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.
Parenting your clients
I'm reading a parenting book by the popular Dr. Becky called "Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want." The core idea is that there are no bad kids, and that trying to manage kids' behavior without addressing the reason why they're behaving in a certain way leads to all sorts of problems. In the book, she emphasizes that it is critical to validate your child's feelings and be in it with them without judgement. "One thing we know about feelings is that they are only scary if we are alone with them. If someone says to us, “Hey! You’re feeling [sad/scared/angry/left out]. That’s okay. I’m here. Tell me more,” the feelings immediately start to subside. We no longer feel so overwhelmed. We feel safer. When kids are upset, it’s as if they are plopped down on the bench of that feeling. It may be an Angry Bench or Disappointed Bench or even a Nobody-Likes-Me Bench. And what kids (and also adults) want when they’re on a bench, especially the dark uncomfortable ones, is someone to sit with them. Once someone sits with us, the bench doesn’t feel so dark and cold. Now we have a 'bench warmer.'" Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want Now, your government clients aren't children, but sure enough, they have feelings too (though I've seen a few that maybe don't...). As a consultant, you may tempted to solve their problems because on the surface, that's what you're hired to do. But, to build a relationship, you should try to understand how your client's problems affect them. On a few of my projects, I would let the client vent about unreasonable turnaround times for analytic requests by higher ups and then empathize. "Yea that sucks. The boss really doesn't understand how much effort it takes to analyze the data but you get blamed for it anyway. You're in a tough spot." Then, I'd help deliver the thing. It's a winning combo. You build the relationship and then also help solve pain points. So take a page out of Dr. Becky's book and emotionally validate your client. Your 1099 career will thank you. 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...