Freelancers Union Insurance
As a freelancer, the best option for health insurance is through Freelancers Union. Remember, if you’re a freelancer incorporated as an LLC, health insurance is 100% tax deductible.
Health Insurance Rates for 2010
For 2010, here are your options in terms of health insurance plans and costs. Health insurance plans will vary depending on the state in which you live. For those of you who live in New York, view this easy-to-read comparison chart for different health insurance plans offered through Freelancers Insurance Company (FIC). I have the PPO 2 plan and have been very happy with it. I pay $800.00 per month.
| Plan Type | Individual | Individual + Kid | Individual + Spouse | Individual + Family | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPO 1 | $497.00 | $894.00 | $1,043.00 | $1,391.00 | $1,500.00 |
| PPO 2 | $381.00 | $685.00 | $800.00 | $1,066.00 | $2,500.00 |
| PPO 3 | $285.00 | $513.00 | $599.00 | $798.00 | $3,500.00 |
| HD 5,000 | $324.00 | $583.00 | $680.00 | $907.00 | $5,000.00 |
| HD 10,000 | $196.00 | $354.00 | $413.00 | $550.00 | $10,000.00 |
Life Insurance Rates for 2010
For 2010, here are your options in terms of life insurance plans and costs. Freelancers Union offers term life insurance through Guardian, a reputable life insurance company. If you’re young and don’t have dependents or much liability, then you can get lower coverage to make sure all of your outstanding expenses are taken care of once you die. If you have a large mortgage, children, and various liabilities, then you should get the $1,000,000.00 life insurance plan so that you’re family can live comfortably once you die. I pay $54.00 per month.
| Life Insurance Coverage | Monthly Cost for Non-Smoker | Monthly Cost for Smoker |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000.00 | $6.50 | $8.00 |
| $100,000.00 | $9.00 | $12.00 |
| $200,000.00 | $14.00 | $20.00 |
| $250,000.00 | $16.50 | $24.00 |
| $300,000.00 | $19.00 | $28.00 |
| $400,000.00 | $24.00 | $36.00 |
| $500,000.00 | $29.00 | $44.00 |
| $750,000.00 | $41.50 | $64.00 |
| $1,000,000.00 | $54.00 | $84.00 |
Long-Term Disability Rates for 2010
For 2010, here are your options in terms of long-term disability (LTD) insurance. Freelancers Union offers life insurance through Guardian, a reputable life insurance company. You can receive benefits for 2 years while unable to work and for more than 2 years if Activities Daily Living (ADL) disabled. Benefits are available until age 65 while you remain disabled. You do not pay the monthly rate while you are receiving benefits. Long-term disability insurance is important if you ever become ill, are in an accident, or become incapacitated in some way that makes it impossible for you to work for a period of time. LTD insurance is fairly inexpensive and definitely something that’s worth getting. I pay $18.77 per month.
| LTD Total Coverage | LTD Monthly Coverage (2 Yrs Max) | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $12,000.00 | $500.00 | $6.41 | TBD |
| $18,000.00 | $750.00 | $7.11 | TBD |
| $24,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $7.83 | TBD |
| $30,000.00 | $1,250.00 | $8.92 | TBD |
| $36,000.00 | $1,500.00 | $10.22 | TBD |
| $48,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $13.36 | TBD |
| $60,000.00 | $2,500.00 | $16.32 | TBD |
| $72,000.00 | $3,000.00 | $18.77 | TBD |
Portfolio Examples
For those of you who are looking to redesign your portfolios and attract more visitors to your site, keep in mind that there are many, many different ways to do a portfolio site. The most important thing is to simply be yourself.
There are lots of different ways to showcase your work, you just have to decide what best reflects you and the kind of work that you do. The way in which your portfolio is presented — both online and in that 11×17 binder you take on interviews — says a lot about you. Hiring managers, recruiting firms, and your future boss are all looking for that extra bit of “wow” when they come to your site.
When redesigning your portfolio site, be sure to keep SEO in mind. Many of the calls I get from firms and recruiters these days is due to natural SEO traffic to my site. If you’re looking to be sought after — rather than having to do the seeking yourself — be sure to SEO the hell out of your site.
Cassandra Tai-Marcellini
Donna Lichaw
Jen Rittner
John Kudos
Khoi Vinh
Kristen Wicklund
Mark Ellis
Matthew Schnepf
Michael Angeles
Neil Kahn
Rob VanAlkemade
Whitney Hess
15 Easy Steps to Independent Consulting
Step 1: Choose Company Name and Register Domain
The toughest part is coming up with a name for your company. You’ll want it to be professional, interesting, hip, and not something that paints you into a corner. I spent two months brainstorming names for my company, and even enlisted the help of friends. I kept running into the problem where if the name was available with the state of New York, then the domain name was already taken, or vice versa. I finally settled on Mod01, LLC (I wasn’t thrilled with it), and am now considering doing a name change.
Step 2: Determine Incorporation Type
The three main types of incorporation are LLC, S-Corp, and C-Corp (listed in order of easiest to most difficult). After doing some research online, looking at various comparison charts, and speaking with a few accountants and attorneys, I weighed out the pros and cons of each, and went with an LLC. An LLC will be the easiest to manage in terms of pass-through taxation, annual paperwork, and fees.
Step 3: Incorporate
Based on extensive research, my own personal experience, and the experience of friends, I would highly recommend Biz Filings to handle all of the paperwork required for incorporation. The service was great and they have a terrific website that shows the requirements and cost breakdown by state and the status of your filing. They were incredibly reliable and expedient. My incorporation was completed and I had EIN in hand after five business days (and I did standard processing, not expedited)! The total cost of incorporation for an LLC in New York comes to $2,478.00. The most expensive piece of this is the newspaper publication requirement ($1,750.00). It’s a lot of money, but it’s required by the state of New York, so there’s no way around it. It feels like a big chunk of change but you’ll make all of this money back in no time. Here are the specific items you should select when placing your order:
Step 4: Establish Branding
It would be well worth hiring a designer to do your branding for a professional logo, letterhead, envelopes, and site design. You get exactly one shot to make a first impression, so it better be damn good. I’m currently in the process of hiring a designer, as my current branding is non-existent. Also, do not underestimate the importance of a well-designed business card, printed on professional-grade paper. It’s a bit of an expense, but well worth it.
Step 5: Set Up Website
As soon as you’ve figured out a name for your company, register the domain. Many people have a personal website (http://www.yourname.com) and a professional website (http://www.yourcompany.com). You can cross-link from one to the other, but be careful not to have any redundancy in content. One of the most important considerations when setting up your site is search engine optimization (SEO). I get a huge number of visits from people who have searched by certain keywords that can be found in my resume, work samples, recommendations, etc. Follow SEO best practices when setting up your site — you’ll be amazed by the number of people who find you!
Step 6: Get an Accountant
Since the taxes are a bit more complicated with an LLC, I had to get an accountant. After extensive research, I found Jonathan Medows, CPA (http://www.medowscpa.com/). He’s an incredibly smart, meticulous, and professional individual, and is conveniently located in Manhattan. I had received recommendations for CPAs outside of NYC, but I find it incredibly important to be able to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation, especially on matters as important as one’s financial accounts. His rates are also quite competitive. I very much value his attentive services for my LLC, taxes, and general financial recommendations.
Step 7: Carefully Track All Income and Expenses
You’ll need to keep careful track of all of your income and expenses in a spreadsheet or program, and hand it over to your accountant at the end of the tax year. As a small business owner, there’s a whole host of deductible expenses that will benefit you come tax time. There are many fancy programs out there that you can use to track your income expenses. I’ve tried several, but haven’t found anything as simple and reliable as a good old Excel spreadsheet. I organize my spreadsheet into the following tabs and have formulas that span multiple tabs: (1) Basic Information, (2) Income Summary, (3) [Client], (4) [Client], (5) [Client], (6) Deductible Expenses, and (7) Non-Deductible Expenses. The tabs labeled “[Client]” allow you to track the specific hours spent on a client and you can copy and paste that directly into the invoice you’ll be sending them.
[Will post spreadsheet template shortly]
Step 8: Set Up Business Banking Accounts and Business Credit Cards
I opened a small business checking account for my LLC at Citibank. It’s free as long as you (1) maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 and (2) sign up for one of their small business credit cards. I would highly recommend Citibank for all of your business accounts and personal accounts, not because I think they’re an exceptional bank, but because you’ll be able to build up an incredible amount of ThankYou Points. I would highly recommend getting the Citibank PremierPass Elite credit card (one for business and one for personal), as it allows you to rack up points for use on just about any airline around the world with no blackout periods. The same applies for hotels. The other advantage of having your personal accounts and business accounts with Citibank is that you’ll be able to instantaneously transfer money back and forth between the business checking account and personal checking account from the comfort of your own home. Most other banks do not offer this service and it’s a surprisingly inconvenient process.
Step 9: Write Your First Contract
It’s important to start putting together a contract prior to getting that first client, as you’ll need to move fairly quickly once the ball gets moving. Feel free to email me and I’ll send you a contract template to help get you started.
Step 10: Set Up Your Invoices
As a corp-to-corp consultant, you’ll have to submit an invoice to the company on the 1st of every month. It seems like a hassle, but it’s actually pretty easy as long as you update the spreadsheet mentioned above with your tasks and hours once a day. I round to the nearest 15-minute increment, as that is most fair to the client and also gives you an accurate sense of how long things actually take. Checks should be made payable to your LLC. I deposit the check into my business checking account for accounting purposes, and then transfer money out of that account into my personal checking account as needed. Feel free to email me and I’ll send you an invoice template to help get you started.
Step 11: Set Aside 40% for Taxes
For every check that you receive, be sure to set aside 40% of it for taxes. You won’t actually be paying that much in taxes every quarter, but it’s a good rule of thumb to follow. Taxes aren’t as bad as they say for an independent consultant. It’s a shock when you write your first check to Uncle Sam, but remember that you are coming out on top in the end (waaaay on top).
Step 12: Join Freelancers Union
Be sure to join the Freelancer’s Union in order to cash in on great benefits like health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, discounts, and networking opportunities. The Freelancer’s Union in New York is a reputable organization and is worth the small membership fee. You need to show proof of working as an independent consultant for at least eight weeks before you’re eligible for various benefits.
Step 13: Get Health Insurance
Universal healthcare is still a long ways off. Until then, you can get insurance through Freelancers Union. As an individual, you’ll pay about $300 per month. I’ve been really happy with the choice of doctors and plan offerings — it’s better than some of the plans offered by the full-time employers I’ve had.
Step 14: Post on Job Boards
Post your resume on Monster, Dice, and any other popular job boards and leave it there. You’ll be amazed at the number of calls you get out of the blue because your resume came up on a keyword search. Once you get a call, be sure to keep the hiring manager or recruiter’s info and contact them once your current engagement has ended. It’s all about staying fresh in their minds.
Step 15: Network, Network, Network
Be sure to get onto professional networks like LinkedIn. You’ll be amazed at the number of links you get through LinkedIn. Be sure to create a direct link to your profile (e.g., http://www.linkedin.com/in/MunawarAhmed). Join as many relevant groups as you can on LinkedIn and receive the weekly digest of opportunities. There are a ton of projects and people are more likely to talk to you because you’re part of their LinkedIn group. Almost 90% of the leads I’ve gotten over the last few years have been through personal and professional contacts. Walk into a place, do an amazing job, and you’ll be sure to get called back again.