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Paid Vacations for Freelance Designers and Developers

5 points by cdevroe ↗ HN
Our team is proposing something a bit different at http://plainmade.com/paid-vacation -- A way for freelancers to go on vacation and earn 25% or more of the estimate and we do the work. I'd like to know what the HN community thinks of this idea.

12 comments

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atwebb
So you're a (sub)contractor? Do you then sub it out to in-house dev/designers or have companies you work with?
cdevroe
We have in-house designers and developers. If we get more work than we can handle we have a few trusted designers and developers that we've worked with to help us keep up.
sharemywin
Are going to direct bill the client? Not sure that would be my first choice. if not then just cut the estimate. I would think this whole thing could go bad quick. what if the client isn't happy with your work and doesn't pay me. What happens if the client isn't happy and they don't pay you would I still get my commission?
cdevroe
So far we've asked our customer to manage the relationship, bill the customer, etc. We get a cut of the estimate -- we do not do the estimating.

Also, if our client isn't happy we don't get paid.

brd
So you are offering to be a subcontractor but don't providing any information on the technologies you specialize in? I'm a little confused about the value proposition here.

Its a cute marketing angle but your pitch is incredibly light on information considering you are asking me to put my reputation and business in your hands...

cdevroe
We agree that our page is very light on what we actually can provide. We just started picking up client work recently, after having built two products (Barley and Unmark) that haven't yet made it to profitability (close!!). Our backgrounds are such that we have a very wide range of skills.

We're going to update our site over the coming months to include a portfolio and also try to be very specific on the type of work we excel at.

winkbrace
Doesn't seem a great idea. Both the freelancer and the customer have to trust you with the job. And after a couple of weeks/days you will never see them again. As a customer I wouldn't accept that.

Besides, wouldn't it be easier for you to score your own assignments?

cdevroe
What do you mean "after a couple of days you will never see them again"?

To be completely honest, we're not-so-great at finding new work. Word of mouth is about all we've had any luck with. So we thought this a new and interesting idea on how to drum up contacts and work. Maybe it will be good, maybe not. But we're giving it a try.

nicolasd
It's cool that you're honest with your marketing/sales problem and try it with this idea! I wish you luck, I/We have the same problems with marketing/sales. If you figured out some learnings, would be great to read on your blog!
logn
Rather than give you design and development work, I'd rather give you emailing, phone calling, bill paying, and server fixing work. I'm happy enough to not take on new projects for vacation, but it's letting the ball drop on anything in motion I worry about.
seekingcharlie
IMO, there is no user need for this. As a freelancer, putting my client's work in someone else's hands would be more stressful than me doing the work on holiday myself.

If you're problem is that you're weak at finding work, would it not be easier to hire someone that would specialise in that & put them on a commission basis?