For context, in my home country there is a lot of engineering talent who graduate from university but don't have the means to work remotely for a US firm or there isn't a pipeline to help them migrate. Many times these CS graduates end up taking up jobs in construction, car mechanic and other trades to keep a roof over their heads. But I know where/how to find them and I'd like to provide them with opportunity - very likely earning more than the local job market would pay them while providing a service to US businesses
My plan is to start off taking on projects that I can handle by myself in a reasonable timeframe while I recruit and train abroad. Then take on larger projects but I would remain the customer's primary contact point
Is this something you or your business would be interested in or am I naive? The pessimist in me thinks this is freelancing with extra steps; the optimist in me says there's so much talent available there that would love an opportunity like this
If you have time please fill the survey (all questions optional): https://forms.gle/tzLGrZoEya16wtco9
The main challenges will be:
- If the country is unstable or has become unlivable, some of the engineers will want to leave and go abroad. Do you have the structure in place to still employ them when they're abroad? Else, you'll have to replace them but that's another story.
- Do you have people who can prospect and sell what you have to offer ? Depending on what you're doing, when the rate is around $2,000/person.day, you want to have someone who can find clients and sell that service, and a team that delivers. How you build that dynamic is, again, another story. This is important because when you do, you'll have repeat business that decreases the pressure to always find new clients, and you'll have an average contrat value in the mid six figures, which can act as a buffer between contracts.
You'll also want to have your process dialed down: prospecting, qualifying, problem scoping, and execution. You want to have the fewest number of meetings per successful execution(prodctized consulting), and you want to amortize your code base and use your assets: can you make a product for a sector or a vertical? Can you invest in internal tooling that will make you more effective and efficient?