It is July, as usual in Alaska, everybody is fishing, so business is a little slow. I decided a couple days ago to try out a potential new revenue stream. I signed up for a national service that acts as a clearing house for IT work offered by national firms in Alaska. It works something like this. National corporations such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc, have contracts with national IT support companies. These companies are pretty under the radar, In major markets they have army's of technicians that service their locations. In Alaska, not so much, so, they use free-lance IT people such as myself. The jobs are assigned through a web site I receive alerts to posted jobs and projects, then bid on them. I have been watching the posted projects for a couple months. They are usually posted at prices that are simply not cost effective in the Alaska market. Long story short, I found a way to make counter offers on the jobs. I bid a few, and low and behold, I was awarded 5 jobs!, 2 in Anchorage, 2 in Fairbanks, and one in Chugiak. They still don't quite meet Alaska revenue standards but, it is perhaps a foot in the door for more work that can be bid higher. So, I am off to Fairbanks tomorrow to give this a try. I see a few potential pitfalls such as the jobs being managed by people who have no clue as to the unique challenges we face in AK. Potentially delayed payment, and perhaps some logistical nightmares, however, I plan to attack these with the same zeal as I attack my own clients, and see where it will all lead. I am hoping it will develop into a nice little "bread and butter" profit center. Ideally, I will be able to make contact with these national firms and receive some direct contracts. That way, I can sub contract the jobs to my subs and realize enough volume to make it work. I will keep you posted.... |
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