My job is on fire. We have been working with an IT company in Japan for 4 years but they seem to have a lot of conflicts within the company so they are now unable to proceed our new project which was supposed to be done by May 2013.
The thing is that it was really hard to terminate the working relationship after such a long time working together. But I don't think I can afford to wait any longer, so I've decided to look for another company to complete the job.
I have been using Elance for a year now and this time again, I've posted a job and am trying to find a company which is able to finish it.
Obviously, I have some contracts and can find another company to do the job but Elance seems to be a better option for me. The reasons are below:
You can hire a company/person from all over the world which makes them really competitive, and so you can always have a good price.
Clients evaluate the jobs once it's done, so you see their evaluations and comments. In this way, you are able to choose a better company/person, if not the best.
You are not personally attached to the company/person which means you can alway end the working relationship when things go wrong.
The only problem is that you get too many applicants whose offers are really unrealistic and unreliable. I estimate that 80% of the applicants are just trying it out, nothing else. But that's O.K, you only have to take your time and read their offer very carefully.
I kinda like this working relationship. I pay you, you do the job, that's how simple it is.
90% of your working time usually is consumed by other people. You make appointments, you go to their office and have an absurd conference which is totally unnecessary and the only thing you have to do is that you comfort them and make sure we are both happy working together. (At least, you should pretend that you are happy working for them.)
Instead, I spend my time in Starbucks and have "Té Chai Latte" in Mexico City and am thinking about what I'm going to eat for lunch. The engineers, translators and copywriters contact from all over the world and I just have to give them my opinion and order.
Having said that, I am still on fire. There is a saying which lingers in my mind all the time now.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
Chao!
