Invitation as an exclusive subcontractor
Good day
I have received the following invitation (see at the bottom).... and I accepted!? After I viewed this provider's profile and it seems this lady is only a member since the 22nd of July??!! I was under the impression that it was a invitation for work, but now realize it is not... I do not want to be affiliated with anybody, as I would like to stay independent and work for myself.... why else would we be here??!!
This is the part that bothers me MOST!!:
note: By accepting this invitation, you are agreeing that all of work you do on oDesk will be on behalf of Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design, which will be responsible for paying you.
How do I end this affiliation?
Dear Maurche,
JaVohn Perry has invited you to join Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design on oDesk as an exclusive subcontractor.
You have been invited with the following special permissions:
Non-exclusive Affiliated Contractor: Can work as a subcontractor on behalf of this team, at the same time can work as an independent provider or on behalf of other team.
Team Room: Can access to your Team Room, where he/she can log time, use Bugzilla and Subversion, oDesk Screensnaps and other collaboration tools.
Note: By accepting this invitation, you are agreeing that all of work you do on oDesk will be on behalf of Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design, which will be responsible for paying you.
I need some help and advice from older oDesk users please. Is this a good thing? or bad? I don't see the good in it.... am I blind? LOL
Thanx guys
Maurché
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daverobinson 227 posts - Canada - Joined Sep 12 2007
Good day
I have received the following invitation (see at the bottom).... and I accepted!? After I viewed this provider's profile and it seems this lady is only a member since the 22nd of July??!! I was under the impression that it was a invitation for work, but now realize it is not... I do not want to be affiliated with anybody, as I would like to stay independent and work for myself.... why else would we be here??!!
This is the part that bothers me MOST!!:
note: By accepting this invitation, you are agreeing that all of work you do on oDesk will be on behalf of Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design, which will be responsible for paying you.
How do I end this affiliation?
Dear Maurche,
JaVohn Perry has invited you to join Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design on oDesk as an exclusive subcontractor.
You have been invited with the following special permissions:
Non-exclusive Affiliated Contractor: Can work as a subcontractor on behalf of this team, at the same time can work as an independent provider or on behalf of other team.
Team Room: Can access to your Team Room, where he/she can log time, use Bugzilla and Subversion, oDesk Screensnaps and other collaboration tools.
Note: By accepting this invitation, you are agreeing that all of work you do on oDesk will be on behalf of Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design, which will be responsible for paying you.
I need some help and advice from older oDesk users please. Is this a good thing? or bad? I don't see the good in it.... am I blind? LOL
Thanx guys
Maurché
The good news is that since you have the non-exclusive affiliated contractor special permission you can do jobs independently that would not be paid through this company.
I looked into them and from what I have seen there is absolutely no benefit to you at this time from being affiliated with this company.
Hopefully someone from oDesk can provide you with instructions on how to leave the group.
doreenmartel
Good day
I have received the following invitation (see at the bottom).... and I accepted!? After I viewed this provider's profile and it seems this lady is only a member since the 22nd of July??!! I was under the impression that it was a invitation for work, but now realize it is not... I do not want to be affiliated with anybody, as I would like to stay independent and work for myself.... why else would we be here??!!
This is the part that bothers me MOST!!:
note: By accepting this invitation, you are agreeing that all of work you do on oDesk will be on behalf of Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design, which will be responsible for paying you.
How do I end this affiliation?
Dear Maurche,
JaVohn Perry has invited you to join Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design on oDesk as an exclusive subcontractor.
You have been invited with the following special permissions:
Non-exclusive Affiliated Contractor: Can work as a subcontractor on behalf of this team, at the same time can work as an independent provider or on behalf of other team.
Team Room: Can access to your Team Room, where he/she can log time, use Bugzilla and Subversion, oDesk Screensnaps and other collaboration tools.
Note: By accepting this invitation, you are agreeing that all of work you do on oDesk will be on behalf of Vohnny's Freelance Writing > Graphic Design, which will be responsible for paying you.
I need some help and advice from older oDesk users please. Is this a good thing? or bad? I don't see the good in it.... am I blind? LOL
Thanx guys
Maurché
HI - please make sure you contact oDesk by filing a help ticket. This is not at all what it appears and any work that you accept will be paid through them and there does seem to be some issues if you look at other postings (such as this thread) .
Some people find that being affiliated is helpful but you want to make sure you're working with someone who is established before you agree to that!
Good luck to you!
Doreen
jpittenger
When an affiliated contractor (AC) does work on oDesk, the earnings go to the Provider Company. A non-exclusive affiliated contractor can choose to apply to a job as part of the provider company or as an individual. When working as an individual (Independent Contractor), earnings go to the individual. But the decision is always made at the time of application and can't be change afterwords.
A Provider Company such as the one you joined can benefit the individual by helping the ACs find work. For this 'service' the company usually take a cut of your earnings. Right now, the Provider Company must pay you outside of oDesk (provider company payroll will be available in oDesk soon).
It sounds like you don't want to be associated with this group. You can either ask the Company Manager to remove you from th roster, or submit a help ticket to request the affiliation be removed.
Jacqui Pittenger :: Forum Moderator
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msnyman 8 posts - South Africa - Joined May 11 2008
Good day
Thank you for your reply. Sure I don't want to be part of this team. To my horror I found applications and bids on jobs that I would never apply for!!! Is this possible.... can this woman bid on work on my behalf?!
Sure that is very nice for her to be affiliated with me as she can earn money for doing NOTHING! I wrote her a mail and told her in no uncertain terms that I wish to be removed from her team. She has not responded. Instead I found more strange bids at My Candidates!
I already submitted a ticket to help desk and hope that they will help me SOON, as I am not happy with this AT ALL.
Thank you.
Maurche
mlevinson
It appears that your issue has been resolved. If it hasn't, please let us know.
Michael
doreenmartel
Hi, I'm sorry that your experience in this was bad, this was certainly the wrong way to go about inviting you to be part of a 'company'. However, I also want to clarify a misnomer that you put in here. you said:
I want to debunk this myth! I am the 'lead' person on an affiliated company and I can assure you that while I have a couple of people who are working with me that I am charging more than what I'm paying them, I am not 'doing nothing'. Take a look:
A) Every day I have to provide them with their assignments for the day
B) I apply for all jobs for the 'teams' benefit
C) I proofread all of their work (with no billed time)
D) I work directly with each buyer (in my case that's typically between 6 and 10)
E) I also do work on my own (at least 1/2 to 3/4 of what we are billing)
An affiliate relationship works for the people who work for me for these reasons.
1. They are working limited hours weekly and want to get paid for those hours, not spending that time dealing with finding work
2. They never have to deal directly with a buyer - all time spent changing/modifying/updating assignments comes directly from me
3. They are paid by me and I leave them feedback at appropriate times.
The 'administration' of an affiliated company is not without its time demands. I thought you should be aware of this!
Doreen
daverobinson 227 posts - Canada - Joined Sep 12 2007
While I know that you do all the things listed, you are a known quantity in the world of oDesk.
The person who started this company isn't a known quantity and while she could certainly do everything you do, the system does allow for an unscrupulous person to do everything that msnyman was worried about.
It's a legitimate fear to have when approached by someone you don't know.
doreenmartel
While I know that you do all the things listed, you are a known quantity in the world of oDesk.
The person who started this company isn't a known quantity and while she could certainly do everything you do, the system does allow for an unscrupulous person to do everything that msnyman was worried about.
It's a legitimate fear to have when approached by someone you don't know.
I feel she had every right to be upset. I would no sooner add a person to my team without first speaking with them at length and explaining what I was looking for than I would fly to Venus tomorrow
.
I just was trying to explain that most Affiliates are 'doing something' to earn that 'overage'
Doreen
kman 8 posts
You give the affiliates feedback? I hope you don't mean oDesk feedback?
doreenmartel
You give the affiliates feedback? I hope you don't mean oDesk feedback?
They work for me - as I have increased their rates over the months we've worked together I leave appropriate feedback. They have accounts with oDesk why wouldn't I leave oDesk feedback?
javohnp 1 post - United States - Joined Jul 22 2008
I could not add a person to my affiliated team without them first accepting the invite. This person asked to be removed from my team and before I could, she removed herself, which is fine. I did not force this person to join my team. And while I may be fairly new to oDesk, my company has enough experience. And I am not getting paid for "doing nothing"
daverobinson 227 posts - Canada - Joined Sep 12 2007
I received two invitations to your company, but decided against joining. I would have informed you privately, but the offer only contained an accept link and not a decline link.
I declined because I do not know you, and therefore had no way of knowing what your ability would be to find work for me on oDesk, especially since you have not been on the site long enough to develop a track record here.
Elsewhere I compared joining an affiliate company to taking a fixed-price job, and while I appreciate the offer, I didn't feel that going with your company would provide me with a benefit at this time.
Thanks for the offer and good luck.
doreenmartel
Elsewhere I compared joining an affiliate company to taking a fixed-price job, and while I appreciate the offer, I didn't feel that going with your company would provide me with a benefit at this time.
Thanks for the offer and good luck.
Joining an affiliate doesn't always mean working as a fixed rate thing
. I pay the people who work for me hourly. If a job is more 'in depth' I pay bonuses (or if they do the bulk of the work on a job). I'll grant you that I do charge my buyers more than I pay my providers, but there are some things that you wouldn't see that are not really transparent in the system (i.e. scheduling, fees paid to oDesk, etc.).
One of the problems with the way this particular situation was handled is that it's not easy to start an affiliate company if you don't have any feedback - it's not really all that easy to start it if you have feedback - if you are careful and put together a well thought out and carefully constructed portfolio, a solid resume and solid examples of work that might be one thing - but without those few of us would see much benefit to being or becoming an affiliated company or an affiliate. It's scary becoming part of a team of people - especially since they're basically all unknown quantities.
As you know we all work based on our reputations so therefore you want to be super careful who you invite to be part of the 'affiliate' to start off with. Remember that you are going to be depending on these people to maintain your reputation here on oDesk. You are ultimately responsible for the quality of the work that is provided by your team members.
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now
Doreen
daverobinson 227 posts - Canada - Joined Sep 12 2007
Elsewhere I compared joining an affiliate company to taking a fixed-price job, and while I appreciate the offer, I didn't feel that going with your company would provide me with a benefit at this time.
Thanks for the offer and good luck.
Joining an affiliate doesn't always mean working as a fixed rate thing
. I pay the people who work for me hourly. If a job is more 'in depth' I pay bonuses (or if they do the bulk of the work on a job). I'll grant you that I do charge my buyers more than I pay my providers, but there are some things that you wouldn't see that are not really transparent in the system (i.e. scheduling, fees paid to oDesk, etc.).
(snipped for clarity)
Doreen
The reason I compared joining an affiliate to taking a fixed price job is not because I think that all affiliates work for fixed rates, but that by putting oneself under an affiliate umbrella you're stepping out from oDesk's payment guarantee.
I scrutinize fixed-price jobs more carefully than hourly jobs on oDesk because it's a riskier proposition to take one on. Rather than working with a guaranteed payment system you're relying on another oDesk member to pay you with no backup in place. Working for a provider company puts you back in the same position. You have to rely on the Company Manager to pay you, without the guarantee to back it up.
It's just like working a fixed price job.