Freedom to grow from Day 1.
The team at CoLab operate different from most. We’re all independent. There is no staff hierarchy, and you don’t have a boss.
From Day 1 you have the freedom to work with your preferred clients and achieve the full work life balance you’ve always wanted.
Everyone in our team can work as little or as hard as they like, take days off without needing ‘approval’, and can work remotely.
We provide you with everything you need to get started - contracts, templates, time recording tools, a file management system, and much more.
You get all the benefits of being an independent consultant, plus all the benefits of working with a team.
To join us you must be the best of the best.
For a conversation about working with CoLab, send us an email.
Benefits of joining CoLab
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One of the advantages of working with CoLab is that you have much more freedom than when you work for someone else. You’re essentially running your own business, and it’s up to you which new clients you take on, what your hourly rate is, and what hours you work.
You are under no obligation to take on any projects you don’t want.
In saying that, as a team, we often cross-collaborate on projects including clients.
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You have the ability to set your own working hours. If you have kids, you might choose to do your work while they’re in school and after they’ve gone to bed. If you want to take off Wednesday because the weather is nice and work on a Saturday instead, it’s entirely up to you. In general, as long as the work for our clients is completed by agreed-on deadlines, you have complete control over when and how you do it.
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At CoLab, you’re your own boss. You choose your workload, your schedule, and every other aspect of how you run things.
That said, working with CoLab isn’t a vacation. It’s up to you to make sure you keep our clients happy, keep track of budgeting, seek new clients, and negotiate rates. You may find that keeping on top of everything means you work double some weeks and little on others. However, it’s all under your ultimate authority.
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With CoLab, you’re able to choose to live anywhere and even travel while working. Some jobs may require you to be near our clients at certain times.
A lot of our work is done digitally, which means you can be fully remote, and live and travel wherever you please while completing it.
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With CoLab, there’s no need to ask for a raise or to negotiate a salary when you start. You set your rates. You also choose how much work you take on. To a certain degree, rates and amount of work are subject to market forces. You can’t ask for astronomical compensation without reducing your list of prospective clients.
However, many of our team find that they can raise their rates over time as they do more work and gain a strong reputation.
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With CoLab, you can take on various projects from multiple clients. Each project brings something new to the table and provides an opportunity to expand your skill set. You’ll likely find yourself learning new things as you go.
You may feel more stagnant in a traditional full-time job that may not always involve continual learning and development. Working with CoLab provides many more opportunities for growth as you tackle a wider variety of project types.
You may also wish to enhance your skill set on your own. You can choose how and when you do this instead of waiting for corporate training or approval. Many online courses and opportunities are out there, and you have the freedom to make time for these as you see fit.
FAQs
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We’re an honest bunch, so we want you to know that working with CoLab can have its downsides, although many who find success with us do so because the benefits outweigh these drawbacks.
Among the disadvantages is that you must pay taxes as a sole trader would, including GST. There are also no annual leave or sick leave entitlements, or minimum break times, because let’s face it, you’ll be earning a lot more and have the flexibility to take leave whenever you like (providing you’re still meeting client deadline obligations of course).
There are also no KiwiSaver employee contributions. If you want to contribute to your retirement, you’ll need to manage this yourself.
Working as a sole trader can sometimes be seen as less secure since you can’t count on a regular salary payment. CoLab however will help you seek new projects and clients, and we’re always busy. Just make sure you plan for your future.
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No. CoLab does not employ professional services staff. This is because the simplest way to ensure all our team have autonomy is to require everyone to be a sole trader and contractor to CoLab. While we legally have a ‘company director’, they are also on contract on the same terms as everyone else.
We completely understand if this doesn’t work for you, and it won’t suit everyone.
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CoLab will invoice clients and track your earnings for a simple and streamlined process.
The company shared services fees are taken as a percentage of your earnings. The service fees are based on annual earnings:
20% for the first $150,000 you bill
15% for total billings over $150,000
The CoLab fees are incorporated into your rates and the amounts that clients see in proposals.
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Yes. By contracting with CoLab, you are agreeing to only work with us. This includes any clients that you may bring along with you. It’s only fair that you contribute to the success of the model and the team.
If you leave us, and you wish to continue to work with clients that you met through CoLab, we provide the option to do this easily, with a one-time payment of a conversion fee.
The conversion fee is 10% of your estimated earnings over a 12-month period. It is calculated by taking your highest hourly rate and multiplying it by 2,080 (40 hours/week X 52 weeks). This fee does not apply where you only work with clients that you engaged before you came to CoLab.
