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.
You have time, now what?
One of the perks of going 1099 is you'll likely have opportunities to increase the amount of free time in your life. On my first project, I took Fridays off. It was great! No issues there. Three day weekends are very natural. But there were times when I intentionally or unintentionally took an extended time off (> 2 months). You would think that with all that free time I'd be ultra productive or doing something fun and interesting. Nope! I'm embarrassed to admit a lot of that time was spent binging on TV shows or doing stuff that was temporarily entertaining but made me feel bad in the end. Even if you don't like the 9-5 office life, it's easy to forget that it actually gives quite a bit of structure to your days. Sure working a 75% schedule is no big deal. Most people have enough errands or fun things to do to fill an extra 8-10 hours per week. But filling whole days at a time? Not so easy. So my recommendation to you is if you do find yourself with a lot of extra free time, enjoy the leisure, but also find projects or hobbies that take up a decent chunk of it on a regular basis. 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.
How to deal with a sucky clientSource If you have a troubled relationship with a client, the best thing you can do is find a new project where you don't work with that client. Trying to fix it is almost certainly not worth it because clients have the upper hand in the power dynamic (unless you changed all the passwords to key programs, in which case you might have leverage...). If you try to fix it, you're just going to be frustrated. Use that energy to find a gig that's a better fit. If...
Grandpa Simpson commands SME level ratesSource Here's a rough bill rate estimate based on your experience level. Obviously, depending on what you do and the particulars of your contract, this could change dramatically, but I just want to give you sense of what I've seen. Junior (0-4 years experience): $75 - $100/hour Experienced (4-8 years experience) : $100 - $140/hour Very Experienced/Expert (8-15 years experience): $140 - $180 / hour Subject Matter Expert (15+ years of specialized...
Business development excitementSource I spoke with employee 1 of a 200 person government contracting company, and he described some interesting stages in a company: 0 employees - Use your network to get your first sub-contract 1 - 20 employees - Do good work, figure out some basic admin (finance/HR), get on GSA MAS or equivalent contract vehicles, leverage contacts to win small prime bids and continue to grow sub-contracts 20 - 50 employees - Hire some support staff (finance, proposal...