Remote Consulting in US from Canada: how?

Discussions
#1

I’m supporting my product development with consulting/contracting work. I work remotely for Canadian companies, and mostly do web services, ESBs, APIGW and such.

Recently I hit a rate ceiling in Canada - my rate is higher than anyone I know, and it appears impossible to push it higher. At the same time, the Canadian dollar is weak, and so working for US companies remotely looks very attractive.

My question, however, is this: what is the marketplace where the US employers find remote contractors? Does this place exist?

#2

Hi @rfctr ,
Don’t know the answer to your question. And here’s my question for you: Does such a marketplace exist for Canadian employers?

#3

I’m not aware of such a place for Canadians, but then Canadians were always a step behind USA. I expected the same for remote work.

Oh well, I guess the tried and proven way it is then - sharpen the LinkedIn profile for specific type of work and wait for agencies to come calling.

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#4

I’m Canadian, and I’ve worked as a remote contractor in the US.

Companies in the USA generally like hiring Canadian contractors. :+1:

Make sure you charge in USD!

Good article here:

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#5

I’m a Canadian and have contracted almost exclusively with US companies for over twelve years. A few musts:

  • get incorporated, it looks better dealing Corp to Corp for taxes
  • get a US bank account to take payments into
  • charge more than you do in Canada and charge in US $
  • start networking on sites and in places that your target customers are using to find help/talent, depending on the skill sets you are offering some quick googling should reveal potential places
  • be sure to explain the time zone you are in using US reference points. I say I’m in the NYC time zone, not Toronto.
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#6

I’m doing/done most of that already, thanks. Not sure why this one tho:

At the current exchange rate, I can charge 10% less than my Canadian number and still get some 20% bump in revenue in CAD, no?

The “charge less” is to get the first contract or two in the US market. I assume I have the same problem as when I first came to Canadian market - nobody knows me, nobody can provide me US references, so a little incentive in rate can help?

#7

Hi @rfctr,

Thinking in “business terms”, price cutting is not what is going to get you projects. If you are on the right path, increasing your prices would probably get you more. It doesn’t matter how big or how small your business is, you have a marketing and a sales problem. Specially for remote work (essentially online freelancing) you are no different than the guy sitting in the most remote part of the world ready to sacrifice an entire year of his time with literally no break for $0.001 an hour (unless of course you know your client in person and already have a strong relationship).

So I would suggest forgetting about the service, the price, the market and anything else that is not marketing, brand building or real sales (by which I mean real sales work which takes up 10 hours a day).

Look at it this way: If you could suddenly press a button and get clients in the US to support your other ventures (that is generate revenue by doing nothing in marketing, sales or brand building), then why wouldn’t the other 230m+ people in north americas? And if you did manage to do that then why would you go do anything else because you’ve already cracked it!

We all have the same problem.

#8

… and to continue my conversation above, THAT is a typical business problem. You get to a point where you cannot charge more. I have this problem in the UK/EU now. I have even gone down the route of having two major projects at the same time (working two full shifts) but it’s not scalable or sustainable. The answer, however, is not going to a different marketplace. The answer, in my opinion, is to change your strategy from “doing it all yourself” to “becoming a sales/marketing guru, finding projects, and hiring others to do it for you” and doing it in a market you know best (Canada?).

So when you say nobody else earns as much as you are, what you are saying is that nobody else is earning as much on their own. But there are companies/teams of people out there who are killing it by hiring lots of people in your line of work and having a sales and marketing strategy.

#9

Thank you for the long write-up.

The thing is - becoming an agency is not in my plans. This is the same rat race, just on a bigger scale. My long-term goal is to have a product sales, and this is where I put all my free time and energy into.

Not even mentioning that there are some legal obstacles, written in my current and past contracts. All business connections I have came to me via a work through agencies. I cannot approach a client and say “I’ll give you better and cheaper contractors” because that is a contract violation. That is not to mention what would make me think that I can find better and cheaper contractors? I don’t have resources and experience of an agency.

So, nope. I’ll be happy to earn extra 20% which offers me an opportunity to hire some contractors for my project. When I prove myself to US clients and agencies, I’ll request a rate increase. That doesn’t take long, as my experience in Canadian market shows.

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