Everyone will get sick and miss work. It's a fact of life. As a 1099, you likely get paid hourly, which means you don't get paid when you stay home and stop working. Then your check is smaller than you expected, which is never fun. So what should you do? Simple: bake it into your billable hours projection. If you worked every business day, you'd bill something like 2000 hours per year. If you know you'll take vacation, subtract that estimated amount. Say 160 hours (4 weeks). You're down to 1840 billable hours. Now, say you expect to miss at least two weeks of work due to various sicknesses, doctors' appointments etc, subtract 80 hours. Now you're down to 1760 hours per year. Plan your income and personal finances around only billing 1760 hours. If you happen to work more, save that extra money as a sick day fund. If you find that that's not enough money, you need to work more hours (i.e. reduce vacation time) or get a higher billable rate. By planning on an annual cycle, you won't worry when your paycheck varies by $3,000 - $5,000 on a monthly basis. You'll know on average, it will be fairly predictable. If you're interested in learning how to get your first solo 1099 federal sub-contract, check out my book: |
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.
Halt and Catch Fire @HaltAMC The realization. #HaltAndCatchFire 1:0 PM • Oct 19, 2017 79 Retweets 360 Likes Read 17 replies When I first went 1099, I applied to grad school thinking I'd use the extra money I would save to fund my living expenses if I got in. Well, I never got into grad school, and then I ended up doing the 1099 thing for a long time. The thing is, my goal was to never become a 1099 for its own sake. It was to buy myself more time and resources to go to grad school and do what...
Most days for me My company was recently awarded a contract on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). Now, this doesn't mean I actually won any work. It just means that if the government wants to do business with me, they can use the MAS as the administrative vehicle. There are two ways I can get work now using MAS: I can bid on stuff on GSA eBUY, where government agencies put out RFPs specifically for GSA MAS contract holders I can persuade government agencies directly to do business with me...
At least this guy is honest!Source When you're a solo 1099, you don't have to do any recruiting. You just have to find projects for yourself. When you try to grow a government contracting business, you will have to recruit people. It's tough! It's particularly tough in the early stages. Here's why: You don't have recruiting processes in place. You are probably reliant on your personal network, which will run out eventually It takes a lot of time. Reading resumes, meeting people, interviewing...