Going 1099 is a book that teaches you how to become a solo federal sub-contractor and gain control of your working life, earn more money and unlock more free time. I wrote it because quite a few people have asked me how they can become a 1099. I figured it was best to write a single book that I can send them and that I can share with others who are interested. This newsletter goes out Monday - Friday and covers topics that will help you succeed in starting and maintaining successful 1099 career.
Don't give advice
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I just read an excellent article about consulting by Tom Critchlow, an indy consultant who has good insight into the world of consulting: Don't Give Advice, Be Useful This all builds up to my personal consulting mantra: always work on the next most useful thing
This mantra helps remind me that consulting isn’t about being right, it’s about being useful.
As a consultant - it’s crucial that you’re generating momentum, that clients can feel a sense of progress in your work. A consultant is typically an expensive investment and without a sense of progress or momentum your engagement will stall out.
Importantly however, a sense of progress and momentum doesn’t have to come from the official SOW or project plan. Actual progress is one thing - but a sense of progress is just that - it’s about your client feeling like things are moving forward.
When I joined a consulting company, I thought giving advice and solving problems was what consultants do. However, every time I gave advice, no one took it seriously, and for good reason! I haven't proven my credibility. I hadn't demonstrated value. The way to demonstrate value? Be useful. Get something done that the client appreciates. Then they'll look to you for advice as time goes on. So a little piece of advice for you from me (I can't resist): be useful first, then give advice. If you're interested in learning how to get your first solo 1099 federal sub-contract, check out my book: |
I'm Dale, the author of Going 1099
Going 1099 is a book that teaches you how to become a solo federal sub-contractor and gain control of your working life, earn more money and unlock more free time. I wrote it because quite a few people have asked me how they can become a 1099. I figured it was best to write a single book that I can send them and that I can share with others who are interested. This newsletter goes out Monday - Friday and covers topics that will help you succeed in starting and maintaining successful 1099 career.
One of the reasons a company would bring on a 1099 or a sub-contractor is because bringing on a full time W2 employee would be too risky. If a contract has a limited amount of time left on it and there is a vacancy, companies may not want to hire someone because they're not sure if they'll have billable work for the employee after the contract ends. This is when hiring a 1099 would make sense, even if it reduces their margin. They're trading margin in exchange for a lower risky profile. In...
Hi all, Not returning to the newsletter just yet but thought I'd send out a link to an interview I did with Jonathan Stark on his podcast, Ditching Hourly. https://podcast.ditchinghourly.com/people/dale-davidson Jonathan advocates for getting away from hourly billing in your independent consulting practice. I agree, but I discuss why that's difficult in government contracting but why it might be okay anyway, particularly if you're jus getting started. He's a great follow for those of you who...
Hi all, I've enjoyed writing this newsletter for over a year now, but I've decided to take a hiatus for the time being. There is an extensive archive if you'd like to go back and read the previous ones. As always, if you have 1099 questions, feel free to ping me via e-mail at dale@1099fedhub.com. Good luck to you all! -Dale If you're interested in learning how to get your first solo 1099 federal sub-contract, check out my book: Going 1099: How to become a solo federal sub-contractor and gain...