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.
Great work is the best marketing
In the online business advice world, there's a lot of suggestions on how to build your professional brand. Generally this involves having marketing collateral (good website, podcast, recorded talks, papers, etc.) and finding ways to get noticed online. For a solo 1099 in the government space though, this is mostly a waste of time. The most effective marketing tool for a solo 1099 is to do great work. Doing great work means your client will love you, and take you to all their meetings where other people will see your great work. Great work means your prime will be afraid to lose you. Great work means other primes will try to poach you. So don't worry about making the best looking website or starting that podcast, just do great work on your current projects. Then when, you get known for doing great work, use that leverage to get a 1099 gig. 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.
My approach to short term gigsSource One of the reasons a prime may want to bring on a 1099 is because they have a vacancy on a contract that is ending in less than six months or sooner. Taking on a full time employee may be risky if the contract doesn't get extended or if they lose the re-compete, so bringing on a 1099 is a good compromise. The question is, should you take a short term gig? Here are a few factors I'd consider: If the contract ends and you're out of a job/gig, how easily...
Budget with air quotes is how most 1099s plan their moneySource Once you go 1099, your income becomes a little more variable. I say a little more because in the federal space, your work is pretty consistent and likely near full time. But, there are months where you take a vacation and that means you'll get paid maybe 50% less than a normal full time month. If you normally get paid $20,000/month and you take a two week vacation, you'll get paid $10,000. This is not a big deal overall, but if...
A valuable new skill to add to the resumeSource If you're good at what you do, you probably realized that you can do your job in far less than forty hours per week. The problem is as a W2 employee, you probably have lots of non core tasks to do (meetings, proposal work, etc.). But when you go 1099, you're just expected to do the core job. There is no manager to hover over you and give you extra stuff, so you find yourself with all this free time, even if you still have to be on site with the...