I went to a sub-contractor networking event yesterday hosted by my prime proposal partners. Networking events with government contractors are my least favorite thing to do. I hate juggling my beer and small plate of snacks and making awkward chit chat. Now, some people love this stuff. They love talking with everyone and connecting on LinkedIn and blah blah blah. That's not my style. It's very draining to me. So what I do instead is to set up a goal of talking to 1-3 people there. I'll try to talk to the host if they're there, and then a few other new people. Once I do that, I give myself permission to leave. In this case, my main prime POC wasn't there (which is why I went in the first place), so I chatted with some other folks at the prime, met a few other sub-contractors, and then went home. It took about an hour. If you have to go to a networking event and you hate doing them, just set a small attainable goal of having 1-3 good conversations and then get the hell out of there. Who knows, maybe one of those conversations can lead to a new opportunity down the line. But if not, at least you didn't waste an extra few hours at something you didn't want to do in the first place. 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.
No risk, no reward!Source On occasion, a prime will have a vacancy on a contract that is ending in a relatively short time frame (under six months). These are opportunities for you if you're interested in going 1099. Many W2 employees are reluctant to join a contract at the end of its lifecycle because it means they may get laid off if the prime can't find another position for them. The prime may also be reluctant because they might not be confident in being able to place an employee if the...
An angry sub-contractor when his employee gets poachedSource On one of the sub-contracts my company is on, I learned an interesting detail about how the prime handles candidate submissions from companies that are teammates on the same contract. Say my company, Custom Analysis, is on the contract and Raytheon is on the contract. We are both subs to Booz Allen (these are all hypothetical). I find a great person for the position who is a current Raytheon employee and submit him for an open...
ConsultingHumor @ConsultingHumor when the deliverable has no real analysis but is very well formatted 12:0 PM • May 9, 2024 59 Retweets 397 Likes Read 13 replies There's a joke about consulting that goes "50% of the work we do as consultants is useful. We just don't know which 50%." As an aspiring 1099, you may be wondering what work you can do that will help you get your first gig. In my book, I tell you that working on a nice website is a waste of time. So are most big networking...