating an initial 5 figure contract but they were so impressed that they were talking about 7 figure contracts if the first one went well. Then I didn't hear from them for a month which was strange given the prior behavior. Turns out they were hacked via a third-party contractor, and the top executives made a knee-jerk decision to ban all third-party contracting. My contact person either resigned or fired because he signed the particular third-party that got hacked.

by turk73 7y ago

blunt_asshole 7y ago

> It's almost like there's a blacklist out there and my name is on it for some reason If you're getting that feeling due to your HN account, it's because you're shadowbanned. Only people with showdead will see your comments. It's actually really impressive how you've managed to write hundreds of comments to void for the last half a year without picking up on the hint. There's a good chance you're not picking up on hints IRL either. Maybe ask a blunt friend what they think of you? The industry is small and people talk.

rpedela 7y ago
I can see his comment and I don't have "showdead" turned on?
- blunt_asshole 7y ago
  Turn on showdead to see all the other comments that didn't show up. You can vouch (if you have >500 karma) for individual comments to make them not dead.
  - rpedela 7y ago
    Ah I didn't know that. Thanks.

ossworkerrights 7y ago

Depends on the country and the market in that country for contractors / consultants. The UK is pretty much boiling with demand, mainly around London, for software consultants. Hopefully the gov won't kill it with the upcoming IR35. Usually in the UK it would be recruiters that would find indie gigs for you, but you do need to have a skill for it (good mix of more than just a stack) and the agility to learn a client's code base fast, or to create one for greenfield projects. But like everything else, it takes time to build a rep.

burntoutfire 7y ago
> Hopefully the gov won't kill it with the upcoming IR35. Isn't it already like decided? Almost everyone going into IR35 from April (I think?) 2020?

andreygrehov 7y ago

I second @blunt_asshole. Here is the screenshot of your profile: https://imgur.com/AjHUdO0 https://imgur.com/AjHUdO0

rpedela 7y ago

It can take time to learn how to close. The more you try, the better you will get at it. Also sometimes things happen that are completely out of your control. For example, I was negotiating an initial 5 figure contract but they were so impressed that they were talking about 7 figure contracts if the first one went well. Then I didn't hear from them for a month which was strange given the prior behavior. Turns out they were hacked via a third-party contractor, and the top executives made a knee-jerk decision to ban all third-party contracting. My contact person either resigned or fired because he signed the particular third-party that got hacked.