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Globant India Pvt. Ltd. Hi Globers ! I have an offer from Globant for the role of a BA. While discussing the role with HR pre and post the interviews & offer, I had specifically ask the HR to tag me to Ahmedabad location as that's my hometown and I do not wish to relocate. But she has rolled out the offer for Pune location ane verbally ( isn't giving me in writing ) assured me that the location will be flexible. May I know from the fellow Globers if we have location flexibility or WFH option available? Globant India Pv
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There’s a reason nearly all major contract shops charge by the hour. Stick to that.
Did you create the project estimate? Do you control the project’s scope, staffing, change management, project management or sign off processes? Do you have a well-defined, bulletproof, scope statement for your part of the work, with entry, handoff, and exist criteria? What if the person receiving, reviewing or signing off on your work is not available in a timely fashion?
So why would you take on risk, for things you cannot control?
p.s. In 20+ years I’ve never had a competent contractor leave a project early because they were done too soon. There’s always more work to be done. Any decent PM will keep you busy, as long as the budget allows.
Idk anything about this stuff, but I think hourly makes more sense. Cus exit criteria and scope is always argued over
Just like any project, you go in with a budget and projections. Have your regular status meetings and if your work is projected to be done soon, you’re done sooner and pay they less. If you need additional hours, that needs to be discussed for a change order. Don’t overthink it. Not sure how long you’ve been in consulting but if not long, see if there’s a trusted colleague that can talk to you about price/cost modeling.
Fixed fee, similar circumstances except you’re delivering based on value and experience. If you’re done sooner then your project is complete so you’re not working for free on anything else. It’s a “fixed” fee. If you’re projecting more hours, circle back to that change order convo I mentioned.
For independent consulting, it’s hard to sell Fixed Fee (in my opinion) because that’s usually based on similar work, done with similar clients, etc. If you’re just starting out, it’s hard to justify that experience to request a fixed fee (or on the other end, you may under value yourself)
Lump sum for the main body of the project. Scope creep - quote by hour
How are you planning to get projects? Existing contacts or approaching new ones via any platforms?
OP - interesting and congratulations for taking the big leap! May I ask, for someone who might consider the same in the future, how do you aim to land projects?
Your intuition on charging for the project and being clear on the total cost with the defined scope would be correct. That would also align with the customers value of the outcomes rather than the ambiguous hour. It is difficult for someone to make a decision on the number of hours something might take and whether someone is efficient or not. You should hope to be efficient and leverage the AI tools that would reduce your duration to complete the project which would be a benefit to both you and your client. If that outcome aligns with the budget and the value that should be a win
Knowing other independents hourly seems to be more standard, good luck!
Hi, thanks for posting. Based on my limited exposure to this space through acquiantances, hourly is the most common structure.
Would be curious to know where you will get the independent consulting projects from? Are you reaching out to companies directly or going through a third party or recruiting agency?
Daily rate plus expenses with a detailed SOW
Do you have a team? If not then hourly - that makes the most sense for a contractor.
You charge a minimum number of hours. So that way no matter how faster you do it you know you will make at least 50 hours of labor costs.
I’m doing the same!
I’m going to use a day rate.
Dm me if you want to chat more.
Whether you are going to charge a flat rate or hourly, all of the items in the graphic need to be considered.
1) What do you want your gross salary to be? What is the hourly market rate for the services you are offering?
2) How many total hours do you expect to work in a year? Remember to exclude vacation/sick days, holidays, time for training / upskilling, administrative tasks, etc. I have heard of organizations using 1600 - 1800 hours per year.
3) What is the annual value of benefits that an employer would pay for, but you are now responsible for? For example, if your current employer pays 50% of your health insurance premium, you need to adjust #1 to account for that.
4) What taxes are paid for by an employer but that you will have to pay for as an independent contractor / 1099? Some of the taxes you get withheld from your paycheck are actually double what you see taken out, but that’s because they are split 50/50 between employer and employee. As a contractor, you have to pick up the employer portion.
5) How much money do you want to set aside to reinvest into your business? If you want to invest $54k into your business every year and you expect to work 1800 hours per year, then you need to add $30/hour to your rate to cover it.
6) Are you going to have employees? How will you recapture their salaries / wages and the value of their benefits?
7) How much are you going to set aside as a rainy day / emergency fund?
There’s a lot to think about and sometimes when I see people looking for contract work, or people offering contract work, they clearly have not thought it through. The last thing you want is a tax bill the following year that you can’t pay.