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Articles from Paul Monax | Selfgrowth.com
- Everyone Is An Expert In More Areas Than They Think - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2011 from Paul MonaxHave you ever thought to yourself that you aren't an Expert? Belittling ourselves is a crappy pastime that we all seem to participate in from time to time. We are all experts in a number of areas of life, based upon our own experiences. Every singe one of us is an Expert at many things, and ...
Views: 1135(1 vote) - Liability Insurance for IT Contractors: Do You Need It For Your Business? - by Submitted on Nov 07, 2011 from Paul MonaxIf you are an IT contractor, I would say that it depends on the types of contracts you are doing, but in general I think it is a very good idea if not mandatory for every IT Contractor here in the United States to carry some kind of liability insurance. Many of the clients who are looking to ...
Views: 966 - How To Be An IT Contractor - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2011 from Paul MonaxI get asked all the time about being a contractor and specifically how to be an IT Contractor. Being a contractor in any field I would imagine is pretty similar, but since I am a software engineer by trade, I am most familiar with IT disciplines and thus this is specifically geared toward how ...
Views: 1090(1 vote) - Version One Is Better Than Version Zero - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2011 from Paul MonaxThat is a phrase that I heard at a recent course that I attended on marketing on the internet. The implication is that it is better to get your first version of a not-quite-ready ad or even a new product out there and see how it goes over, than to have nothing out there at all. And thus no ...
Views: 2014(1 vote) - How Do You Determine What Rate To Charge? - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2011 from Paul MonaxIf you are new to Independent Contracting, and even if you are an old hand, I'm sure you have wondered how to determine what rate you should charge your clients for your services. That is definitely a tricky subject and one with many variables and even more answers. Don't you agree? The ...
Views: 2004 - What Are the Real Costs of Working with a Staffing Agency? - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2011 from Paul MonaxHave you ever sat down and calculated what you are paying that staffing agency or recruiter that found your latest contract? I'll bet it is more than you think. That is, if you can even get the gross bill rate that the staffing firm is billing you out at. Many times that is kept like a state ...
Views: 873(1 vote) - What is an RFP (Request For Proposal) Anyhow? And Should I Even Care About Them? - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2011 from Paul MonaxAn RFP is a Request For Proposal. They can be put out by any company or organization, but they are most common in a government agency situation where they are looking to have multiple bidders each propose their own solution to the problem that is presented. An RFP is typically just a ...
Views: 927(1 vote) - Independent Contractor vs. Employee | Worker Classification - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2011 from Paul MonaxThere has been a lot of discussion in the news recently about Independent Contractor status vs. being an Employee and how to tell the difference, both from the worker's and the company's perspectives. Is someone you have working for your business or are considering bringing on to your company ...
Views: 1012 - What Does Your Personal Brand Say About You? - by Submitted on May 24, 2011 from Paul MonaxHave you ever thought about your personal brand and what it says about you? When you hear Apple or Microsoft, those names conjure up a particular brand image in your mind. Depending on your particular view of the world and those companies it can be either a good or a bad image that is ...
Views: 1051 - What’s the Scoop with Payroll Taxes and Being an Independent Contractor? - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Paul MonaxIt is just a scaled down version of what you would have with a multiple employee business, but in this case you are the sole employee. There are 2 different taxes that make up what are called payroll taxes. The first is Social Security which is sometimes called FICA for Federal Insurance ...
Views: 994 - What is the 3 Times Rule Anyhow? - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Paul MonaxBack in 1999, a friend, Glen Whitbeck, and I who were working on a project together came up with the "3 Times Rule". It is a rule of thumb that even 12 years later has remained a pretty accurate rule of thumb. Since it is a rule of thumb, it isn't always totally accurate, but surprisingly ...
Views: 993 - Are You Still Filing a Schedule C For Your Business? - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Paul MonaxThere is a better way and I can show you how. If you are running your business as a sole proprietor, then you are filing a Schedule C as part of you annual 1040 income tax filing, but even thought that is technically a business, it is likely not the best business structure for you to ...
Views: 1062 - How Do Your Dots Connect? - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Paul MonaxI recently stumbled across an amazing video of the Stanford University Commencement speech from 2005 given by Steve Jobs. It is only 15 minutes long, but yet it is very powerful. In his speech, Steve tells 3 different stories about his life. The first one being about connecting the dots of ...
Views: 1377 - Are Your Advisers Really The Best Fit For You? - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Paul MonaxYou choose the best advisers you can find at the time, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stick with the same ones for life. Don’t be afraid to make a change if you outgrow one of your advisers such that someone you are currently using isn’t the best fit for your current situation ...
Views: 1048 - What Type of Contract Should I Look For? - by Submitted on May 07, 2011 from Paul MonaxWell, the smartass answer is that it depends. I know, I know, that is a cop out answer, but did you think there was a silver bullet, single easy solution for all people and all cases? There never is is there… For the full answer, please read on. Did you just get laid off and haven’t yet ...
Views: 1006 - What are the Alternatives After a Layoff? - by Submitted on May 07, 2011 from Paul MonaxOne option that you may not have previously considered is Independent Contracting, and there are a number of different Forms of relationship available for Independent Contracting. In an attempt to reduce expenses and adapt to the changed business climate, businesses of all size are reducing ...
Views: 960 - Ignorance Costs Significantly More Than Education - by Submitted on May 19, 2011 from Paul MonaxThere have been gobs of studies like this one from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics focused on the number of years of school someone has completed in relation to their annual and lifetime earning potential. If you are a high school drop out vs. high school graduate vs. Associates Degree ...
Views: 1753(1 vote) - Isn't My Business Too Small To Worry About Financial Statements? - by Submitted on May 03, 2011 from Paul MonaxA common theme from some of the reading and training that I have done over the past few years is that if you think small in your business and life too for that matter, then that will become your reality. Those thought patterns of "smallness" will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, and you and ...
Views: 1090(1 vote) - How Would You Like To Choose To Pay Less In Taxes? - by Submitted on May 03, 2011 from Paul MonaxOne of the advantages of being the owner of a business, specifically one that is taxed as an S-Corp is that you have some flexibility in how, when and how much you pay in taxes. In case the S-Corp term is unfamiliar to you, it is basically forming a corporation or an LLC and filing the correct ...
Views: 1097(1 vote)